Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757
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Item Using Discourse to Improve the Quality of Student Talk and Historical Argumentative Writing(2024) Otarola, Josue; De La Paz, Susan; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Frameworks that connect to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in Social Studies, such as the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies States Standards, highlight the need to engage in inquiry-based instruction (NCSS, 2013). Participation in such inquiry requires students to engage in disciplinary thinking and to articulate that thinking to others, both verbally and in writing. However, such disciplinary thinking does not come natural to students (Wineburg, 1991). Thus, students require instruction in disciplinary thinking to learn its complexities and nuances. Once students can engage in disciplinary thinking, they can communicate it and participate in valuable discourse. Therefore, the current dissertation was conducted to explore how students use discourse to engage in argumentation and historical thinking. Chapter 2 of the dissertation is a research synthesis of studies that use discourse to improve learning outcomes in primary and secondary science and social studies classrooms. The purpose of the synthesis was to determine the impact of argumentative discourse on students’ learning outcomes and to understand the instructional components teachers use when holding discourse. Asterhan & Schwarz’s (2016) Argumentation for Learning (AFL) framework guided the research synthesis and the subsequent multiple-case study. Results indicate that discourse can be improved by using multiple instructional groupings, incorporating explicit instruction, modeling, graphic organizers and technology, and engaging students in deliberation. Chapter 3 offers findings from a multiple-case study that was designed to explore how argumentation inhibitors and enablers moderate dialogue characteristics and learning outcomes and to provide a rich description of discourse in ninth-grade US History classrooms with academically diverse students. More specifically, the study captured how students engaged in argumentative discourse and historical thinking using two different discourse structures. The study used a cross-case analysis (Yin, 2018) to compare the discourse across three cases. Each case included a teacher and four students. The first case occurred in a co-taught class, the second case included the same teacher in an honors class, and the third case included a different teacher in an honors class. The first and second case used a modified structured academic controversy (SAC), while the third case used Johnson and Johnson’s (1988) approach to SAC. The multiple-case study and the research synthesis informed the practitioner manuscript provided in Chapter 4. The manuscript details how teachers can use structure and supports to improve student participation and historical thinking in classroom discourse, especially for students with disabilities (SWD) and other struggling learners. The current dissertation provides several important findings. First, my synthesis indicated that students achieve higher learning outcomes when teachers use multiple instructional groupings, students engage in deliberative discourse, and teachers provide students with explicit instruction, modeling, and graphic organizers. Second, the findings from the multiple-case study offered insight into how students of differing academic abilities engage in argumentative discourse and historical thinking. Students of all academic abilities participated at high levels and engaged in deliberative argumentation, though there were differences in the quality of historical thinking skills. The instructional approach used in the multiple-case study is further expanded in the practitioner manuscript. Areas for future research are discussed in the dissertation.Item “THIS WILL NOT KILL US:” A REFLECTIVE EXPLORATION OF HOW BLACK WOMEN DOCTORAL STUDENTS AND ALUMNAE STRIVED FOR HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS(2024) Stone, Joakina; Kelly, Bridget T; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this qualitative research study was to develop a better understanding of the factors that influenced the holistic mental health and wellness of Black women doctoral students and recent alumnae during their doctoral journey. Although research is emerging on the wellness of graduate students, there is limited literature on Black women doctoral students’ wellness. From 2020 to 2023 there were national events involving Black women that underscored the necessity to understand and prioritize the holistic wellness of Black women doctoral students (e.g. Black women in higher education leaving their high-ranking positions and Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles taking a break from their respective sports and citing mental health as a factor). Using narrative inquiry as a methodological approach, and a conceptual framework comprised of Black feminist thought (Collins, 1986, 1989) and Hettler’s (1980, 1984) six dimensions of wellness, the experiences of nine Black women doctoral students and recent alumnae (who were no more than six-months post-graduation) were explored. This research sought to understand the strategies Black women doctoral students and recent alumnae used to manage and maintain their holistic mental health and wellness. The specific research questions that guided this study are: (1) How do Black women doctoral students and recent alumnae at Research 1 (R1) or Research 2 (R2) institutions in the mid-Atlantic region describe their mental health and wellness while pursuing their doctoral degree? (2) What contributed to and interfered with the holistic mental health and wellness