Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item UNCOVERING THE SILENCES: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AT A LARGE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN INDIA(2024) Saini, Ruchi; Klees, Steven Professor; Zaharia, Zeena Associate Professor; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Gender-based violence in universities is a complex and persistent problem that is under-reported and under-researched across the globe. Despite scholarly, advocacy-based, and policy consensus around the need to provide safe learning environments to college students, in-depth qualitative evidence about GBV in universities exists in an amorphous form, particularly when it comes to India. My dissertation is a narrative inquiry that employs an intersectional feminist framework to address this research gap. It draws on two years of field study involving focus group discussions with women bystanders (n=50), and art-based narrative interviews with self-identified victim-survivors (n=10) of GBV at a large public university in India, henceforth called the Indian University. Study I, “What do we know about gender-based violence in formal education institutions in India? A scoping study” is a scoping review that maps the key themes and synthesizes the policy/prevention recommendation within existing empirical qualitative literature on GBV in formal educational institutions in India. Findings show the critical role played by intergenerational hierarchies, gendered sociocultural norms linked to masculinity and femininity, conservatism within families, and intersections of caste and class with gender in shaping both the actions of perpetrators and the experiences of victim-survivors. The findings demonstrate the need for scholars and policymakers to go beyond theoretical conceptualizations of GBV that exclusively focus on interpersonal manifestations of abuse to also include within it structural and cultural manifestations of violence. Study II, “Manifestations of Gender-Based Violence at a Large Public University in India: Voices of Women Students from India” investigates the diverse manifestations of GBV at the Indian University. In the study, I employ the frameworks of the continuum of violence (Kelly, 1988) and structural/cultural violence (Galtung, 1986) to show how students experience a range of abusive behaviors within interpersonal relationships, public spaces, and inside classrooms. Based on the findings, I assert the need for scholars and policymakers to adopt a model of “continuum thinking” that acknowledges and address the “grey areas” of student’s experiences with GBV. I also theorize how specific institutional characteristics, such as the omission of mental health services for queer students, encompass a form of structural violence because it exacerbates the harm suffered by those already marginalized, thereby translating into unequal life opportunities for them. Study III, “How Universities Shape Students’ Experiences with Gender-Based Violence in India: An Intersectional Decolonial Narrative Inquiry” adds to the growing conversation about how universities’ structural and cultural characteristics shape students’ experiences with GBV. In the study, I employ the theoretical framework of “institutional betrayal” (Smith & Freyd, 2014), and foreground the perspectives of bystanders and victim-survivors of GBV at the Indian University. Findings reveal that cultural aspects linked to high-power distance (Hofstede, 1985), the influence of Hindutva politics on the campus, and the prevalence of a chalta hai (literal translation: “anything goes”) attitude sustained GBV on the campus. At the structural level, the findings illuminate that the hiring practices linked to the employment of ad-hoc professors, along with the lack of formal guidelines around the establishment of student-led societies and the tokenistic nature of GBV prevention and redressal services sustained GBV. Study IV, “A Creative and Art-Based Approach to Narrative Inquiry: Decolonizing Gender-Based Violence” explicates how I employed creative and art-based methods in tandem with narrative inquiry in my research to foster a decolonial ethics of care geared towards minimizing participant harm, fostering participant agency, and facilitating co-construction of knowledge. In the study, I make use of participant testimonies and my own observations to demonstrate how the use of vignettes in the FGDs, and art-based research in narrative interviews helped prevent re-traumatization of my participants, facilitated a deeper exploration of the hidden power structures, and supported creative avenues for the dissemination of findings. I end the dissertation by highlighting six key lessons derived from these studies. These lessons focus on the need to 1) identify and name those unspoken and unheard-of forms of GBV that are often shrouded in secrecy, 2) recognize and address the stunning adaptability of GBV 3) prioritize primary prevention strategies, 4) diversify and strengthen secondary and tertiary interventions, 5) disrupt generational and workplace hierarchies, and 6) hold institutions accountable without ignoring individual complicity.Item PARENTS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: WHAT THEY KNOW, WHAT THEY THINK THEY KNOW, AND WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PROCESS(2024) Kim, Julianna; Wexler, Jade; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Parents