Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2015

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department

English

Degree Program

English Rhetoric and Composition, PhD

Committee Chair

Williams, Bronwyn T.

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Sheridan, Mary

Committee Member

Brueggemann, Brenda

Committee Member

Journet, Debra

Committee Member

Willis, Dottie

Subject

Advanced placement programs (Education); English language--Rhetoric--Study and teaching (Secondary)

Abstract

This dissertation responds to recent conversations on college readiness and precollege credit for writing alternatives. Specifically, this dissertation investigates the ways in which dispositions associated with college readiness are fostered within AP English Language and Composition courses at multiple locations within a single school district and illustrates the intersections between AP English Language and Composition and first-year writing at different locations to highlight the diversity of practices within AP English Language and Composition. Chapter one traces the histories and intersections of AP English Language and Composition and first-year writing. Chapter two describes the research methods utilized in this study. Chapter three examines the ways in which policies associated with AP English Language and Composition encourage learning environments focused on developing the dispositions identified in the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. Chapter four explores the literacy experiences occurring in four AP English Language and Composition classes and the ways in which these experiences relate to dispositions identified in the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. Chapter five provides a case study of AP English Language and Composition at Violet Fields High School and finds that the course is effectively serving as a site of first-year writing. Chapter six provides a case study of AP English Language and Composition at Blue Meadows High School and finds that, while the course is challenging, meets the outcomes outlined by the College Board, and covers a variety of material, this course lacks essential elements needed for it to successfully function as a site of first-year writing. Chapter seven provides a case study of AP English Language and Composition at Red River High School and finds the course functioning as a site of first-year writing and as a site of college preparation as the result of efforts to increase enrollment in AP courses through participation in Advance Kentucky. The conclusion addresses implications of the findings of this project for secondary and postsecondary teachers of writing in regards to policy and pedagogy in AP English Language and Composition.

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