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 CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS IN THE CONTEXT OF A LARGE URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT: AN ANALYSIS OF MATH & ELA TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICES IN TEACHING LATINA/O ELLs(2019) Beato, Carlos Manuel; Eubanks, Segun; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Latina/o English language learners are not achieving at the same levels as their White and English speaking peers. Research shows that 63% of ELLs, in large part Latina/o, are graduating high school, compared to an 82% overall rate. This study aimed to gather Math and ELA teacher perceptions around teachers’ ability to implement culturally responsive strategies. The researcher sought to answer three questions: (1) How do secondary Math and ELA teachers in District A schools with large populations of Latina/o ELLs perceive their own capacity to serve linguistically diverse students in their classroom? (2) What are the culturally responsive pedagogical practices that secondary Math and ELA teachers say they currently use to support Latina/o ELLs in District A schools with large populations of Latina/o ELLs? (3) What are the gaps that Math and ELA teachers perceive that exist in District A with building teacher capacity in culturally responsive practices in schools that have large populations of Latina/o ELLs? Based on a review of the literature on cultural responsiveness, the researcher distributed a web-based survey on the Qualtrics platform to 133 Math and ELA teachers at six District A high schools. The researcher used 18 statements from the Culturally Responsive Teacher Preparedness Scale [CRTPS] to gauge teachers’ perceptions on their ability to implement culturally responsive strategies. Teachers recorded their levels of agreement with their perceived abilities on each statement on a five point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Teachers were also invited to participate in a focus group to gather specific examples of culturally responsive practices being implemented. Analysis of the survey indicated that teachers perceive to have the capacity to implement culturally responsive practices. The focus group, however, illustrated a need for deeper understanding of culturally responsive practices and how/when/where to implement them. On this basis, the researcher recommends that District A implement a collection of self-assessment data from all teachers that teach Latina/o ELL students, a curriculum review across major content areas, and the development of a network improvement community that addresses Latina/o ELL needs. Further research is needed in order to determine the influence of culturally responsive practices on academic achievement.Item Identifying the Supports and Challenges of High School Latino English Language Learners(2016) Hanks-Sloan, Alison Elizabeth; Imig, David; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Two out of three English Language Learners (ELLs) graduate from secondary schools nationwide. Of the nearly five million ELLs in public schools, more than 70% of these students’ first language is Spanish. In order to understand and resolve this phenomena and in an effort to increase the number of graduates, this research examined what high school Latino ELLs identified as the major external and internal factors that support or challenge them on the graduation pathway. The study utilized a 32 quantitative and qualitative question student survey, as well as student focus groups. Both the survey and the focus groups were conducted in English and Spanish. The questions considered the following factors: 1) value of education; 2) expectations in achieving their long-term goals; 3) current education levels; 4) expectations before coming to the United States; 5) family obligations; and 6) future aspirations. The survey was administered to 159 Latino ELLs enrolled in grades 9-12. Research took place at three high schools that provide English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes in a large school system in the Mid-Atlantic region. The three schools involved in the study have more than 1,500 ELLs. Two of the schools had large ESOL instructional programs, and one school had a comparatively smaller ESOL program. The majority of students surveyed were from El Salvador (72%) and Guatemala (12.6%). Using Qualtrics, an independent facilitator and a bilingual translator administered the online survey tool to the students during their ESOL classes. Two weeks later, the researcher hosted three follow-up focus groups, totaling 37 students from those students who took the survey. Each focus group was conducted at the three schools by the lead researcher and the translator. The purpose of the focus group was to obtain deeper insight on how secondary age Latino ELLs defined success in school, what they identified to be their support factors, and how previous and present experiences helped or hindered their goals. From the research findings, ten recommendations range from suggested policy updates to cross-cultural/equity training for students and staff; they were developed, stemming from the findings and what the students identified.Item Positioning and Identity in the Academic Literacy Experiences of Elementary English Language Learners(2011) Hickey, Pamela J.; Martin-Beltran, Melinda; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigates the academic literacy experiences of elementary English Language Learners (ELLs) in first grade, fourth grade, and sixth grade. Participants included students as well as their reading/language arts mainstream teachers and their English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers. Informed by both cross-sectional cross-case study and narrative inquiry methodology, this study used positioning theory and identity theory as complementary analytic lenses. Students' positionings, both reflexive self-positioning and interactive positioning by others, were identified and named through analyses of their interactions in academic literacy