Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
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 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.Item Strengthening High School Transition and Attendance: Exploring Multi-level Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Absenteeism Among African American Adolescents(2021) Holder, Sharifah; Green, Kerry; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Chronic absenteeism is a growing problem in the United States and is associated with poor educational and health outcomes including high school dropout, criminal justice system involvement, chronic disease, mental health concerns and early death. African American children in low income, urban areas are at elevated risk for chronic absenteeism based on factors at all levels of the social ecological model including mental health concerns, systemic and individual racism, parental, peer, and teacher relationships, school and neighborhood climate. The transition to high school is a critical moment when absenteeism rates increase dramatically. This study used a mixed method approach to better understand chronic absenteeism in urban high school settings. A survey gathered data from a cohort of ninth grade students transitioning into high school and regression analysis was used to identify risk and protective factors that may explain chronic absenteeism (n=216). A total of 30 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with five chronically absent and five regularly attending ninth grade students from a predominately Black school. Critical Race Theory was used as an analytic lens for the thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews. Participants discussed challenges and opportunities that arise when transitioning to high school including finding a friend group, coping with anxiety, planning for the future, navigating a new school environment and maintaining ties to rapidly changing communities. Findings suggest that African American students possess many strengths including skilled navigation of social situations, adaptive coping strategies for emotional distress, creating a team of adults and peers for motivation and support, aspirational planning for future goals, and vocal resistance to oppression that can be further developed or cultivated to support positive attendance behaviors and contend with the impact of systemic racism that can sometimes be disregarded in predominately Black schools. Implications include the increased need for student voice in decision making processes, enhanced curriculum that addresses social emotional learning and gives students agency in determining individualized learning plans, school discipline reform, and community engagement. These findings are critical to transforming dominant narratives about chronic absenteeism in low income, African-American communities and providing feasible recommendations to improve educational and health outcomes.Item Couples Coping with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome: A Mixed-Methods Study of Family Strengths(2018) Young, Jennnifer Louise; Epstein, Norman B; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Using mixed methodology involving qualitative and quantitative data, this dissertation fills gaps in knowledge regarding psychosocial implications for families living with the genetically-transmitted Li-Fraumeni cancer susceptibility syndrome, specifically targeting couple dyads. An initial review of the existing literature on couples coping with heritable cancer syndromes identified gaps in knowledge, and pointed to future directions for research in this area. The three papers that comprise this dissertation provide multiple perspectives on the levels of distress, coping styles, and social support patterns of couples in which one partner is at high risk of cancer. The first paper investigates spousal distress and coping styles in relation to cancer worry for individuals with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, using quantitative data from one of the largest existing collections of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome cases. The second paper identifies couples’ coping and communication processes regarding cancer stressors, using semi-structured qualitative interviews of individuals with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome and their partners. The third paper utilizes a social network approach to illustrate shared patterns of emotional, tangible, and informational support that couples report accessing. The integrated findings from these three studies indicate that these subjects are low in general distress but high in cancer-specific worry. Couples cope with this worry by balancing multiple roles, exercising flexibility in family dynamics, and utilizing extensive social support networks. This research provides significant information that can aid in development of effective interventions for couples as they face their ongoing threat of cancer. Recommendations for clinical work with this population include an integrated blend of couple therapy, genetic counseling, and oncology practice that is sensitive to the unique needs of individuals with heritable cancer syndromes and their partners.Item Technology Integration before Student Outcomes: Factors Affecting Teacher Adoption of Technology in India(2013) Bandyopadhyay, Alankar; Stromquist, Nelly; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Since the 1920s, ICTs have been endorsed as solutions to challenges of access and quality in education. Proponents have also supported technology use in education on grounds that it could potentially impact cognitive, affective, and pedagogical outcomes. Based on these perceived benefits, many developed and developing countries have been alarmingly swift at rolling out technology in schools. However, in spite of more than several decades of ICT investment in education, whether it leads to better cognitive, affective, and pedagogical outcomes remains unclear. Amidst the preoccupation with an outcomes-only approach, the notion of technology integration is getting neglected. Prior to determine how technology can impact students and teachers, it is critical we gain clarity on what is being done with technology within the classroom. This study explored the notion of technology integration and examined the individual and collective role of factors that influence teacher ability to integrate technology in a developing country context. It also studied the relationship between technology and pedagogy, examining to what extent these tools alter the teaching styles of teachers. Using a convergent/ concurrent mixed methods design, the study answered two broad questions: 1. What are the factors or conditions that either hinder or facilitate a teacher's ability to integrate technology with the classroom curriculum? 