Distance Learning and the Influence of Schools’ Organizational Characteristics on the Students Perceived Learning Success

AbstractThe project Check-up Distance Learning pursues the goal of developing a tool for school leaders to help them identify strengths and challenges of distance learning processes at their schools. The fast provision of an evaluation tool was imminent when school leaders were forced to make ad-hoc decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the relationship between the organizational structure (flow and accessibility of information, rules for digital tools, regulations for assessment) and students’ learner success (perceived motivation, perceived ease of learning, task achievement) is analyzed based on data collected from N = 3872 stakeholders at German vocational schools. Hierarchical linear modelling shows small effects for eight items characterizing a school’s organizational structure, underlining the importance of school leaders’ managerial decisions during times of crisis.