of students with disabilities play a vital role in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning process. Research has shown that parents’ engagement and advocacy could benefit students’ services. In order for more effective advocacy, parents must know their special education rights and process. Therefore, this dissertation study explored parent’s knowledge and understanding of special education rights and process.Chapter 2 is a research synthesis of how studies have quantifiably measured parents’ knowledge and understanding. Chapter 3 is a mixed-method design study that explores whether parents’ perceived knowledge and actual knowledge are different constructs through a nationwide survey. The second section of the mixed method study is qualitative design through focus groups, and the purpose of the focus groups was to explore what information parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds desire to find and how that information should be presented. The findings from the focus groups were used to write a policy paper in Chapter 4. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes the findings and shares limitations and implications.Item EXPLORING THE ROLE OF PRINCIPALS AND BIAS IN DISPROPORTIONATE SUSPENSIONS OF BLACK BOYS(2024) Scales, Tangela Contessa; Shetley, Pamela; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examines the decision-making processes of principals regarding out-of-school suspension of Black boys. Employing a mixed-method approach integrating survey questions and interviews, it delves into the multifaceted layers influencing disciplinary decisions in educational settings. A primary objective is to investigate the potential impact of implicit biases, training, and lived experiences on principals' suspension decision-making. This research sheds light on the underlying factors shaping educational leaders' disciplinary actions through a nuanced exploration of their perspectives and practices. It aims to contribute to more equitable disciplinary policies and practices in schools. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, misbehavior, discipline issues, and suspensions have surged in schools, with 87% of public schools reporting negative impacts on students' socio-emotional development and 84% on behavioral development during the 2021–22 school year. These issues, highlighted by increased classroom disruptions and disrespect towards staff, underscore the need for comprehensive social, emotional, and behavioral support, as NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr emphasized. The mixed-methods study found a correlation between disproportionality in disciplinary actions to lower academic achievement and a negative impact on student attendance. Implementing restorative practices was positively associated with student well-being, while alternative discipline approaches showed promise in reducing suspension rates without compromising safety. These findings underscore the importance of holistic disciplinary approaches for fostering equitable, supportive school environments conducive to student success. The findings also underscore the prevalence of disproportionate suspensions of Black boys as a result of principal disciplinary decision-making for a select group of principals in an identified school district. The results from this study illustrate that principals' decision-making for the select sample group of principals in the study is influenced by a combination of implicit biases and professional experiences, emphasizing their pivotal role in disciplinary actions. The results of this study help provide insight into the significance of restorative practices and cultural competency training in mitigating disproportionate suspension. This study explores the interplay between lived experience, training, institutional policies, and sociocultural influences, illuminating the complexities of disciplinary practices in educational settings.Item In Pursuit of a Nonpublic Special Education Placement(2024) Healy, Charlotte Eileen; Scribner, Campbell F; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Although the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) intends parents to be equal members of the team that makes their child's Individual Education Plan (IEP), parents face barriers to participation, particularly exclusionary procedures, school structures, professional behaviors, and racial and cultural biases. Little wonder that some seek placements outside the public school system. However, IDEA also mandates that students receive services in the “least restrictive environment,” which means alongside peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. This dissertation is an exploratory, qualitative study of parents who pursue publicly funded special education placements in nonpublic institutions for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This research documents parents’ reasons, perceptions, and experiences when seeking a nonpublic placement, as well as their strategies and challenges. The questions, and my interpretation of responses, are informed by Pierre Bourdieu’s (1985) socio-cultural capital theory, as well as Audrey A. Trainor’s (2010a, 2010b) descriptions of social and cultural capital use when advocating for children with disabilities. This study found parents of children with ASD sought nonpublic placement only when significant