Abstract

Dual enrollment, through which students take college classes while in high school, is a promising strategy to increase postsecondary access and attainment. Dual enrollment may be particularly important for rural students, who often have limited access to advanced coursework and are less likely to attend college. However, little is known about how dual enrollment is related to postsecondary outcomes for rural students. Using nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, this study applied multinomial logistic regression to explore the relationship between dual enrollment, socioeconomic status (SES), and postsecondary outcomes for subpopulations consisting of rural/town and city/suburb (nonrural) students. After controlling for student demographic characteristics, math self-efficacy, student educational expectations, cultural capital, and prior academic achievement, I found differences in dual enrollment outcomes for rural/town and nonrural students. Regression results showed that dual enrollment was associated with increased odds of postsecondary enrollment for rural/town students, and increased odds of persistence for nonrural students. The increase in probability of postsecondary enrollment was higher for rural students with lower socioeconomic status, as compared with their more affluent peers, suggesting that dual enrollment may be an effective strategy for disrupting the reproduction of social and economic inequality.

Keywords: dual enrollment, rural, college access, postsecondary outcomes, HSLS09

How to Cite:

Althaus-Cressman, A., (2026) “Dual Enrollment and Postsecondary Outcomes for Rural Students: Implications for Social Reproduction”, Journal of Research in Rural Education 42(2), 1-22. doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/jrre.20759