2. Are there observable differences between teachers with access to technology and those without in the extent to which they engage in constructivist pedagogy in the classroom? The study finds that technology integration is a complex process and the ability to use it effectively for teachers, in the sample, depended on the individual and collective impact of four factors: the existing policy climate, personal characteristics of teachers themselves, the school context, and the innovation being implemented. Further, the study finds no statistically significant difference in the pedagogical styles of teachers with access to technology and those without. Both groups of teachers display very similar teaching styles, and are engaging in as much or as little constructive pedagogy as one another. The study closes with a short discussion on the implications of these findings on ICT-based policy and practice.Item LITERACY AND EDUCATIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN ETHIOPIA: A MIXED METHODS STUDY(2012) McCormac, Meredith; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examines the development of early grade reading skills as a means for quality improvement in global education. Specifically, this study explores the contextual factors that affect the achievement of early reading skills in Ethiopia and investigates the relationship between literacy and educational quality. The sequential explanatory mixed-methods design is employed to answer four research questions: 1. According to the Ethiopia Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) dataset in the Addis Ababa region, what contextual factors affect achievement in basic literacy skills and how are they related? 2. According to qualitative data, how do parents' and teachers' perspectives explain and substantiate the contextual factors identified in the EGRA dataset and do other factors emerge? 3. Given the answers to the first two research questions, what are the factors associated with achievement that are most favorable and most challenging for literacy development? 4. Given the answer to the third research question, how can interventions for literacy development be best implemented in relationship to overall educational quality improvement? The first, quantitative phase of this study shows that a vast majority of students do not perform at expected levels on the Ethiopia EGRA. The results from three multiple regression analysis models for oral reading fluency and reading comprehension outcomes suggest that both in-school and out-of-school variables have a significant influence on student achievement. The second, qualitative phase of this study reveals several important findings above and beyond those identified in Phase I. First, the findings from both Phase I and Phase II demonstrate the importance of out-of-school variables, but the importance of these to both teachers and parents was underestimated in Phase I. School directors, parents, and teachers highlight the home environment as the most important factor in student achievement. This study demonstrates the utility of a mixed-methods approach to investigate more holistically the practice of literacy in Ethiopia and its relationship to the pursuit of educational quality more broadly. This study also provides a responsive, critical, and theoretical grounding for understanding conflicting perspectives, policies, and approaches to improving the quality of education through literacy development.Item Factors Related to Listeriosis Prevention in Pregnant Women: A Mixed Methods Exploratory Study(2010) Saperstein, Sandra Lynn; Gold, Robert S; Atkinson, Nancy L; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research examined factors related to listeriosis prevention in pregnant women, with the aim of improving messages designed for pregnant women. Pregnant women are twenty times more likely than other adults to become infected by Listeria monocytogenes. Listeriosis can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, or illness in the newborn. Current FDA guidelines for pregnant women advise avoiding foods that pose high risk of L monocytogenes contamination: hot dogs or luncheon meats without reheating, soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk, refrigerated pâtés, refrigerated smoked seafood, and unpasteurized milk. These were updated in 2003 as our understanding of L. monocytogenes contamination in foods has changed. Previous research found that pregnant women were unaware of the guidelines, defensive when made aware, and consuming high-risk foods. The impact of changing guidelines has not been examined. A sequential explanatory mixed methods study was conducted. First, data collected in the second Infant Feeding Practices Study was analyzed to determine whether demographic and health-related factors were related to awareness of L. monocytogenes and the consumption of high-risk foods. Next, six focus groups with pregnant women were used to triangulate secondary data analysis findings, examine underlying beliefs related to listeriosis, and explore the impact of changing listeriosis prevention messages. The Extended Parallel Process Model was used as a theoretical framework to guide the groups. The results showed that awareness has increased, with 37% of IFPS II participants aware of L. monocytogenes. However, almost 75% reported eating unheated cold cuts. Subgroup differences were identified and fell along income and educational lines. Those with less education and lower incomes were less aware and more likely to consume high-risk foods. Focus group findings suggest that risk and efficacy beliefs affected adoption of the guidelines, consistent with the EPPM. Participants felt that too much emphasis on the potential of advice to change weakens response efficacy. The findings suggest that listeriosis prevention messages should heighten risk perceptions, enhance efficacy perceptions, and suggest, but not belabor, the notion of changing messages.