issues arose in their child’s public school, particularly around their child’s safety or lack of meaningful improvement, and only after their efforts to resolve these issues failed and their distrust of school and district personnel grew. No longer focused on coming to a consensus or compromise with their child’s IEP team, parents began an advocacy process that involved: a) consulting or retaining professional representation (attorneys, professional advocates, and/or educational consultants); b) building and presenting the argument that the school district was and could not providing a free and appropriate public education (FAPE); c) securing a placement in a nonpublic school.Item Race, Space, and Equity: How Local Youth, Longtime Resident Parents, and Local Policymakers Perceive and Experience School Gentrification(2024) Quarles, Bradley; Galindo, Claudia; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Public education has become increasingly entwined with gentrification, which involves the transformation of historically underinvested, predominantly minority neighborhoods for middle- and upper-income residential and commercial use. This phenomenon is supported by neoliberal reforms that marketize urban schools, with some policymakers and reformers assuming that these practices will attract parent gentrifiers, who will drive urban school transformation. However, this reform agenda rests on an uneven literature base that primarily highlights the perspectives of parent gentrifiers. This three-paper dissertation applies critical racial and spatial perspectives to three complementary qualitative investigations in Washington, D.C., a critical site of gentrification and market-based education reforms, to deepen our understanding of the relationship between gentrification and educational equity and amplify voices underrepresented in the existing literature. Study 1, “‘It Feels Like the City Pushed Us Aside’: Mapping Local Youths’ Experiences of Gentrification and Education in Washington, D.C.,” draws on data derived from participatory mapping activities and focus groups involving 23 Black and 7 Latinx public high school students. It explores how these young people depict and utilize space, perceive gentrification’s educational and environmental impacts, and construct narratives of belonging and justice in a gentrified city. The analysis delves into how racism, spatial disparities, and various forms of oppression mold the landscapes encountered by local youths, shaping the narratives they construct about themselves and their surroundings. The findings highlight their complex understanding of gentrification as a source of both opportunities and challenges, with many conveying that city leaders view them as disposable. Through their words and maps, a counter-narrative emerges to essentializing discourses that undermine the agency and capacity of local youth to propose policy solutions for improving neighborhood and school dynamics central to their lives. Study 2, “‘A Prisoner’s Dilemma: How Longtime Resident Black Parents Navigate School Choice, Gentrification, and Antiblackness,” uses retrospective interviews with 19 longtime resident Black parents with deep ties to the community that predate revitalization. It investigates how the intertwined dynamics of race, place, and power influence their experiences of gentrification and decision-making. The findings illuminate the tension between neoliberal school choice policies that assume all families operate in a minimally restrictive marketplace and the racial hostility and spatial disparities constraining Black parents’ agency within a gentrified school choice landscape. Instead of empowering families and compelling schools to be more responsive, the study reveals that for many longtime resident parents, school choice bred precarity, offering them “a chance, not a choice,” at securing academically rigorous and culturally affirming educational opportunities. Study 3, “Local Policymakers Sensemaking on Gentrification and Education: Working Towards Equity Across a Contested Landscape,” examines how 21 elected officials and education administrators responsible for citywide education reforms process the multiple messages and sources of influence concerning the competing interests of longtime resident families and parent gentrifiers. The study explores how local policymakers conceptualize whether gentrification enables or constrains educational opportunities throughout Washington, D.C., emphasizing its impact on longtime resident families. Additionally, it investigates how local policymakers’ conceptions of race, space, and equity shape their sensemaking of gentrification. The findings challenge simplistic portrayals of all local policymakers as advocates for gentrification catering to parent gentrifiers. Instead, participants voiced a deep commitment to advancing transformative and adequacy notions of equity and centering marginalized families in their decision-making. Transformative policymakers aimed to disrupt racially spatialized disparities, whiteness, and entrenched power dynamics, while adequacy policymakers sought to address inequities within the city’s existing policy frameworks. The findings provide insights for urban policy agendas that prioritize the needs of longtime resident families and other racially minoritized, historically disenfranchised communities.Item CULTURE WARS AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE