Reframing Teacher Quality in Dual Enrollment: A Conceptual Framework for Instructional Readiness

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Dual Enrollment & Educators

Abstract

As dual enrollment (DE) programs expand nationwide, questions remain about the instructional quality of courses taught by high school teachers, particularly with college-level expectations. Current policies often rely on credential-based standards set by accreditors and state agencies, but these fail to address whether teachers are prepared to deliver postsecondary instruction in a high school setting. This conceptual paper introduces the Dual Enrollment Quality Teaching (DEQT) Framework, which reconceptualizes teacher quality through three interrelated domains: content expertise, andragogical readiness, and contextual alignment with postsecondary norms. Grounded in Knowles’s theory of andragogy, Bourdieu’s concept of capital, and Tinto’s integration framework, the DEQT model offers a new lens to evaluate and support instructional practices in DE.

Author

• Carlos David Gamez, American University