Since 2021, Bellwether has been researching how families and students navigate a growing landscape of flexible learning options and how organizations can better support them. Throughout the research process — including interviews with 85 policymakers, state administrators, funders, navigation organizations, technology providers, and many others — new lines of inquiry emerged that researchers can help address. Researchers can:
- Define learning options, or characteristics of learning options, that offer flexible, personalized education.
- Help answer questions about the demand and supply of learning options.
- Assess how barriers and solutions to access learning options manifest for different geographies, students, and learning options?
- Evaluate whether or how learning options support students’ success.
- Shed light on how flexible learning options impact schools and communities.
Research Agenda: Expanding Equitable Access to Flexible Personalized Education unpacks these questions to inform the research of Bellwether and other organizations and help ensure public officials and other decision-makers have as much information as possible in their efforts to increase access to high-quality, personalized learning opportunities.
