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
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item The Issue with Issues Management: An Engagement Approach to Integrate Gender and Emotion into Issues Management(2016) Madden, Stephanie; Sommerfeldt, Erich; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Using sexual assault on college campuses as a context for interrogating issues management, this study offers a normative model for inclusive issues management through an engagement approach that can better account for the gendered and emotional dimensions of issues. Because public relations literature and research have offered little theoretical or practical guidance for how issues managers can most effectively deal with issues such as sexual assault, this study represents a promising step forward. Results for this study were obtained through 32 in-depth interviews with university issues managers, six focus groups with student populations, and approximately 92 hours of participant observation. By focusing on inclusion, this revised model works to have utility for an array of issues that have previously fallen outside of the dominant masculine and rationale spheres that have worked to silence marginalized publics’ experiences. Through adapting previous issues management models to focus on inclusion at the heart of a strategic process, and engagement as the strategy for achieving this, this study offers a framework for ensuring more voices are heard—which enables organizations to more effectively communicate with their publics. Additionally, findings from this research may also help practitioners at different types of organizations develop better, and proactive, communication strategies for handling emotional and gendered issues as to avoid negative media attention and work to change organizational culture.Item INCLUSION AS A REFORM: HOW SECONDARY GENERAL EDUCATORS MAKE SENSE OF AND ENACT THEIR ROLES AS TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES(2014) Stefanski, Amanda; Valli, Linda; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Federal legislation and individual state requirements have prompted exponential growth in the inclusion of students with special needs in the general education classroom, for which general education teachers report not feeling prepared. In addition to an accompanying increase in both preservice and in-service offerings, various organizations have established standards detailing the expectations for what general education teachers should know and be able to do; however, there is minimal research that examines these standards in terms of the teachers who are expected to meet them or to determine why certain inclusive practices are more often and easily enacted than others. My goal in this study was to examine the ways that teachers make sense of their roles and responsibilities related to students with disabilities and learn more about how and why certain inclusive practices are enacted more than others. Because teachers say they "weren't prepared" for this student population, an equally important goal was to connect that information to recommendations for teacher preparation. I designed the current study using sensemaking theory (Weick, 1995) and Spillane's (1999) model of enactment zones as a framework to address the research questions. The findings of this study suggest that teachers identified the same inclusive practices as had been detailed in the literature: instructional and professional practices, legal requirements, and dispositions. Through a combination of direct questioning and culling through teachers' responses with a sensemaking lens, I identified two facilitating factors and seven barriers that affect teachers' enactment of these roles and responsibilities. The various data (focus group, interview, and observations) yielded specific information about whether and how inclusive practices are being enacted in secondary inclusive settings, and a secondary analysis focusing primarily on how teachers made sense of these practices provided additional insight into their enactments. Additionally, the teachers in this study provided three specific ways that teacher preparation (preservice and in-service) can be adapted in such a way that a total redesign is not required: SHOW ME examples of inclusive practices, GIVE ME the tools to do them more effectively, and LET ME practice them.Item EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN(2014) Mason, Gwendolyn J.; Parham, Carol S; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The inclusion of students with disabilities and the increasing demands in public education including the nation's changing economics, racial and ethnic diversity, complex social environments and increased accountability for student academic achievement have impacted the role of principal leadership. Today, principals face increasing demands to create an environment that supports the needs of all students (Burdette, 2010). Middle school principals in particular have the responsibility of addressing these new varied issues while leading in a variety of subject areas. This mixed-method study was designed to explore the perceptions of middle school principals, grade 6 English general education teachers and grade 6 special education teachers regarding the effective leadership practices of middle school principals' implementation of inclusion in grade 6 English classes. The conceptual framework of Powell's (2004) School Leadership Survey and its five domains was used to collect the data in the quantitative phase of the study. These data were collected by survey responses from middle school principals, grade 6 general education English teachers and grade 6 special education teachers. The quantitative phase of this study was conducted in 38 middle schools in a single school district in the mid-Atlantic United States. The results of the quantitative study indicated that there were no statistically significant differences among the three groups: middle school principals, grade 6 general education English teachers and grade 6 special education teachers, whether in the early or later implementation phase. The means for the principals, although not statistically significantly different, were generally higher than those of the two groups of teachers. The grade 6 general education English teachers and the grade 6 special education teachers had very similar means on the effective leadership behavior and practices of the principals. The qualitative aspect of this study found agreement among the middle school principals which was consistent with the