GATE: SCHOOL BOARD DECISION MAKING & STUDENTS’ SPEECH RIGHTS(2024) Callahan, Pamela Catherine; Scribner, Campbell F; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)School boards occupy a unique space in the fabric of American governance. School board members are often called upon to make decisions about how the values of a community are reflected in its schools, their classrooms, and even the school district’s library collection. These decisions are far from inconsequential. School board members serve as a link between federal case law and the ways students in the district will experience their First Amendment rights to free speech and expression. School boards have been in the spotlight regarding the retention and/or removal of challenged school library books (Natanson, 2020). One of the most frequent reasons for book challenges has been the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+) characters and themes in library books (American Library Association, 2023). After studying culture war conflicts, Hunter (1991), Zimmerman (2002), and Harman (2019) posit that the bounds of pluralistic living, such as whether to include or exclude educational materials with LGBTQIA+ characters, are never settled for good. Instead, culture war-related conflicts will follow a cycle of conflict and peace. When the issue of library book challenges resurfaces, school boards must decide how to respond. Although school boards are often tasked with making difficult decisions related to the speech and expression rights of public-school students and culture war issues such as religion in schools (Ross, 1994) and the inclusion of intelligent design (Superfine, 2009); they are also responsible for ensuring that the constitutional rights of public-school students are protected. Where, if at all, might a school board member turn for guidance on these persistent challenges? For legal guidance, they might consider turning to the Supreme Court of the United States. In Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982), the Supreme Court ruled that the removal of school library books was enmeshed with the First Amendment rights of public school students. As such, Justice William Brennan argued in the plurality opinion, that school board members must avoid removing library books due to a disagreement with the ideas in the book or because of one’s motivation to remove the book for political or partisan reasons (Driver, 2018). Do board members heed this guidance and if so the degree to which school boards use the decision in Pico (1982) when making decisions about challenged library books is an open empirical question and the focus of this study. This dissertation study uses case study methodology to examine the influence of Pico (1982) on one district school board’s decision-making process during two different library book challenges in the same suburban public school district in Virginia (Yin, 2014). The first case study centers on the 2008 challenge to the book And Tango Makes Three and the second case study centers on the 2019 challenge to the book My Princess Boy. Both And Tango Makes Three and My Princess Boy were challenged by members of the school community due to LGBTQIA+ characters. Each case study offers insights into an important but little-studied phenomenon of school board decision-making, which has consequences for understanding how school boards conceptualize and balance the rights of public school students during culture war-related conflicts. The findings for each case study indicate that Pico (1982) was not a factor of influence in school board decision-making in the cases examined. This finding has implications for how the First Amendment rights of public school students are protected during library book challenges. Despite the lack of influence of Pico (1982) on board member deliberation and decision-making, each case study does offer insight into the ways that school board members engaged in the decision-making process following a book challenge as well as the way the guidance in Pico (1982) does not align to the process used by each school board. Taken together, these case studies highlight the internal processes school boards use when making book challenge decisions, the complicated legal role of school board members, areas of misalignment between the law as written and the law in practice, and how district policy is used by school board members during a culture war-related conflict.Item UNDERSTANDING POLICY ENACTMENT IN DIVERSE INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXTS: AN EXPLORATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM POLICY IN PAKISTAN(2023) Ali, Fatimah; Klees, Steven J; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Education reform is a contested and complicated terrain where multiple stakeholders with competing visions seek to influence the direction of reform in alignment with their own interests. As a result of these competing visions, education policy is not value free or neutral and favors those who hold the political and economic power to maintain the inertia of the status quo. Despite this unequal balance, education reform remains a dialectic process which is affected by several factors including contexts, resources, accountability processes and the agency of those tasked with policy implementation. Since policy is rarely implemented without some refraction from its original