UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item An exploration of parent ivolvement in Response to Intervention (RTI) in Title I schools(2016) Burho, Jamey Farren; McLaughlin, Dr. Margaret; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research demonstrates that parental involvement positively impacts student achievement and enhances targeted instruction. Notably, however, little research currently exists on how schools involve parents in Response to Intervention (RTI), a framework for implementing targeted, tiered, research-based instruction. The purpose of this study was to interview selected parents, teachers, RTI specialists, and principals in three Title I elementary schools in one school district, plus one district-level administrator, in order to examine how elementary schools currently involve parents in RTI prereferral interventions, and to understand the factors that might facilitate or challenge such parent involvement. I employed a comparative case study qualitative design with each elementary school as the main unit of analysis. I conducted individual, in-depth interviews that lasted approximately 45-60 minutes with a total of 33 participants across the three school sites, including 11 parents, 12 teachers, and six RTI specialists, three principals, and one district-level administrator. I also analyzed documents related to RTI processes that are available through websites and participants. I used Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) three-step scheme for thematic/grounded theory analysis, and Atlas.ti as the electronic tool for management and analysis. Analyses of the data revealed that personnel across the sites largely agreed on how they explain RTI to parents and notify parents of student progress. Parents mostly disagreed with these accounts, stating instead that they learn about RTI and their child’s progress by approaching teachers or their own children with questions, or by examining report cards and student work that comes home. Personnel and parents cited various challenges for involving parents in RTI. However, they all also agreed that teachers are accessible and willing to reach out to parents, and that teachers already face considerable workloads. It appears that no district- or school-wide plan guides parent involvement practices in RTI at any of the three schools. Finally, I present a discussion of findings; implications for teachers, RTI implementation leaders, and Title school leaders; study limitations; and possibilities for future research.Item THE HOME LITERACY ENVIRONMENT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT: ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SOCIAL SKILLS OF CHILDREN IN IMMIGRANT FAMILIES(2012) MOON, UI JEONG; Hofferth, Sandra L; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The home literacy environment has been shown to be crucial to young children's academic achievement and social skills. This study examines the longitudinal effects of home-based literacy related activities on children's academic achievement test scores and social skills from kindergarten up to 5th grade. To conduct this study, data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), provided by the U.S. Department of Education, were utilized. Children with at least one immigrant parent were categorized according to their mother's country of origin: South America, Mexico, Caribbean/Central America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, other countries, and the U.S. (with a foreign-born father). Using a latent difference score model, parental involvement and reading activity at home were linked to children's academic achievement test scores and social skills at kindergarten, along with changes in scores between each time point. Results of analyses suggest that boys benefit more from parents' involvement at home than do girls. Both boys' and girls' independent reading appear to be strongly linked to developing strong reading and math skills. More parental involvement and their independent reading benefited boys' self-control and interpersonal skills, but it did not have that benefit for girls. In addition, there were substantial differences in the effects of parental involvement and children's reading activity on children depending on mother's country of origin. The reading and math score of children of East Asian and Southeast Asian mothers benefited from their independent reading activity, whereas the scores of children of Latin-origin mothers benefited from both parental involvement at home and reading activity. For children of Mexican and Caribbean/Central American descent, especially, parental involvement had a continuing significant effect on math and reading scores up to 5th grade. Similarly, compared to other immigrant groups, the social skills of Latin American-origin boys were influenced more by parental involvement at home, and those of Southeast Asian-origin boys were influenced more by reading time at home.