"Serving Two Masters": Exploring Policy Tensions in Dual Credit Implementation

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Two Birds With One Stone? An Examination of the Effectiveness and the Implementation of Dual-Credit Education Programs

Abstract

Dual credit programs have emerged as a popular strategy to bolster the college completion agenda (Hoffman, Vargas, & Santos, 2008), yet the literature reveals little about how these programs translate to the classroom (Tobolowsky & Allen, 2016). As states and districts move to scale dual credit programs (Marken, Gray & Lewis, 2013), inquiry into implementation is fruitful to guide policy and practice on pre-college preparation. To that end, this study examined how teachers implement dual credit courses at seven early college high schools, which educate underserved students, in a U.S.-Mexico border region of Texas. Thus early colleges are an ideal setting for inquiry into dual credit implementation.

I employed an interpretive perspective on policy implementation (Spillane, Reiser & Reimer, 2002), which considers the many individual and contextual factors that shape the enactment of a policy design. This framework is particularly attentive to the role of policy ambiguity in shaping the implementation process, as it assumes that challenges will arise during implementation that policy designers do not necessarily anticipate. Using a case study methodology (Stake, 2005) to examine the process of implementing dual credit at seven early college high schools partnered with the region’s community college system, Border Region Community College (a pseudonym). Data were collected between September 2015 and March 2017 via interviews (46), focus groups (12), observations of faculty meetings and classrooms (120 hours), and documents pertaining to policy and curriculum (100+). In total, 112 stakeholders participated in the study: 8 administrators, 97 teachers, and 7 counselors. Administrators and counselor data were used to contextualize and triangulate teacher data.

Data analysis revealed a variety of tensions that arose as teachers tried to manage the demands of the high school and community college district. Dual credit teachers were employed and paid by the high school district, but were also credentialed by the college. Thus they described “serving two masters.” Divergent expectations from each system led to tensions around three critical issues: pedagogy, curriculum, and student evaluation. Discussion of these tensions leads to two major findings: first is the extent to which participants felt compelled to adhere to high school standards, despite the policy intention to provide students with a college class. Second is the large instructional gap between high school and college.

Findings of this study bolster research and policy efforts to improve postsecondary access and completion (Barnett & Stamm, 2010). In particular, the study calls into question the degree to which dual credit program objectives are translating to practice, and suggests the need for a distinct set of dual credit teaching guidelines to support program implementation.

Author

• Julia Cassman Duncheon, The University of Texas - El Paso