formulation, it is important to examine the implementation process to understand its complexities that can aid in better policymaking by decisionmakers. This multi-case qualitative study examines the implementation of the Single National Curriculum (SNC) Policy introduced during the 2021-2022 academic year in Punjab, Pakistan in primary schools (grade 1-5). Using an institutional lens, this study investigates how public and private schools interpreted the Single National Curriculum Policy and implemented it in classrooms. To highlight the complexity of policy implementation and provide a variegated and nuanced view of policy implementation within different institutional and social contexts, the study was conducted in a public school, a low-cost private school, and a high-cost private school in the cities of Lahore and Kamalia. In total, 22 teachers and administrators across the three schools were interviewed for this research. This study found that the alignment of belief systems, the institutional arrangements of schools and perceived costs of deviation all influenced how closely the SNC curriculum was implemented in each school. Schools interpreted the policy in light of mediating factors which included institutional factors such as the learning environment, capacity and agency of the teachers and administrators as well as their hierarchies and support systems. Adherence to policy was also dependent on the perceived risk of being inspected by government officials and monitoring frameworks established to assess policy implementation. Lastly, in all three schools, administrators and teachers adhered to a spectrum of beliefs that were in alignment with or opposed to the SNC policy. These governed how closely the SNC was implemented in classrooms and or if corrective pressure was applied to maintain their desired student outcomes. As a result of this variation, gaps in student learning remained intact as the new policy did not address the roots of quality differences across schools. However, the government was able to successfully coerce all schools into incorporating more religious instruction and nationalistic citizenship education leading to more tight coupling between the schools on this front.Item NAVIGATING INEQUITABLE SCHOOL ACCESS: PARENT-NGO COLLABORATION IN NEW ORLEANS AND THE PROSPECTS FOR SCHOOL CHOICE ASSISTANCE(2023) Saltmarsh, Jason; Scribner, Campbell F; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study aims to clarify the kinds of information and assistance parents seek and NGO advisors, or “Navigators,” provide in relationships designed to offer school selection support to low-income families in large urban districts. I seek to understand whether NGOs may be able to offer an important bridge between two kinds of social capital: the informal forms of trust and legitimacy that families rely on and the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to access higher-quality schools in choice policy contexts. This analysis used an exploratory case study, including 13 in-depth interviews with Navigators and parents and informal conversations with others who are familiar with the NGO. This particular NGO operates in New Orleans, LA and primarily serves Black and Latinx and low-income families who, studies report, may face additional time, labor, and resource-related barriers in navigating PK-12 school decisions compared to their White and middle-class counterparts. These data were complemented by documentary analysis, including internal reports, IRS filings, and employee blog and social media posts. Study findings provide empirical insights about the perceptions and agency of Navigators and this NGO’s unique insider-outsider status. Analysis indicates that effective Navigators “see” schools differently than most parents and district personnel – namely through a lens that combines professional and personal experience, school inspections, organizational network ties, and cultural similarities with the families they serve. As an “ally and advocate” for families, Navigators attempt to share their judgment about schools, personalize information, and provide 1:1 assistance in ways that offset parents’ time constraints. Due to limited access to parent perspectives, these findings may lack analytic generalizability. Accordingly, researchers are invited to examine these propositions further. Still, this study holds implications for future research on the value of personalized information, the development of NGO school choice counseling, and the potential outcomes of NGO navigator services on school access and student performance. Overall, this dissertation deepens our understanding of the judgment and interpersonal qualities of NGO Navigators as agents of school selection assistance and explains the benefits and shortcomings of NGO information support in choice policy contexts.Item Classroom Language Policy and the Role of Assessment(2023) Feagin, Karen; Peercy, Megan Madigan; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Students designated as English learners (ELs) make up a substantial and growing portion of the K–12 population in the U.S., so all teachers should expect, at some point, to be teachers of language learners and will need to address the complexities of managing a multilingual classroom. This management is considered classroom-level educational language policy and is an area of importance for understanding and improving