We're Caught In Between Two Systems: Exploring New Accountability Challenges of Dual Credit Implementation

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-6-2020

Publication Title

The Review of Higher Education

Volume

43

Issue

4

First page number:

989

Last page number:

1016

Abstract

Dual credit coursework has become a popular strategy to bolster the college completion agenda, yet research on program implementation is scarce. This qualitative interview study uses complexity theory to investigate how 103 teachers enacted dual credit at eight high schools partnered with a community college system in Texas. Findings demonstrate that teachers received instructions from the K-12 side of the partnership that contradicted those from the college, which undermined implementation and ultimately compromised course rigor. Ensuring the success of dual credit reform will likely require looking beyond the classroom to target system-wide change on both sides of the secondary-postsecondary divide.

Keywords

Community colleges; Dual credit; Education policy; Complexity theory

Disciplines

Education | Educational Psychology | Higher Education | Secondary Education

Language

English

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