of Black women doctoral students and recent alumnae during their doctoral programs?Co-narrators (participants of the study) participated in two semi-structured interviews, each ranging from 60 to 90 minutes in length. Data collection also included co-narrators submitting memes or gifs that represented their mental health and wellness during their doctoral journey. There were several themes that emerged from the data. First, the visual data revealed that co-narrators experienced exhaustion, anguish, fluctuation between joy and stress, and the need to keep moving forward despite what was happening around them. The images submitted served as a visual representation for the overall experiences of the women in the study and enhanced the understanding of the factors that contributed to or interfered with the holistic mental health and wellness of Black women doctoral students (i.e., Research Question 2). The additional findings that emerged from study are as follows: (a) “Wellness for Your Whole Body:” Co-Narrators Definitions of Holistic Mental Health and Wellness; (b) Factors that Contributed to Holistic Wellness, including the subthemes “They Needed the Sisterhood:” The Importance of Community with Other Black Women, and “Finding Those Pockets:” Intentionally Choosing Wellness in the PhD Journey; (c) Positive and Negative Contributing Factors to Holistic Mental Health and Wellness, which included the subthemes “All Skin Folk Ain’t Kinfolk:” Interactions with Challenging Black Faculty and Administrators, and “My Advisor . . . Was Super Supportive:” How Relationships with Black Faculty and Non-Black Faculty and Administrators of Color Can Influence Wellness; (e) Detractors From Holistic Mental Health and Wellness, which included the subthemes “The PhD Program Is Good About . . .Letting You Know You Don’t Belong:” Impostorism and Lack of Belonging in the Academy and “What Is the Benefit of . . . Being Productive, If You’re Literally Killing Yourself?”: Negotiating Wellness to Finish the PhD. The study concluded with implications for practice and research, followed by a letter from the author directly addressing Black women doctoral students.Item “SCREAMING DOWN THE HALLWAY”, BUT NO ONE IS LISTENING TO ME: EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF BLACK RESIDENTIAL STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS REGARDING OCCUPATIONAL WELLNESS AT HISTORICALLY WHITE INSTITUTIONS(2023) Dissassa, Di-Tu; Moore, Candace M; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Amid ongoing occurrences of racism in the United States, consideration of the campus climate for Staff of Color remains under explored in literature. Specifically, Black student affairs employees who both live and work on campus are an understudied population regarding how race intersects with their residential life roles and how their wellness is impacted through these intersections. Through this study’s use of critical frameworks, the coresearchers and I sought to uncover their lived experiences through interviews, reflections, and focus groups. Four themes emerged from the findings of this research: (a) The Live-In Experience as Socialized and Conventional, (b) Belonging as Dualism, (c) Physical Safety as an Impediment to Occupational Wellness, and (d) Performativity as Racism. The coresearchers articulated that they were socialized into their experiences, yet (a) felt little belonging on campus due to their race and (b) felt a misfit when living in residence halls. Although the sense of belonging findings were consistent with existing campus climate research, articulated aspects of physical safety-related occupational health theories regarding occupational wellness suggested the coresearchers felt occupational distress surrounding their physical safety. The coresearchers also highlighted clearly that they experienced high levels of performative antiracism efforts from their departments and institutions, leading to feelings of isolation. Despite these challenges, the coresearchers described finding solace in community with other Black people and People of Color to provide aspects of wellness their institutions could not provide. Further research is needed to truly understand the implications of departmental and institutional leadership around performativity and lack of belonging for Staff of Color.Item THE ROLE OF SOCIAL DESIRABILITY IN STRUCTURED AND NARRATIVE SELF-REPORT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC(2023) Delehanty, Alexandria Travis; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research addressed the key question: Does social desirability operate as a validity confound by adding irrelevant variance to self-reports and narratives, or does it serve as a valuable source of information on how individuals choose to adapt. This study used three conceptualizations of social desirability (the Marlowe-Crowne need for approval, and impression management and self-deception from the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) and investigated their respective relations with self-reports of positive and negative paradigms (e.g. stress and coping, negative and positive affect). Each of these conceptualizations was also related to narrative-based locus of control and coping. The sample comprised 177 U.S. teachers who completed surveys during January-April 2021, in the beginning of the transition back to in-person learning from COVID. Results indicated that social desirability did not operate as a validity confound, and that it served as a valuable source of information of respondents’ personal values in how it influenced the relations among self-reports and coded narratives.Item Impacts of Identity Change on Trans and Disabled College Students(2023) Klager, Adam; Espino, Michelle M; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While many student development