Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons 162 rural area high school students participate in the dual enrollment program. Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in college courses for credit prior to high school graduation with local school districts covering the cost of tuition. Participants in this study were recruited from two rural agricultural counties from Washington State attending a local college. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that dual enrollment participation was related to academics, financial, social, and choice reasons. Results showed no significant differences between 11th and 12th grade participants regarding financial and choice reasons to participate. However, statistically significant differences were found regarding academic and social reasons for participation. Implications for rural educators and recommendations for future research regarding dual enrollment programs are discussed.
Highlights
Dual enrollment provides high school students the opportunity to take postsecondary courses in public and private two- and four-year institutions (Andrews, 2004; Kleiner & Lewis, 2005; Marshall & Andrews, 2002; Robertson, Chapman, & Gasken, 2001)
While there is a large amount of research regarding the policies of dual enrollment programs (Hoffman, 2005), the costs and benefits for states, parents, and students (Boswell, 2001; Karp, Bailey, Hughes, & Fermin, 2004) and the attitudes of parents and students toward such programs (High School Leadership Summit, 2003), very little is known regarding the mediating factors of why students participate (High School Leadership Summit, 2003) and even less about the perceptions about why students participate in dual enrollment programs (Bontager, Clemetsen, & Watts, 2005)
Welch asymptotic F test [F (1, 105.39) = 6.45, p = .013, Cohen's d =.43] used to correct for unequal variances (Meyers, Gamst, & Guarino, 2006). These results suggest that 12th grade students (M = 4.37, SD = .55) viewed the academic reasons for participating in the dual enrollment program higher in comparison to those in the 11th grade
Summary
Dual enrollment provides high school students the opportunity to take postsecondary courses in public and private two- and four-year institutions (Andrews, 2004; Kleiner & Lewis, 2005; Marshall & Andrews, 2002; Robertson, Chapman, & Gasken, 2001). In 2002-2003 (12 month academic year) 5 percent (813,000) of high school students took college-level courses in post-secondary institutions (Kleiner & Lewis, 2005). For many states, these dual enrollment programs are not new; they have existed for several decades through agreements between some high schools and colleges. Research indicates that dual enrollment programs are beneficial to students, parents, high schools, and postsecondary institutions (Andrews, 2000; Boswell, 2001; Bailey, Hughes & Karp, 2002; Girardi & Stein, 2001). While there is a large amount of research regarding the policies of dual enrollment programs (Hoffman, 2005), the costs and benefits for states, parents, and students (Boswell, 2001; Karp, Bailey, Hughes, & Fermin, 2004) and the attitudes of parents and students toward such programs (High School Leadership Summit, 2003), very little is known regarding the mediating factors of why students participate (High School Leadership Summit, 2003) and even less about the perceptions about why students participate in dual enrollment programs (Bontager, Clemetsen, & Watts, 2005)
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