Dual Credit Programs and the Educational Achievement Gap
This research proposal examines the challenges of dual credit and dual enrollment programs in addressing educational equity, with particular attention to underrepresented students in Hawaii. Although dual credit programs are designed to expand college access and reduce degree completion costs, recent evidence suggests that enrollment and completion gaps by race and socioeconomic status may be widening. The proposal outlines potential research questions related to program success rates, student and family perceptions, and structural barriers. Drawing on ontological and epistemological considerations, the paper argues for a longitudinal, phenomenological research design that centers the lived experiences of low-income students and English language learners, and explains why qualitative methods are better suited than quantitative designs for informing meaningful policy change.
- Introduction: The Promise and Problem of Dual Credit: Dual credit goals versus widening achievement gaps
- Framing the Research Questions: Candidate research questions on access, perception, outcomes
- Ontological and Epistemological Considerations: Philosophical grounding for choosing research method
- The Case for Qualitative and Phenomenological Methods: Why qualitative design suits this equity-focused proposal
- References: Cited sources in APA format
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly connects a practical policy problem — widening achievement gaps in dual credit programs — to a specific methodological response, demonstrating that the choice of research design is driven by the nature of the research question, not convenience.
- It moves logically from problem identification to question formation to philosophical justification, giving the proposal a coherent argumentative arc that is easy for readers to follow.
- The paper grounds methodological choices in cited scholarly sources (Camburn et al., Muijs, Lopez-Alvarado), showing that design decisions are informed by the research methods literature rather than personal preference.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper exemplifies epistemological framing of a research proposal — explicitly asking what counts as valid knowledge before committing to a method. By engaging with ontology and epistemology early, the writer justifies a phenomenological approach on philosophical grounds, not just practical ones. This is a graduate-level technique that distinguishes rigorous proposals from those that jump straight to data collection without theoretical grounding.
Structure breakdown
The proposal opens with a policy context drawn from federal and recent empirical sources, then narrows to the specific setting of Hawaii. It presents candidate research questions organized by theme, discusses the philosophical foundations that should guide design selection, and concludes with a defence of qualitative longitudinal methods. The reference list follows APA conventions. The structure mirrors the conventional graduate research proposal format: problem → questions → epistemology → methodology.
Introduction: The Promise and Problem of Dual Credit
Dual credit and 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 established, one might expect dual credit programs to be reducing the educational achievement gap. By definition, dual credit programs allow all students the opportunity to potentially shorten the time they spend in college, thereby reducing the tuition costs that can otherwise prevent degree completion. Yet recent research shows that college enrollment and completion gaps may be getting wider, based on both ethnicity and socioeconomic class (Gewertz, 2017). The results of the RAND study reported by Gewertz (2017) may not be directly applicable to the state of Hawaii; nevertheless, educational attainment disparities do persist, and it is the role of the state's Department of Education to make dual credit programs more effective and cost-effective.
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