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Concurrent Enrollment Review

Abstract

The research examined the mental health implications due to the DE program’s academic pressure on students. The available literature demonstrates that the DE program is associated with a large number of students entering colleges, academic success in college, and self-confidence development. Nevertheless, the DE program exerts some pressure on the high school learners in terms of their mental health. Besides managing the high school curriculum, DE students are supposed to complete the relevant degree courses in the DE program. This leads to duplication of academic classes that strains the work-life balance, leading some students to encounter high levels of stress and anxiety. The existing evidence also found that the unequal access and outcome of the DE programs result in low confidence, high levels of anxiety, and poor resiliency. Furthermore, the institutional support gaps are detrimental to the mental state of DE students. Practice implications include training of qualified counselors to contribute significantly towards monitoring mental problems of learners and the application of culturally sensitive interventions. The varied DE modalities are beneficial in solving the problems by means of social integration, while providing support and integration of DE and career and technical education. The implication for future research is that longitudinal studies would be more helpful to grasp the long-term mental health consequences of the DE program. Qualitative exploration may provide first-hand experience, while equity-oriented research may be more reflective of the effect on the disadvantaged learners.

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