Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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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 give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
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Item Attending to Stories of High School Displacement: The Lived High School Experience of GED® College Graduates(2009) Snyder, Mary Grace Catherine; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry is called by the question, "What is the lived high school experience of GED college graduates?" GED college graduates are people who have dropped out of high school, used the GED Tests to earn their jurisdiction's high school diploma, then graduated from a four-year institution. If these individuals have the intellectual acumen and personal commitment to earn a bachelor's degree, then why did they drop out of high school? Conversations with seven GED college graduates uncover the displacement that drove them out of a traditional high school program. The hermeneutic phenomenological methodology is grounded in the philosophical work of Heidegger, especially as developed by Merleau-Ponty and Levinas, which elicits an awareness of our embodied being's struggle to embrace Being and the moral necessity of responding to that presence. Van Manen's work guides the "doing" of this philosophy as human science research in education. The stories of the lived high school experiences of the seven GED college graduates reveal the disquiet of their displacement. They each felt that they did not fit the mold that high school wanted: they felt they were different, outcasts, not part of the "in crowd." They felt the inequitable treatment and bodily discomfort caused by this difference. They report only a nominal, caring presence at school, and this disregard further alienated them. School was disappointed in their lack of commitment and enthusiasm for traditional coursework, and the students, in turn, were disappointed that school cared so little for their needs. Dropping out protected them from the pain of further displacement. Attending to these stories of displacement may help educators imagine a different way of creating high school. Smaller high schools might make each student a more significant part of the student body, better known to teachers, and more likely to feel implaced. Additionally, alternate programs might allow students to deviate from the traditional K-12 timeline into work experiences, to follow compelling interests, or to gather into community around similar questions about their world. Teacher preparation programs that offer multiple visions for high school could be instrumental in making such change a reality.Item Teacher Knowledge: An Ideal Typology(2009) Michaloski, Gordon Anthony; Valli, Linda; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: TEACHER KNOWLEDGE: AN IDEAL TYPOLOGY Gordon Anthony Michaloski, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Dissertation directed by: Professor Linda Valli, Department of Curriculum and Instruction This collective case study examined the possible roles for received knowledge and classroom experience in the formation of an ideal typology for teacher knowledge. The problematic nature of teacher knowledge development was examined with regard to behavioral, psychological, and social influences. Theoretical underpinnings drew principally from schema theory and formative theory about the nature and development of teacher knowledge. The compatibility of tacit and codified knowledge about teaching was a key concern. Special attention was given to examining how teachers integrate received knowledge with classroom experience and the frequently reported discord between the two. Other issues addressed included teacher compliance and the effectiveness of teacher preparation. An initial conceptual framework founded upon possible roles for received knowledge and classroom experience was expanded into an ideal topology for teacher knowledge when combined with a concern for personal versus collaborative processes. Data suggested four ideal types: a) personal-experiential, b) personal-received, c) collaborative-experiential, and d) collaborative-received. The qualitative research design involved open-ended questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and lesson plan documents from 14 classroom teachers in the mid-Atlantic region. Participants were chosen from public and private schools, and were diverse in ethnicity, gender, years of experience, teacher preparation, and grade levels taught. The purpose of the study was twofold: a) to arrive at a better understanding of the relationship between received knowledge and classroom experience in the formation of knowledge about teaching, and b) to contribute toward general theory on teacher knowledge and its development. The study is significant in that a better understanding of how teachers integrate classroom experience with received knowledge may contribute to a more workable model for teacher knowledge development and thereby contribute toward more effective planning of teacher education, professional development, and graduate level coursework.Item Political Liberalism, Religion, and the Prophetic Tradition(2007-06-28) Pegram, Jeffrey; Strike, Kenneth A.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Of late a literature has developed with a more negative view of the role of religion in promoting citizenship. This literature reflects three main themes. First, concern about the spillover of illiberal values into public life due to socialization infused with patriarchy. Second, a concern for individual autonomy due to uncritical adherence to inherited beliefs and minimal exposure to a broad range of alternative views. Third, a concern for the cultivation of democratic values due to a kind of radical sectarianism that places them at risk. Arguments that advance these themes have focused on religious groups that are fundamentalist and isolationist. While most authors note that not all religious groups are like this, the overall effect of this literature has been to permit fundamentalist and isolationist groups to stand for religion generally via assumptions that they differ from other groups merely in being more extreme and via the failure to consider the educational implications of alternative religious orientations. In this dissertation I argue the following claims regarding this negative view of the civic importance of religion: 1) it does not provide a convincing account of the relationship between private associations and civic virtue; 2) it ignores the broad acceptance of "free