theories exist to understand how students grow in their understandings of their identities during their time in college, no theories exist to understand students who are experiencing a change in their social identities themselves. As previous research has indicated that identity change can be stressful and isolating, as well as an educational process, research is needed to understand how to best support students and understand the impacts of their identity changes. This study attempted to start filling this gap in the literature by using narrative inquiry and Abes et al.’s (2007) reconceptualization of the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity to understand the identity changes of undergraduate transgender students and students who acquired physical disabilities. The study’s findings revealed the impact that identity change can have on students’ need for community, personal relationships, social interactions, and holistic growth. These findings offered new perspectives on the experiences of trans and disabled college students, demonstrating the need for future research on these populations’ identities, as well as on students’ experiences of identity change overall.Item An Investigation of Factors that Influence Disability Self-Disclosure in Post-Secondary Students(2022) Sullivan, Kathryn E; Wang, Cixin; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)When students with disabilities transition to postsecondary school, they must self-disclose their disability to their institution to receive accommodations. Despite the positive educational outcomes associated with receiving accommodations, many students with disabilities who received accommodations in high school do not go on to self-disclose to receive accommodations in postsecondary school. This study investigated factors that facilitate attitudes towards and the behavior of disability self-disclosure by postsecondary students for accommodations, including quality of transition support, self-determination (self-realization and psychological empowerment), and disability identity. Undergraduate participants were recruited for a survey-based study via university listservs and were included in the study if they had previously received accommodations in high school via an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 plan, identified as having a nonapparent diagnosis, disability, or learning difference that impacted them educationally, and had attended college for at least one semester. Within the sample (n=285), 67.6% of the participants had registered with their college or university to receive accommodations. Surprisingly, almost half of the participants in this study (45.6%) did not identify as individuals with a disability despite being legally qualified as students with disabilities in high school. Regressions and path analyses were conducted to determine the factors that significantly predicted self-disclosure attitudes and behaviors (i.e., registering for accommodations). The results indicated that high-quality transition experiences in high school positively predicted attitudes towards requesting accommodations and registering for accommodations. Furthermore, a significant indirect effect was found between the quality of transition support and attitudes toward requesting accommodations via disability identity. Contrary to hypotheses, while quality of transition predicted self-determination factors, self-determination factors did not significantly predict self-disclosure attitudes or registering for accommodations. Further exploring quality of transition factors (i.e., school support, home support, and direct discussions about registering with disability services) as predictors, having direct discussions about registering was found to directly predict self-disclosure attitudes and behaviors. A significant indirect effect was also found between school support and attitudes towards requesting accommodations via disability identity. Results of this study highlight the importance of instilling a positive disability identity to drive the self-disclosure process, as well as having direct discussions with students about the processes and procedures for disability self-disclosure during postsecondary transition. Finally, recommendations for secondary and postsecondary institutions were provided for preparing students with disabilities to navigate postsecondary disability services, and further implications for practice and research were discussed.Item Relations Between Expressive Writing and Teachers' Affect and Predictors of Engagement with Expressive Writing During the COVID-19 Pandemic(2022) McCurdy, Kelsey Faith; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The physical and psychological health benefits associated with expressive writing (EW) have been extensively studied (Frattaroli, 2006; Frisina et al., 2004; review by Pennebaker, 2018; Smyth, 1998). Despite the depth of this research, two important questions remain why is EW beneficial and who chooses to engage in EW. This study addresses these two questions by using a mixed methods procedure, which includes teachers’ written products about significant teaching experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as their ratings of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) before and after writing, and their ratings of the impact of the event they wrote about. Narratives were coded for levels of meaning-making and self-regulation with acceptable reliability among four raters. Results showed an immediate small decrease in NA after writing (d=.30) and an immediate small to moderate increase in PA after writing (d=.38). Additionally, correlational analyses revealed that higher levels of narrative meaning-making were related to higher levels of pre-writing NA, but not changes in NA or PA. Conversely, higher levels of