The Risk of Rushing Ahead: How Dual Credit Enrollment in California Overlooks Adolescent Development in Immigrant and First-Gen Students

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Inquiries into Identity, Representation, and Power in Education

Abstract

Dual enrollment is often seen as a fast track to college, but for immigrant and first-generation students, it can feel like rushing into adulthood without a safety net. This paper critically examines how California’s dual credit programs overlook the adolescent brain’s developmental needs and fail to reflect the interdependent cultural values many marginalized students bring with them. Using Cultural Mismatch Theory and Critical Developmental Theory, I argue that dual credit access without relational, cultural, and developmental support is not opportunity—it’s risk. Programs must reimagine support systems that honor family involvement, provide language access, and center student well-being. The current structure assumes readiness that many students don’t yet have, leaving them to navigate college-level decisions alone.

Author

• Melody May Yin Isabela, Arcadia Unified School District