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Variety in Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Course Reading Lists and Curricula
Dissertation   Open access

Variety in Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Course Reading Lists and Curricula

Brian Blake
University of West Florida Libraries
Doctor of Education (EDD), University of West Florida
2025

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Abstract

Advanced Placement (AP) courses have grown in popularity in U.S. schools since the 1990s. The expansion of AP courses has led to increased access to higher education for underrepresented students. Although states or districts determine reading lists in most U.S. public high school English Language arts courses, AP Literature and Composition teachers may create their own reading lists. However, little is known about whether teachers have used this opportunity to assist underrepresented students. In this study, I explored the experiences of high school AP Literature and Composition teachers in incorporating educational fairness into their curricula and reading lists to meet the needs of underrepresented students in Florida. Educational fairness is the idea that students receive all they need to succeed. I conceived and designed this study as a qualitative interpretive phenomenological analysis using semistructured interviews. Findings indicate that a multifaceted curriculum celebrates many ways of being and educating students about multiple ways of being in an accessible and engaging way fosters respect for others, which creates a more respectful and unbiased learning space. Overall, the data suggest introducing educational fairness into the curriculum and classroom was a positive experience for participants and had a positive impact on student success. The findings make a clear case for including more multifaceted texts in the AP Literature and Composition curriculum.
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