Examining the Impacts of a Developmentally Appropriate, Culturally Relevant Virtual School on Student Outcomes

Abstract

The rapid shift to online learning due to COVID-19 provides an opportunity to examine at scale the feasibility and impact of addressing students’ cultural and developmental needs within a virtual environment. Given limited knowledge of this type of virtual schooling, this mixed-method study examined third–fifth grade students’ experiences attending a culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate virtual summer literacy program. Findings indicate that students were more receptive to the virtual programming than their traditional schooling (pre-COVID), which positively affected their racial-ethnic and learner identities. Given the findings, implications for educational stakeholders are discussed.