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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Subject: search.filters.subject.Parent Involvement

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Bullying, Family Resources and Mental Health: A Test of the ABC-X Theory
    (2013) Resnick, Elise M.; Leslie, Leigh A.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Bullying has become a public health threat; it is associated with numerous highly publicized suicides over the past few years. While some research on the topic suggests that overall rates of bullying are low, the consequences are potentially severe. Although schools and policymakers are working to better define and eradicate instances of bullying, the role that family plays in the related mental health risks has not been well-considered. As guided by the ABC-X theory, it was hypothesized that children with bullying experiences - as a victim, bully, or hybrid bully/victim, who had high levels of parental support, and who interpreted this support as a strong resource - would not suffer the same degree of mental health problems or poor life satisfaction as that reported by children with bullying experiences and poorer family resources. Using a sample of over 6,900 children from the HBSC 2005/2006 U.S. dataset, hierarchical, stepwise regression was employed to determine if family factors did indeed moderate the linkage between bullying experiences and both mental health and life satisfaction. Specifically, it was predicted that the relationship between bullying and either mental health or life satisfaction will be weaker for those with high levels of family resources than for those with low levels. Four types of bullying were considered; physical, verbal, relational and cyber. Demographic variables were held constant to ensure that they did not influence results. Overall, this study found that, regardless of bullying status, children with higher levels of parental communication and involvement do have better mental health and life satisfaction. However, in general, these family factors did not moderate the relationship between bullying and mental health and life satisfaction as predicted. The few exceptions to this are detailed in this study, as are potential explanations for the findings, suggestions for future research, and the implications of this research.
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    Parent Involvement in Middle School: Cultivating Comprehensive and Inclusive Programs of Partnership
    (2011) Hutchins, Darcy; Croninger, Robert; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this study was to investigate how middle schools can cultivate comprehensive and inclusive parent involvement programs. More specifically, this study explored the role of district- and school-level leadership on the implementation of one district's parent involvement policy. Using micro and macro perspectives of policy implementation and Epstein's Six Types of Involvement framework of comprehensive parent involvement, this study highlighted promising parent involvement practices implemented by eight middle schools within one mid-Atlantic school district and illuminated the need for further investigation of secondary-level partnership program development and policy implementation. Data collection relied on case study methodology to investigate one district's implementation of middle school parent involvement policy. Data were triangulated from documents, district- and school-level interviews, and observations to explore how middle schools work with parents and how district administrators support school-level policy implementation. The document analysis portion of this study included the district's parent involvement policy, the eight participating schools' improvement plans, and the schools' report cards which reports test scores, demographics, and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status. The interview portion consisted of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven district leaders, eight middle school principals, 14 assistant principals, and 14 parents. The observation portion of this study included parent involvement workshops and school improvement team meetings. Results of this study indicate that principal leadership has a strong influence over the extent to which schools create a welcoming climate and implement activities to work with all parents, particularly families deemed "under-served." Principals' relationships with other school-level colleagues and district administrators impact their participation in capacity building opportunities. This study also indicates that further investigation is necessary to inform policy, research, and practice in regards to middle school parent involvement.
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    A PORTRAIT OF PARENTAL MOTIVATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN A POSITIVE DISCIPLINE WORKSHOP
    (2010) Kee, Leslie A.; Mawhinney, Hanne B.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This qualitative research study describes and explores perceptions of 5 parents and their decisions to participate in the school-linked parent-education workshop, the Power of Positive Discipline, POPD. The parent-education workshop was offered at a diverse school in an east coast suburban school district. The methodology of portraiture was used to analyze and present parent participants' motivations. The interview questions were derived from a conceptual frame created by Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995, 1997). The research revealed the parent participants' desired knowledge and expected benefits ultimately motivated the parent participants to attend the POPD workshop. Their desired knowledge and expected benefits were informed by a series of factors that revealed a cycle. The motivational cycle began with the parent participants' experiences, followed by their decisions to accept or reject what their experiences taught them. The decision to accept or reject what they learned informed the qualities they desired to possess as parents and the qualities they wanted their children to embody and exhibit. The qualities served as the foundation to what the parents wanted to know. The parent participants believed that having knowledge about how to achieve these desired qualities would yield specific benefits for their children. The knowledge the parent participants acquired validated their actions and served as motivation to attend future workshops on discipline. The act of attending the workshop became a part of the parents' experiences and contributed to the cyclical nature of parental motivation for participation in the POPD workshop.
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    Asian Parents' Perceptions of Child Disability and School Contact for Services
    (2010) Kim, Nayoung; Gottfredson, Gary D.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined Asian parents' perceptions of children's disability and factors influencing their utilization of school services. Using the parent questionnaires from a large national sample of high school sophomores (the ELS:2002 data), survey results from Asian American (n=810) and European American parents (n=7710) were analyzed to examine cultural differences between the two ethnic groups as well as between immigrant vs. non-immigrant Asians. This study also assessed the extent to which parental characteristics (Belief About Learning, Recency of Immigration, English Proficiency, Socio-Economic Status, and whether they indicate their child is disabled) predict contacting the school for services. Results indicated that Asians were less likely than Europeans to believe that their child has a disability and also were less likely to contact the school for help. Nevertheless, immigrant parents sought help when they perceived that their child had a disability. Neither immigrant parent's length of stay in the U.S. nor English proficiency predicted the school contact behaviors. Implications for introducing school-based services and outreach for Asian American parents are suggested, particularly for recent immigrants.