Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757
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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 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 Elementary Teachers' Grading Practices: Does the Reality Reflect the Rubric?(2011) Shanahan, Katherine Bruckman; Gottfredson, Gary D; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Report cards are the primary way that teachers, students, and parents communicate about student achievement in the classroom. Although many school districts develop rubrics to guide teacher grading practices, most research finds that in reality, grades represent a hodgepodge of factors that vary across teachers and across school systems. The current study investigates student factors that explain variance in elementary report card grades in a suburban school district. The sample includes 4th and 5th grade students (N = 8,555) and their classroom teachers (N = 374) from 45 schools. Multilevel structural equation models, with students nested within classrooms, tested two models describing variance in report card grades. One model included the factors listed on the school system grading rubric along with additional factors thought to be related to grades (non-rubric model). An alternative, nested, model included only the factors from the grading rubric (rubric model). Results suggested that the non-rubric model provided a better fit for the data, but effects for the additional non-rubric factors were uniformly small.Item EFFECTS OF A CO-TEACHING TEAMING PROGRAM ON THE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES OF HIGH SCHOOL GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS(2011) Bond, Stephen Phillip Gorton; Burke, Philip J; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Co-teaching is widely used as an option in the delivery of special education services to students with disabilities in accordance with their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Students with learning disabilities frequently struggle in learning specific content areas, a factor representing a significant challenge to providing instruction in the least restrictive environment. Co-teaching is an option that serves to foster an instructional environment in the general education classroom that is inclusive and supportive of students with disabilities and those who require specialized assistance. It holds the potential to effectively combine the talents and skills of both the general and special education teacher, thus maximizing their ability to effectively teach students who present the most significant instructional challenges. The purpose of this study was to study the effects of a co-teaching program on the instructional practices of six high school teachers assigned to co-teach. A multiple probe design targeting the teaming behaviors across three dyads of teachers was used. The participating teachers were trained using the Teaming Instructional Procedures Program developed by the author and based on the teaming approach as outlined in Friend (2007). The classes were digitally audio recorded during baseline, intervention, and maintenance conditions. The recordings were analyzed using time-sampling and a teaming behavior checklist to determine the occurrence of teaming behaviors by the special education teacher. The Teaming Instructional Procedures Program positively impacted the teaming behaviors of the special educators. The occurrence of teaming behaviors increased for each dyad, with increases being sustained during maintenance probes. The educators found the training program useful and user friendly and indicated they would recommend the training to other co-teachers. Most teachers found the co-teaching teaming approach useful, if not ideal for every situation and reported improvements in student engagement and performance, with no reports of detrimental effects. Responses from students confirmed the majority enjoyed having two teachers in the room, and they believed their engagement and performance benefited from the situation. The Teaming Instructional Procedures Program proved to be a socially valid means of training teachers to employ a specific co-teaching approach. The results of this study provide evidence to justify the allocation of time and resources to the formal training of teachers entering a co-teaching situation and the need for the development of a more comprehensive training program addressing more approaches to co-teaching.