faith" by most religions (a commitment related to autonomy); 3) it ignores religious traditions that emphasize civic responsibility, tolerance and social justice as articles of faith (commitments related to democratic character and democratic governance). This dissertation explores a religious orientation whose educational implications for civic virtue differ quite significantly from isolationists and fundamentalists: the prophetic Christian tradition. I assert that the strand of faith encountered within the prophetic tradition necessarily implicates involvement within the political dimension of life in all its aspects - cultural, economic, and governmental; and that it sustains a vision of citizenship that constitutes a religious vocation for believers qua citizens that is broadly compatible with and supportive of central liberal democratic values - namely reciprocity, mutual respect, tolerance, and justice.Item Building Foundations: The Phenomenological Experience of Doing Academic Advising(2007-05-09) Nadler, Paula F.; Hultgren, Francine; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This phenomenological study examines the advising experiences of six academic advisors at a large state university, including those of the author. By engaging in the phenomenological method of inquiry, the author explores the nature of doing academic advising with college students. The writings of two philosophers--Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer--provide insight into the existential aspects of phenomenology and lived human experience. The writings of Edward S. Casey and the guidance of Max van Manen help to further illuminate the nature of human science research, providing an essential grounding for this exploration. The engagement with other advisors through narratives and anecdotes, written reflections, and individual and group conversations, provided insight into their lived experiences. These conversations helped unearth the underlying pedagogical turning toward an-other, the foundation of the relationship between advisor and student. This phenomenological study engaged the metaphor of building a house by examining the academic and personal "building" between advisors and students throughout a student's college experience, and within the context of each advising session. The exploration of this metaphor deepens the understanding of the relationship between advisor and student in the lived experience of doing academic advising. At its core, academic advising centers on the relationship between advisor and advisee, and understanding the pedagogical nature of the turning toward an "other" is critical to the creation of that relationship. Recommendations for the profession emphasize the continued personal engagement with "other" over the creation and implementation of procedures aimed at expediency. The experience of "doing" academic advising must focus on the human nature of the relationship, re-minding us of our connection to our students. Individual advisors should also continue to engage with one another through professional development opportunities, and seek out the advising experiences of others to help them develop their own approaches and to round out their own understandings of the dynamic nature of the advising relationship. Ultimately, we must allow each student to guide us in our understandings of the nature of this phenomenon since it is through their eyes, words, and experiences that we find our calling displayed.Item Dwelling in a Pedagogy of In-Between: A Phenomenological Study of Teachers of Writing(2007-04-29) De La Ysla, Linda S; Hultgren, Francine; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This phenomenological study explores "in-between" as a pedagogic site in the teaching of writing at two large public universities. The writings of Ted Aoki, Edward Casey, Elizabeth Ellsworth, Hans Georg Gadamer, Martin Heidegger, and Max van Manen orient the study philosophically and methodologically. The notion of in-between is grounded in the author's life experiences, and is metaphorically suggested by her knowledge of scuba diving. Six teachers of writing, who are also writers, are engaged in individual and group conversations to bring forward the lived dimensions of their pedagogy as teachers of writing. The rendering of audio taped conversations suggests themes of a paradoxical nature that might yield insights into the teaching of writing: knowing and not knowing whether one's teaching makes a difference for student writers; comfortable to be uncomfortable as it relates to the creation of a classroom atmosphere where writers are willing to take risks; as teachers, taking attendance and being in attendance of student rosters, both seen and unseen; process under pressure as a pedagogical dimension where writing detours and bewilderment coexist with personal and institutional resistance; the sustenance of response, including a revisioning of judgment and the virtue of failing together; successful risk and other blessings for writing teachers who are at once avenging angels and sympathetic souls; and the pleasures of paradox: dwelling in the I-You relationship, nurturing the presence of the absence, and loving one's work in all its imbalances. Dwelling in the tensions suggested by these themes has the possibility of moving teachers of writing toward acceptance and exploration of their pedagogic identity. Furthermore, writing teachers who articulate and value the centering power of both/and are more attuned to coach students in becoming stronger, and more courageous, writers. A pedagogy of "equilibrium in motion" has the potential to re-vision teacher preparation--as well as curriculum in university writing classrooms.Item The Making of a Prison Teacher: A Phenomenological Journey Through Lived Experiences of Correctional Educators(2005-05-13) Sayko, Edit Árvay; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: THE MAKING OF A PRISON TEACHER: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL JOURNEY THROUGH LIVED EXPERIENCES OF CORRECTIONAL EDUCATORS Edit Árvay Sayko, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation directed by: Professor Francine H. Hultgren Department of Education policy and Leadership University of Maryland, College Park Despite powerful evidence that educational attainment by incarcerated learners significantly lower the rate of recidivism, correctional educators do not enjoy high professional status and prestige. Prison teachers are forgotten professionals, whose mission and praxis are shrouded in the same public misunderstanding, mis-information and prejudice, that surround all aspects of