quantitative findings of the study. The interview probes used in a focus group were based on information gathered in the quantitative part of the study and the review of the literature on inclusion. The effective leadership behaviors and practices of the principal are essential for the inclusion of students with disabilities. Further research is recommended to gain deeper insight in the effective leadership practices of principals who include students with disabilities from the sole perspectives of general education teachers. In addition, future research should examine principal preparation programs and their impact on leading in the area of special education and inclusion.Item Principal Sensemaking of Inclusion: A Multi-Case Study of Five Urban Principals(2012) DeMatthews, David Edward; Mawhinney, Hanne; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined how five principals working in one urban school district made sense of inclusion. I employed a multi-case study guided by the theoretical framework of sensemaking. Weick's sensemaking theory was useful in examining the way principals made sense of inclusion. Each of the seven characteristics of Weick's sensemaking theory was present throughout the data. The findings from this study revealed that principals were heavily constrained by their organizational environment and that identity construction took a lead role in influencing the way principals enacted their environments and made sense of inclusion. Principal attitudes and values around inclusion were often ignored as principals struggled with the constraints of budget shortfalls and severe behaviors from students with disabilities. The findings from this study have implications for policy, school leadership, and future research. Policymakers must be aware of the constraints within urban schools in order to effectively motivate principals to implement inclusion. Professional development for principals can utilize sensemaking theory to analyze case studies and help principals establish habits of mind to better make sense of their perceived constraints and organizational environments. Principals can learn from these case studies to budget and staff schools in ways that support inclusion and to construct alternative meanings to information they select from their school. Finally, future research on principal sensemaking of inclusion should include an assessment of principal knowledge and expertise of inclusion, a program evaluation of inclusion to determine the relationship of sensemaking to inclusion implementation, and the influence of gender, race, age, and experience on principals' identity construction.Item AN INVESTIGATION OF INCLUSIONARY PRACTICES BY GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOMS(2011) Massingill, Charmaine Shawntel; McLaughlin, Margaret J.; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated teacher-reported inclusionary practices and strategies in general education classrooms grades 6, 7, and 8. Students with disabilities are being educated in the general education classroom for varying amounts of time during the school day by classroom teachers with varying amounts of experience with special education practices. The study included a web-based survey of approximately 100 randomly selected teachers who were teaching Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, or any combination of those academic subjects during May 2010. The survey asked teachers what inclusionary practices and strategies they were using and which of these inclusionary practices and strategies they considered to be effective. The survey also asked teachers to select the inclusionary practices and strategies they are not currently using, but would like to use in the future. Survey results indicated curriculum modifications were the inclusionary practice used most frequently and lead and support was the collaborative strategy used most frequently. Teachers considered modifying curriculum the most effective inclusionary practice and skill grouping the most effective collaborative strategy. When asked to select the inclusionary practice and strategy not currently used, but that they would like to use in the future, the largest response was none.Item Teacher and Student Perspectives on the Inclusion and Mainstreaming of Children with Moderate and Severe Cognitive Disabilities(2007-07-31) Weiner, Ricia; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Integrated settings for educating students with moderate and severe disabilities (SWDs) have received great attention since the passage of PL 94-142. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the teacher and student perspectives and interaction patterns of SWDs in two schools and how each of those schools implemented integrated programming. The two schools included a self-described full inclusion school and a mainstream school. The researcher focused on historical information about the two schools philosophies for educating SWDs, regular and special education teachers' and students' perspectives regarding the SWDs in their classes, and observations of target SWDs to paint a picture of the way in which the schools operate. The two schools were then analyzed using qualitative analysis techniques. Several themes emerged from the interviews regarding the teachers' and students' views of the SWDs in their classes. Student themes included: perceived responsibility for students with disabilities, defining and understanding SWDs, interactions between students with and without disabilities, and impact on and outcomes for SWDs. Teacher themes included: terminology used to describe regular education students and SWDs, personal and perceived school philosophy, student and teacher qualities perceived to effect integration, and programming issues. Observations of the SWDs focused on establishing a rate of interactions between SWDs and others in the school, initiators of interactions, and reciprocity of interactions. The SWD at the full inclusion school was found to be more isolated and less incorporated in the regular education setting than the SWDs at the mainstream school despite what was suggested in the articulated school philosophy. The two schools were examined based on archival, interview, and observation data. It was found that there was discordance between the articulated philosophy of the full inclusion school and the implicit philosophy that guided practice in that school. Future directions for research were discussed including the need for more qualitative analysis of the interactions that occur between SWDs and other staff and students in the school.