narrative self-regulation were not related to pre-writing affect, but were significantly related to adaptive changes in immediate post-writing affect (increase in PA and decrease in NA). Two logistic regression models, one predicting who completed the first expressive writing session and one predicting who volunteered to receive information about the next phase of the study (i.e., additional writing sessions) were not significant. However, a logistic regression predicting whether a participant completed a second writing prompt using change in affect and narrative quality as predictors was significant. Narrative self-regulation was the only significant predictor, such that higher self-regulation was related to an increase in the likelihood of completion of a second prompt. Overall, results suggest that meaning-making and self-regulation are related to different outcomes associated with participants’ affect, with self-regulation being associated not only with adaptive change in affect, but also with continuing to engage with EW.Item Investigating the Theoretical and Instructional Relations Between Theory of Mind and Reading Comprehension(2022) Kelly, Jerae; Cummings, Kelli D.; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research on Theory of Mind (ToM) and reading comprehension is a lively and active field with numerous publications a year. ToM describes a child’s ability to identify and reason about the mental states of others (e.g., think, believe, intend, want). The burgeoning findings from this research suggests ToM plays an important role in the reading comprehension outcomes of narrative texts, specifically through the linguistic comprehension domain of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) by supporting inference making. Despite the converging findings, however, the research field has yet to translate the research into practice. The purpose of the research in the present dissertation is to offer the Theory of Mind and reading comprehension research field a glimpse into how we can translate the research into practice and to recount the effects of my efforts. The overall aim of the present dissertation is to explain how ToM contributes to narrative reading comprehension as a skill of social inference making.The present dissertation is structured into five parts consisting of an introduction that outlines the dissertation and establishes the theoretical frame (Chapter 1), a synthesis of quantitative studies on the relation between ToM and reading comprehension (Chapter 2), a mixed method descriptive analysis of secondary data of preschool teachers’ interactive read alouds (Chapter 3, Study 1), an intervention study focused on using ToM to teach theme identification (Chapter 4, Study 2), and a conclusion (Chapter 5). The findings from the synthesis reveal a small and mediated relation via listening comprehension between ToM (almost solely measured using false-belief tasks) and reading comprehension and point to the explanatory power of second order and advanced ToM, specifically. Additionally, only one intervention study was included in the literature corpus for the synthesis. The findings from Study 1 suggest that preschool teachers use ToM language, defined as references to mental states, during their interaction read aloud instruction and that such use supports comprehension. The findings from Study 2 indicate that situating ToM, as a skill of social inference making during dialogic reading activities, combined with explicit instruction on theme identification is an effective method of increasing the narrative comprehension of less-skilled comprehenders. The results of the dissertation as a whole help clarify how ToM functions within the linguistic comprehension domain as a skill of social inference, making for narrative comprehension in conjunction with other known variables of reading comprehension. In sum, the present dissertation offers the ToM and reading comprehension research field an applied investigation of ToM. The present dissertation is the first of its kind in this endeavor. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.Item AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CO-TEACHING AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT(2022) Clancy, Erin; Wexler, Jade A; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Federal law mandates that students with disabilities (SWDs) receive specially designed instruction (SDI), which includes the adaptation of the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to meet SWDs’ unique needs, to ensure access to the general education curriculum (Rodgers et al., 2021; Ten Napel, 2017) within the least restrictive environment (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004). One common service delivery model for the many SWDs in the general setting education is co-teaching, wherein a content-area teacher (CAT) and a special education teacher (SET) share instructional responsibilities. The CAT and SET can use a variety of models (e.g., team teaching) to implement co-teaching. Although research showing the effectiveness of co-teaching for improving student achievement is limited (Clancy & Wexler, see Chapter 2; Murawski & Swanson, 2001), co-teaching has the potential to increase student engagement due to the defining features of certain co-teaching models that may benefit SWDs. Increasing student engagement is important as engagement is positively correlated with student outcomes, such as retaining information, graduating from high school, and pursuing postsecondary education (Finn, 1993).To better understand the extent to which different co-teaching models are implemented and which teacher (i.e., CAT or SET) leads instruction during the implementation of certain co-teaching models, it is necessary to extend previous research (e.g., Wexler et al., 2018). Additionally, given