"We're Caught In Between Two Systems": Exploring the Complexity of Dual Credit Implementation

Dual credit coursework has become a popular strategy to bolster the college completion agenda, yet research on program implementation is scarce. This qualitative interview study uses complexity theory to investigate how 103 teachers enacted dual credit at eight high schools partnered with a community college system in Texas. Findings demonstrate that teachers received instructions from the K-12 side of the partnership that contradicted those from the college, which undermined implementation and ultimately compromised course rigor. Ensuring the success of dual credit reform will likely require looking beyond the classroom to target system-wide change on both sides of the secondary-postsecondary divide.