Abstract
Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE) coursework has becoming increasingly popular over the course of the last half century in the United States (Kolluri, 2018). Despite the increase in course offerings, Latino/a students remain vastly underrepresented in these classes across the country (Hooper & Harrington, 2022; Renbarger & Long, 2019). Additionally, even though Latino/a students are one of the fastest growing students populations in the U.S., the gap not only persists, but has grown larger. Educators have attempted to address this matter through increasing course offerings and removing structural barriers, like exam costs (Field, 2021; Jagesic, 2022; McCardle & Turner, 2021. Yet despite these measures, the racial equity gap in enrollment of these types of accelerated courses has remained steady throughout the United States.
This mixed-methods study examines the persistent underrepresentation of Latino/a students in Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE) coursework at River Run High School, an affluent suburban high school with robust accelerated offerings and a growing Latino/a population. Guided by Khalifa’s (2016) Culturally Responsive Leadership framework, Ryan and Deci’s (2000) Self-Determination Theory, and Hitt and Tucker’s (2016) Unified Leadership Framework, the research explores two questions: (a) What barriers, if any, do Latino/a students face in enrolling in AP and DE courses? and (b) In what ways do school leaders encourage or discourage Latino/a student enrollment in these courses?
Data sources included semi-structured interviews with school leaders, a focus group with counselors, and secondary analysis of school climate surveys. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with school leaders and a focus group with counselors, while quantitative data were derived from secondary analysis of school climate surveys and enrollment trends. Deductive coding using a priori themes from the conceptual framework was combined with emergent coding to identify patterns across data sources. Triangulation of interviews, focus groups, and survey data enhanced validity and reliability. Findings reveal three primary barriers: relational, sociocultural, and structural. Relational barriers focus on teacher encouragement of students and the possible existence of implicit bias amongst educators. Family communication, family cultural expectations, and the influence of peers underly the sociocultural barriers identified. Finally, course sequencing, academic tracking, and scheduling constraints contributed to the structural barriers discovered in this study.
Leadership practices demonstrated moral commitment to equity through outreach events, professional development on implicit bias, and distributed leadership structures; however, gaps in systematic evaluation and accountability limited progress. Recommendations include embedding equity goals into school improvement plans, expanding multilingual family engagement strategies, fostering teacher capacity through culturally responsive practices, and implementing peer mentoring programs to strengthen students’ sense of belonging. These findings underscore the need for intentional leadership systems to dismantle structural and relational barriers, ensuring equitable access to rigorous academic opportunities for Latino/a students.