the importance of engagement and the potential relationship between co-teaching and engagement, it is necessary to explore whether specific co-teaching models are associated with higher levels of student engagement. Thus, there are two goals of the current dissertation. The first goal is to investigate the frequency of use of each co-teaching model and the extent to which each co-teacher leads instruction during the implementation of certain models. The second goal is to explore the relationship between each observed co-teaching model and student engagement. The current manuscript includes a statement of the problem, theoretical framework, literature synthesis, research questions, methodological approach, results, and discussion for the study. I provide this information sequentially over five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the problem the current dissertation seeks to address. This chapter provides an overview of current service delivery models for SWDs in the general education setting, including co-teaching, and includes extended descriptions of each of the six co-teaching models. Chapter 1 also provides an overview of the research on student engagement. The chapter closes by providing a statement of the problem and the theoretical framework. Chapter 2 of the dissertation presents a literature synthesis of experimental studies investigating the effect of co-teaching on student achievement. The purpose of the synthesis is to extend a previous synthesis (Murawski & Swanson, 2001) and provide updated knowledge on the impact co-teaching has on student outcomes. While co-teaching has been a commonly used service delivery model, information about its effectiveness is limited. This synthesis contributes a new understanding of co-teaching as more than 20 years have passed since Murawski and Swanson’s initial synthesis. In Chapter 3, I describe the methodological approach of the empirical study. I used archival observation data to determine which co-teaching models were used most often and which teacher led instructional delivery for specific models (i.e., one-teach-one observe, one teach-one assist, one teach-one monitor). I then investigated the relationships between student engagement and the observed co-teaching models. Chapter 4 provides the results of the empirical study. Results from the observation data showed that team teaching and one teach-one assist were the most relied upon co-teaching models. Additionally, the CAT typically led instruction during implementation of one teach-one assist and other independently driven models. Furthermore, there was a moderate significant relationship between engagement and the co-teaching models. Then, Chapter 5 contextualizes the findings within similar research and the theoretical framework. The findings of the first research question on observed co-teaching models align with similar recent research. The investigation into the relationship between co-teaching models and student engagement aligned with the theoretical framework. Specifically, student engagement was observed more frequently in models where both teachers drove instruction (i.e., alternative, station, and team teaching). In closing, I provide implications for practice as well as recommendations for additional research and present the conclusion.Item Interventions Targeting the Executive Function Skills of Young Children(2021) McCatharn, Jennifer Marie; Taboada Barber , Ana; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Interest in improving children’s executive function (EF) skills through interventions is increasing and several approaches have been tested (Takacs & Kassai, 2019). However, there is a need to further focus on specific populations of students, such as young students. The focus on young children (under age 7) in the synthesis and in the subsequent intervention studies is important as there is evidence that EF development has specific theoretical and empirical groundings to consider for this age group. Chapter 2 of this dissertation is a synthesis of mindfulness-based interventions targeting the EF skills of young children. The synthesis examines nine studies and provides in-depth descriptions of the interventions, ratings of the methodological rigor, and reports the effects of interventions. Chapter 3 reports the findings from a randomized control trial of two intervention approaches: mindfulness and social-emotional learning (SEL) conducted in small groups. Chapter 4 describes a second study which explores the effects of implementing a novel intervention (Mindfulness + SEL) to whole classrooms of students in kindergarten compared to a historical control group from the first study. Although the outcomes of most omnibus tests performed were non-significant in both studies, inspection of the effect sizes seemed to demonstrate a pattern of EF skill improvement favoring students in the intervention conditions over control group students. Both studies occurred in a public school in a typically under-resourced community, thus the findings are likely be relevant to schools with similar demographic profiles. This dissertation contributes to the field in the following ways: the synthesis provides a specific focus on EF skill development and interventions for children under age 7, Study 1 provides a comparison of two EF intervention approaches which have not been directly compared, and Study 2 provides preliminary data on the implementation of a combined, practitioner informed intervention. Both studies utilize an EF measure which has strong psychometric properties and matches the age appropriate construct of EF. The effects reported in both studies will likely contribute to future meta-analyses of EF interventions, as well as to the planning of future interventions. Areas for future research are discussed throughout the dissertation.