the educational experiences of EL-designated students.This qualitative study used nexus analysis (Scollon & Scollon, 2004) to examine the nature of and influences on classroom-level language policymaking at two small Maryland public high schools which exclusively serve EL-designated students. Maryland lacks explicit state-level language policy, thus creating a potentially neutral policy environment for the education of EL-designated students. Data sources included in-depth interviews with two principals and five teachers from the two high schools; documents from twenty years of meetings of the State Board of Education; and other state-level and federal policy documents. Data were analyzed using thematic data analysis. Findings showed that educators managed language in the school and classroom through instructional practices that positioned English as the default language of academics and as the predominant, if not sole, language goal. Language management was mediated by educators’ language ideologies and preparation in TESOL. Through the lens of their assessment literacy, teachers weighed the burden of testing against the benefits of the data obtained through testing and either implemented instructional practices that fully embraced the test and its associated policies or practices that minimally complied with the policies. Principals used their understanding of policies to navigate unavoidable constraints and create space for success. Finally, state-level policy was significantly influenced by federal policy, in particular, No Child Left Behind, and its legacy continues in Maryland education policy today. This study highlights the need for pre-service education and in-service professional development to clarify educators’ roles as language policy agents. Implications for teacher education also include a call for expanding offerings in asset-based language education and assessment literacy. Policy implications include recommendations for the State of Maryland to enact proposed policies from the English Learners Workgroup and to revise regulations that govern high-stakes testing for high school students.Item In Pursuit of Equity: The Politics of Desegregation in Howard County, Maryland(2023) Bill, Kayla Mackenzie; Scribner, Campbell F.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)School desegregation policies aim to redistribute educational resources and opportunities more equitably, but they have not always done so. Evidence indicates that political factors, including resistance from White parents and legal constraints, have undermined desegregation policies’ potential to fulfill their aims. Yet, a few studies suggest that windows of opportunity to desegregate schools exist. Even so, these studies often focus on how a subset of political factors shape desegregation efforts, and some political factors remain understudied. Furthermore, school desegregation research tends to focus on either the political dynamics of advancing these policies or the effects these policies have on segregation. Thus, the extent to which political factors affect desegregation policies’ potential to reduce segregation and, eventually, to advance educational equity remains an open question. My dissertation addresses these gaps in the literature by using a race-conscious political framework and a qualitative-dominant, convergent parallel mixed methods design to explore the politics and outcomes of the Howard County Public School System’s (HCPSS) recent effort to desegregate by redistricting, or redrawing school attendance boundary lines. Howard County is an ideal setting to study desegregation because it possesses several favorable conditions for desegregating schools, including racial/ethnic diversity, espoused commitments to educational equity, and a history of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic integration. These favorable conditions allow me to “test” whether desegregation is a feasible policy goal for school districts and to provide policymakers with insights about how to advance desegregation policies in ways that maximize their potential to reduce segregation and promote educational equity. I find that school overcrowding, growing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic segregation, and resource inequities led the HCPSS Superintendent and the Howard County Board of Education to initiate redistricting. The superintendent proposed a redistricting plan that had the potential to reduce segregation in HCPSS. Yet, various political factors—including resistance from wealthy White and Asian parents and limitations from HCPSS’s formal attendance boundary adjustment policy—led the board to enact a redistricting plan that had relatively less potential to reduce segregation and would have increased it at some school levels. Upon implementation, the enacted redistricting plan appeared to reduce segregation in HCPSS, but those reductions likely resulted from enrollment changes in the district. Ultimately, findings suggest that, under favorable political conditions, desegregation policies do have the potential to reduce segregation. However, realizing these policies’ potential will require districts to either a) explicitly prioritize desegregation, rather than allowing policymakers to attempt to balance desegregation with other, often competing policy goals, or b) align desegregation with other policy goals, rather than pitting it against them.