Dual Credit in Southeast Kentucky

174 Pages·2017·1.82 MB·English

by  Roger A. Bowling

Eastern Kentucky University
Encompass
Online Theses and Dissertations Student Scholarship
January 2015
Dual Credit in Southeast Kentucky: Accelerating
Appalachian Success or a Mode to Regress
Roger A. Bowling
Eastern Kentucky University
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Recommended Citation
Bowling, Roger A., "Dual Credit in Southeast Kentucky: Accelerating Appalachian Success or a Mode to Regress" (2015).Online
Theses and Dissertations. 342.
https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/342
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Dual Credit in Southeast Kentucky:
Accelerating Appalachian Success or a Mode to Regress

By
Roger A. Bowling
Master of Science Industrial Education
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, Kentucky
2003

Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of
Eastern Kentucky University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Educational Doctorate
Leadership and Policy Studies
December, 2015
ii

Copyright © Roger A. Bowling, 2015
All rights reserved
iii

DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my much loved family and friends
for their unwavering support.
iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Returning to school in pursuit of my Doctorate degree has been an interesting
experience, ranging from very challenging and joyful to often being confusing and at
times a little frustrating. Yet, all-in-all, I am happy to have gone through the process.
Graduate school is a great resource for personal and professional development. I could
not have accomplished my goal without the support and encouragement of many people
along the way. I am grateful for the Eastern Kentucky University’s—Doctoral program in
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies—outreach and support of the people of rural
Southeastern Kentucky in recruiting and establishing the Manchester cohort, bringing this
opportunity to the region.
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Dr. Deborah West for
serving as my committee co-chair and mentor from my initial orientation through the
dissertation defense. Her dedication to providing me with the guidance and support
necessary to see this dissertation through, despite her vast responsibilities, is sincerely
appreciated. I would also like to thank Dr. Charles Hausman for serving as my committee
co-chair and advisor. Committee member Dr. James Bliss has been very supportive and a
tremendous source for knowledge and guidance. A special thanks to my outside
examiner, Dr. David Clutts. His support, encouragement, and guidance is greatly
appreciated.
Colleagues and friends, including cohort comrades and Southeast Kentucky
Community and Technical College staff, have provided both moral and material support.
They not only showed interest in my research on dual credit, they took interest in me
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personally in supporting my professional growth and development. I am truly fortunate to
be a part of a network team of such support.
Most of all, I would like to thank my wife Patty Bowling; my son Roger E.
Bowling, daughter in-law Audrey, and granddaughters Megan and Cheyenne; my
daughter Jill Huff, son in-law Daniel, and grandsons Hayden and Talon. Precious family
time was sacrificed along the way with the time needed to complete courses, research and
writing. I love you all. To my entire beloved family and caring friends who have
provided the support and encouragement I needed to complete this task, I am forever
grateful.
vi

ABSTRACT
Dual Credit in Southeast Kentucky:
Accelerating Appalachian Success or a Mode to Regress
By
Roger A. Bowling
Eastern Kentucky University
This dissertation is a qualitative study about high school student participation in
dual credit programming in the rural Appalachian setting of Southeastern Kentucky. The
research region is comprised of resource extraction based communities and the coal
markets have plummeted. Void the once robust coal industry, Southeast Kentucky will
have to reconstruct a new economy. Today’s students in this region can no longer be
prepared to enter an established workforce, they must be able to acclimate to and/or forge
new jobs. Sustainability requires a refocusing on education. This dissertation provides a
qualitative research contribution to the statistical literature available on Kentucky’s rural
Appalachian dual credit programming. This study examined levels of student engagement
in the regional service area of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges’
current Dual Credit programming, the benefits associated with enrolling in dual credit
courses, and exploration of barriers that prevent student dual credit enrollment or impair
their performance. This study identifies five key components of dual credit that have an
impact on student participation and performance. Also, triangulation methods were
incorporated to evaluate research validly and establish areas of interest for further study.
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Finally, this dissertation describes how a local college and high school collaboration is
becoming a powerful influence in encouraging youth to challenge themselves and
achieve.