the criminal justice system. In this work I embark on a quest to bring into proximity concealed meanings found in the lived experiences of prison teachers. The stories and reflections of five colleagues, woven together with the researcher's personal experiences during two decades of teaching in prison, reveal powerful images. Sieved through the methodology of hermeneutic phenomenology, viewed through the lenses of philosophy, literature, or art, these images reveal significant themes that inform of the life-world of prison teachers. The research illuminates this phenomenon through the pervasive theme of dichotomy, a constant light-and-dark battle of opposing forces of punishment and rehabilitation. Themes of personal corporeal discomfort, the confusing spiderweb of time-perception, dwelling in an hostile environment, ambiguity regarding prison teachers' professional identity, open up the phenomenon and remove the shroud to un-conceal meanings in prison teachers life. Perhaps the most significant theme emerging from this research is the prison teachers' overarching commitment to their captive students, their disponibilitè, and their one-caring presence. The guiding force of this work is a simple question: What is it like to be a prison teacher? The research offers some answers that illuminate the phenomenon with a small but significant light. This light nurtures the hope that these answers will help illuminate public opinion, correct mis-information, eradicate prejudice and generate wide-spread, robust support for correctional education, whose "mission is one of the highest to which humans can aspire" (Gehring, 2002, p. 89).Item Philosophical Arguments of Membership: The Case of Undocumented Immigrants and Financial Aid for Postsecondary Education(2004-04-30) Perry, Andre Montel; Strike, Kenneth A.; Education Policy, and LeadershipSeveral conceptualizations of membership exist within different proposed policies that limit or expand educational benefits to undocumented students. Two policies in particular, Plyler and IIRIRA, offer juxtaposing moral positions on who should be eligible for instate tuition benefits. Consequently, there are different ideas about what type of membership status (i.e. citizens, residents) should receive financial aid. The primary goal of this study seeks to identify stakeholders' basic beliefs around membership, which can be considered in moral and ethical arguments of whether to allocate undocumented immigrants instate tuition benefits. If we can agree that a political community is generally obligated to distribute resources to its members or that members are inherently obligated to one another, then a framework that captures our expectations for membership can be helpful. The study responds to the primary research question, should undocumented immigrants receive financial aid? However, the thesis endeavors to achieve this goal by pursuing a conception and framework of membership. The study aims to answer the sub-question, what does it mean to be a member of society? Methodologically, the thesis uses Rawls ideas of formulating a conception. The study organizes and collects empirical evidence from stakeholders involved in Texas House Bill 1403, legislation that grants instate tuition to undocumented immigrants, to help me conceptualize membership. To acquire stakeholders' rational beliefs of membership, the study employs case study techniques including semistructured interviewing, document analysis, and literature review. The study found that the principles of residency, social awareness, reciprocation, investment, identification, patriotism, destiny, and law abidingness form a philosophical framework of membership that explains what it means to be a member of a political community/nation-state (substantive membership). I argue those undocumented immigrants who have developed into substantive members as defined by its eight principles should receive financial aid.Item When Culture and Education Meet: An Ethnographic Investigation of an Africentric Private School(2003-11-20) Shockley, Kmt Gerald; Mawhinney, Hanne B; Lomotey, Kofi; Education Policy, and LeadershipBlack children living in the urban cities of America largely depend on public schools for an education. However, public schools face the lingering problem of not addressing the cultural needs of Black children and communities. There is a mismatch between Black cultures and that which public schools offer, expect and are willing to incorporate. Many teachers and administrators have been unable to incorporate successful strategies for addressing the mismatch between the larger culture and Black cultures. Much of the existing literature fails to provide strategies that consistently produce positive cultural and educational outcomes for Black children. One approach to addressing the educational and cultural mismatch problems for Blacks that is becoming more popular is the institutionalization of African-centered education. I have examined Africentric education as a means for addressing educational and socio-cultural challenges in Black communities by addressing questions of Africentric values transmission, nationbuilding, and agency within one popular Africentric private school in Washington, DC. The design of this research called for active inquiry through structured and unstructured interviews, direct observation of Africentric education in action, and participation in extracurricular activities such as African cultural experiences and travel to cultural arenas such as shrines and African villages. Data were compiled as a result of more than two hundred hours of observations at the school and other relevant events. In the findings I discuss the setting, staff, foundation, history, affiliations, aesthetics, and cultural offerings of the school. I investigate un-chartered territory by delving into the central propositions made by Africentric educationists; I view Africentric education through the lens of Africentric educationists themselves. I also participated in cultural system activities such as rituals and a host of other exercises to ensure fully competent understanding of the Africentric endeavor. The findings include an emphasis on cultural adoption/reattachment, rather than mainstream notions of academic achievement, to create qualitatively different people of African descent via the vehicle of education. Reattachment to African cultural frameworks involves the deliberate process of exposing Black children to the imperatives of Africentric education, which are discussed in the Literature Review section. The imperatives lead toward the major objective of nationbuilding.