Date Approved
7-29-2024
Embargo Period
7-29-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Department
Educational Leadership, Administration and Research
College
College of Education
Advisor
Shelley Zion, Ph.D.
Committee Member 1
James Coaxum III, Ph.D.
Committee Member 2
Jeffrey Graber, Ed.D.
Keywords
Access & Equity; Advanced Placement; Career Impacts; Graduate Perspectives; Long-Term Impacts; Non-Tracking
Subject(s)
Advanced placement programs (Education)
Disciplines
Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Secondary Education
Abstract
This study sought to understand the long-term impact of providing access and equity to highly rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) coursework to underserved and/or underrepresented high school students, and its long-term impacts on career. Using a qualitative approach, this study explored the experiences and opportunities of 6 graduates from a rural public high school in New Jersey with open access to AP courses who are now in a career/workplace environment. All six graduates took at least one AP course while in high school, graduated between 2010 and 2016, and had two or more potential barriers to opportunity while attending high school in an underrepresented or underserved population. Themes unique to this group of graduates included: taking AP was expected, peers, teachers, and guidance counselors were instrumental in providing access to AP. There are several recommendations for how educators might begin to improve the learning landscape for students including the elimination of tracking, providing parents with AP information beginning in middle school, securing funds to take the AP exam(s), and a suggestion that counselors should develop more inclusive recruitment practices, so that information relative to the AP program is made available to all students. The results of this study should be shared with educational leadership organizations to further spread the impacts of AP on individuals and their careers.
Recommended Citation
Frasca, Gina Marie, "WHY TAKE AP? ACCESS TO HIGH SCHOOL ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES LONG-TERM IMPACT ON CAREER/WORKPLACE OPPORTUNITIES" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 3274.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/3274
