Instructor Buy-In and Instructional Practice in Corequisite Mathematics Reform: Evidence from a Mixed-Methods Study of Virginia Community College System

• In Event: Corequisite Mathematics Reform in Practice: Faculty Roles, Curricular Change, and Student Experience Across States

Abstract

This paper examines how instructor buy-in shapes implementation of corequisite developmental mathematics reform across a statewide community college system. Drawing on the Policy Attributes Theory (Porter et al., 1988; Desimone, 2002), we focus on authority - defined as the extent to which stakeholders view a policy as legitimate and worthy of support - as a key mechanism shaping how faculty interpret, enact, and sustain reform practices. While prior research has shown the importance of buy-in for reform fidelity (Datnow & Stringfield, 2000; Yonezawa & Stringfield, 2000), few studies have explored how community college instructors respond to developmental education reforms at the classroom level, particularly how these reforms affect their instructional decisions and lead to shifts in teaching practices (Schudde et al., 2022).

We employ a convergent mixed-methods design, integrating survey data from 62 instructors across 23 Virginia community colleges with in-depth interviews from a purposive sample of faculty at 7 institutions. Interviewees were selected from survey respondents whose responses suggested unique or unexpected implementation patterns warranting further exploration. Quantitative analyses examine how instructor characteristics, institutional supports, and course-level factors predict buy-in, as well as how buy-in relates to reported instructional goals, active learning strategies, and perceptions of student outcomes. OLS regression models estimate associations, controlling for instructor demographics, course modality, and student challenges. Findings indicate buy-in is stronger among instructors reporting greater curricular flexibility, more years of teaching experience, and who teach corequisite courses exclusively in-person. Higher buy-in is significantly associated with greater use of student-centered pedagogies, including small-group learning opportunities, and stronger instructor perceptions of student engagement and mastery.

Qualitative interviews provide insight into mechanisms underlying these associations. Faculty described mixed attitudes toward the reform’s legitimacy, citing inconsistencies in placement policy implementation, lack of professional development, and variability in institutional support. Many noted that the shift to self-placement and GPA-based placement introduced ambiguity and reduced confidence in the system. Instructors also described tensions between instructional autonomy and unclear system-level expectations, leading to divergent grading policies, inconsistent curricular materials, and uncertainty around how best to support students in the corequisite model. These challenges were compounded by limited student buy-in, indicated by reports of low engagement and attendance in support classes, which faculty identified as a barrier to realizing reform benefits. Even when formal policy structures appeared consistent across institutions, narratives revealed that perceived authority—shaped by leadership signals, resource availability, and peer norms—played a central role in driving meaningful implementation. The qualitative data illuminate how institutional context and individual interpretation influence classroom-level practices in ways not fully captured by surveys. These findings clarify mechanisms through which buy-in translates into variation in instructional behavior and deepen understanding of how reforms are enacted on the ground. This study contributes to the growing literature on the conditions under which community college reforms succeed (Ryu et al., 2022) by illuminating how instructors’ perceptions of policy legitimacy shape not only fidelity of implementation but also instructional decisions and classroom practices. We conclude with implications for strengthening future reform efforts and leveraging policy attributes theory to better understand how faculty interpret and enact change in response to evolving policy mandates.

Authors

• Daman Chhikara, University of California - Irvine

• Zachary Beamer, Virginia Community College System

• Mina Sajjadi, University of Delaware

• Laura M. Desimone, University of Delaware

• Di Xu, University of California - Irvine