events during reading/language arts. In order to consider the ways that students' positionings may afford or constrain their access to and engagement with academic literacy events, the researcher created an analytic framework naming student positions. Additionally, positions were considered in light of the ways that they mediated students' levels of engagement as literacy events unfolded. To investigate the construction of students' literate identities, the researcher examined students' patterns of positioning during literacy events and considered interview data from students and teachers as well as field notes that documented conversations with participants. The researcher also gathered two self-portraits from student participants, including one self-portrait showing the student engaged in an academic literacy task at school and one showing the student engaged in a fun activity outside of the school context. The study demonstrated that students' positionings, both positive and constraining, may work to construct and re-construct students' literate identities even as students' literate identities may inform the ways that students take on and negotiate positions in a recursive process. The study also found that students with strong literate identities bridging home and school contexts took on more positive positions thus engaging more deeply with academic literacy tasks than students with striving literate identities. Students with striving literate identities often took on positions of constraint in strategic moves that allowed them to get through literacy tasks without engaging deeply. Finally, this study demonstrated the powerful ways that teachers may support students' deep engagement with literacy tasks through positive positioning and following through on their lesson implementation by offering opportunities for re-positioning and the use of scaffolds.Item English Language Learner Special Education Referral and Placement Outcomes in Instructional Consultation Teams Schools(2004-12-17) Silva, Arlene E.; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The present study serves as an examination and documentation of referral and placement outcomes of English Language Learner (ELL) cases in Instructional Consultation (IC) Teams schools. Archival data from 838 cases (12% of which were ELL cases) within five mid-Atlantic public school districts implementing IC Teams were analyzed for outcomes using logistic regression. Results included statistically significant differences in ELL versus non-ELL student initial team referral (IC or other prereferral intervention team) and ultimate IEP Team referrals. Initial referral concerns also differed significantly between ELL and non-ELL students. IC Teams were found to be more effective than existing prereferral intervention teams in decreasing the special education referrals of ELL and non-ELL students. The results of the present study serve as a foundation for future research in the areas of at-risk ELL students and their referrals to prereferral intervention teams and special education.Item TEACHING EXPERTISE AS A CULTURALLY-EMBEDDED PHENOMENON: A CASE STUDY OF ONE ESOL DEPARTMENT(2004-08-06) Bramblett, Shannon Rene; Cossentino, Jacqueline; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: TEACHING EXPERTISE AS A CULTURALLY-EMBEDDED PHENOMENON: A CASE STUDY OF ONE ESOL DEPARTMENT Shannon Bramblett, Ph.D., 2004 Dissertation directed By: Assistant Professor Jacqueline Cossentino,Department of Education Policy and Leadership The United States has an unprecedented number of ELLs (English Language Learners) attending public schools. Research on programs for ELLs has not kept pace with the mushrooming growth of the programs themselves. The relative newness of programs for ELLs, the rapid growth of the ELL population in public schools, and the variety of programming available means that researchers know comparatively little about the culture of available programs or the types of teaching expertise teachers develop and use in them. In this dissertation I examine the phenomenon of culturally embedded expertise in one type of program for ELLs, an ESOL program, in a large, public comprehensive high school. The aim is twofold: 1) to identify and analyze less-frequently understood aspects of teaching expertise with culturally and linguistically diverse learners, and 2) to use this knowledge to improve the way researchers approach understanding teaching expertise. In this ethnographic case study I explore culture and expertise in one ESOL department in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Unlike most studies of teaching expertise, I broadened the scope of the study to include not only teacher interactions with students, but also teacher interactions with other teachers. In the dissertation I describe and analyze the teaching expertise of three ESOL teachers. I collected data primarily through interviews and observations. ESOL teacher expertise and culture were assessed through the lens of ritual (Bell 1992, 1997). Teaching expertise was not limited to effectively helping ELLs learn to speak English. Rather, ESOL culture members "coconstructed" a cultural value that was more broadly focused on the overall flourishing of ELLs. ESOL teachers strengthened their commitment to ELLs through ritualized interactions that included keeping the value of students in the foreground of their interactions. Teachers also cultivated personal relationships with other ESOL teachers; this fostered stronger professional relationships that led to sharing expert practices and collaboration. Expertise in the ESOL culture revolved around two cultural goals. The first entailed helping ELLs make a cultural transition to the ESOL classroom. The second involved helping ELLs prepare for life beyond the ESOL classroom. This study suggests that some aspects of teaching expertise are closely linked to the shared cultural values of ESOL teachers. Thus, it is important to consider the complexity of time, place, and culture when attempting to understand teaching expertise as it applies to ELLs.