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The Challenges of Dual Credit: A Research Proposal
Problem Statements
Dual credit or dual enrollment programs “are designed to boost college access and degree attainment, especially for students typically underrepresented in higher education,” (United States Department of Education, 2017, p. 1). With this lofty goal set, it should seem that dual credit programs would be reducing the educational achievement gap. After all, dual credit programs by definition allow all students the opportunity to potentially shorten the amount of time they spend in college, thereby reducing their tuition fees that enable the completion of a degree program. Yet recent research shows that college enrollment and completion gaps may be getting wider, based both on ethnicity and on socioeconomic class (Gewertz, 2017). The results of the RAND study reported by Gewertz (2017) may not be applicable specifically to the state of Hawaii, and yet educational attainment disparities do continue to exist and it is the role of the state’s Department of Education to make dual credit more effective and cost-effective.
Research questions could therefore focus on several aspects of the problem including first how to operationalize success rates, and how to determine whether dual credit is actually increasing disparities in educational attainment. Second, research questions could relate to perceptions of...
Survey research might also help policymakers in the state of Hawaii determine what needs to be done. For example, is it more important to improve visibility and access to dual credit programs among specific populations such as new immigrants and English language learners, or is it a more pressing need to provide structural supports for disadvantaged students during their dual enrollment courses? Alternatively, perhaps dual credit itself is not the issue but higher education culture and climate are what is preventing disadvantaged students from attaining a desired achievement outcome. The research questions will then determine the appropriate research design, and whether it would be more effective to use qualitative or quantitative methods.
I would then refer to the readings like Lopez-Alvarado (2017) and Muijs (n.d.) to help me formulate an appropriate research question. As Lopez-Alvarado (2017) points out, one of the central issues for researchers at this stage in the process is to focus on ontology and epistemology. What kinds of knowledge would be valid, or at least…
Dual credit programs have been around for decades, allowing a large body of evidence to emerge. The evidence from the past twenty years have also permitted longitudinal studies that reveal the efficacy of dual credit programs in promoting models for peace in higher education. Dual credit programs are executed differently in different states. Program feature diversity and results from empirical literature also permits the body of literature to inform best
Problem Statement Dual credit (dual enrolment) programs have met with tremendous success in the state of Hawaii and elsewhere. These programs, which include GEAR UP, Running Start, and Early College, allow students at high school level to attain college credit, thereby easing the financial burden they will face in university. Moreover, the dual credit programs have also increased college enrollment rates among Hawaii students (Inefuku, 2017). Not only do Dual Credit
Dual enrolment has become a popular phenomenon in the education realm in the last one decade. Community colleges are increasingly collaborating with high schools to enable high school students undertake college-level courses while still in high school. This prepares high school students for the realities of college education and socialises them into the norms, attitudes, behaviours, and expectations of college life, in addition to reducing the time and cost of
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research According to Lopez-Alvarado (2017) and Muijs (n.d.), research design decisions are linked to ontology and epistemology. Ontology refers to the researcher’s beliefs about whether reality is absolute or contextual, universal or relative. Whether the researcher is a realist or a relativist determines research questions and designs, with an increased tendency for relativists to focus on phenomenological and qualitative methods and a realist to use quantitative methods. Muijs
Abstract Dual enrollment programs have become mandatory in about half the states. Although Hawaii is not one of those 25 states with mandatory dual enrollment programs, the state does have some comprehensive solutions for providing all high school students with the benefits of dual enrollment programs. Through policies and programs like GEAR UP, Running Start, and Early College, the Department of Education of Hawaii has made dual enrollment a reality for
It is important to recognize the many different areas within adult education, and what type of students these areas attract. Ultimately, for the adult education department to be successful, it must attract a wide variety of students, and keep at least some of those students coming back to continue their education in order to be successful. Adult education serves a vital role in the upper education system, and it