Academic Freedom in the Online K-12 Classroom: Blurrf Boundaries

Abstract

Online learning is becoming increasingly popular in the K-12 school systems for various reasons. This learning platform can provide education to students from various corners of our nation through the use of the Internet and, more importantly, can be accessed through the use of various technologies. As the needs of our schools continue to change and the implementation of online learning continues to develop due to necessity or as an alternate method of educating K-12 students, the awareness of academic freedom that can become challenged or blurred needs special attention. This chapter encourages school systems, administrators, instructors, and online participants to grow more aware of the potential downfalls in this type of learning environment which could likely infringe upon the academic freedom of all participants (both the instructor and students) in online learning environments. This chapter focuses on three topics: the structure of online courses that can impede academic freedom, the impact of language and expression on academic freedom in the online environment, and how the use of technology in online classrooms could potentially encumber the academic freedom of participants. Further, this chapter discusses the importance of being cognizant of the possible academic freedom that can become infringed upon when developing and teaching online courses and ways to avoid these potential problems in the K-12 online classroom.

Citation

Black, G.C. and Petroff, P.D. (2021), "Academic Freedom in the Online K-12 Classroom: Blurrf Boundaries", Ceglie, R. and Thompson, S. (Ed.) Academic Freedom: Autonomy, Challenges and Conformation, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 67-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-882-620211005