Rural, K-12 Online Education in the United States and an Examination of Its
Relationship to Smartphone Use and Internet Connectivity
Authors: Horan Arielle 
Published: February 2025

This exploratory sequential mixed methods study examines the contemporary usage
of online education in rural, K-12 settings, as well as explores the
relationship between Internet connectivity, smartphone use, and rural, K-12
online education in the United States. The following general research questions
were explored:

How are rural K-12 schools using online education overall?

a. How does usage vary based on school size and/or socioeconomic
status?

What is the relationship between Internet connectivity, smartphone
use, and online education in these schools?

Data collection occurred in two phases; an initial focus group provided
qualitative data which was coded, analyzed, and organized into overarching
themes, including online education types and usage; internal factors influencing
usage—including site implementation and staff integration; external factors
influencing usage—including Internet connectivity and district or school
external impacts; and perceived student outcomes. These themes were used to
develop a survey instrument and provided context for the findings of the
survey.

The second phase consisted of the development and distribution of the
quantitative survey, followed by data analysis and interpretation using
descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact tests, chi-square tests of independence,
and one-way ANOVAs. Survey findings were broad and showed that online education
use in rural school systems is widespread and fairly consistent in terms of
format, grade levels, technology availability, and use of online education
tools. Conversely, rural sites considerably varied in terms of online education
providers, staff structure and duties related to online education, and uses of
online education. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have resulted in increased
technology adoption in rural school systems, although the corresponding duties
necessary to make those changes may be associated with staff compression,
particularly in small rural schools.

School size and socioeconomic status were not found to play a statistically
significant role in individual variables related to online education use such as
enrollment, format, and staff professional development. However, an examination
of the data indicates that size and socioeconomic status may be associated with
overarching patterns that suggest small rural schools’ usage patterns are
influenced by smaller staff sizes, and low-income rural schools’ usage patterns
are influenced by limited funding and community resources. Internet connectivity
was found to have the highest perceived influence on online education in rural
schools, and was found to be interrelated with online education, and smartphone
use.

This research provides a broad snapshot of contemporary online education use in
rural settings, and many of the findings may be useful for those seeking broad
comparisons on a national level. The study revealed that Internet connectivity,
site size, and area socioeconomics are important factors in how rural schools
use online education. Researchers, policymakers, educators, content developers,
and other stakeholders involved in rural K-12 online education should be careful
to consider geography and socioeconomic status of rural school systems, as many
sites may have unique factors that render online education anything but a
one-size-fits-all solution for rural school systems.