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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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Peer mentoring and leadership: Differences in leadership self-efficacy among students of differing peer mentoring relationships, genders, and academic class levels
    (2009) Smith, Meredith Ann; Clement, Linda M.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined the relationship between peer mentoring and leadership self-efficacy. The design of this study was an ex post facto analysis of a sub-study of 2006 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership. The sample included 10,555 respondents from 52 institutions ranging in Carnegie classification type. The researcher utilized a one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to see if there was a significant difference in leadership self-efficacy between students who served as peer mentors and students who did not serve as peer mentors in college. The study found that students who served as peer mentors in college had a significantly higher leadership self-efficacy than non-peer mentors. Additionally, the study also examined the subset of respondents who identified as peer mentors in college. Utilizing a two-way ANCOVA, the researcher found no significant difference in leadership self-efficacy between male and female peer mentors. The finding of no significant difference in leadership self-efficacy between gender groups is important because past studies on college students have found that men typically report higher levels of leadership self-efficacy than women. The researcher did find significant differences for each class-standing group in same two-way ANCOVA. The post-hoc Bonferroni multiple comparison procedure showed that there was significance across all class-standing groups. Another important finding from this study was that students who had mentors in college were more likely to serve as mentors. This post-hoc analysis was computed through implementing a chi-square test for independence. The overall findings of this study add important foundational understanding of the relationship between peer mentoring and leadership in college students.
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    Towards an empirical typology of collegiate leadership development programs: Examining effects on student self-efficacy and leadership for social change
    (2008-05-30) Owen, Julie Elizabeth; Komives, Susan R.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this study was to determine whether a meaningful empirical typology of institutions with co-curricular leadership development programs could be developed based on structural elements and programmatic characteristics, and then examine any effects of different classifications of leadership programs on perceived student leadership outcomes of self-efficacy and social change. Findings from a two-step cluster analysis and an integrative content analysis indicate an emergent typology of leadership programs based on variables related to theoretical intentionality, resource level, and productivity. Results from two hierarchical linear models reveal numerous level-one effects on perceived student leadership outcomes related to social change and self-efficacy for leadership, including pre-college positional leadership and group experiences, gender, and race. Two-level hierarchical linear models also showed limited second level interaction effects, primarily related to institutional control and Carnegie classification. Typologic clusters had few meaningful differential effects on student outcomes. Results suggest the importance of pre-college experiences to collegiate student leadership development, reveal gender differences related to efficacy for leadership and actual leadership performance, and detail significant interaction effects among institutional control, race, and leadership outcomes. Results have implications for higher education research in that the use of hierarchical linear modeling revealed significant effects of institutional type and control on student leadership outcomes that were not apparent in existing literature (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Cluster analysis results provide validation of extant leadership program evaluation variables (Kellogg, 1999; CAS, 2006). Implications for professional practice include the need to attend to the heterogeneity of collegiate leadership development programs in access to resources, theoretical approach, and stage of development. The on-going development of a data-driven typology will assist with leadership program planning, advocacy, and evaluation needs.
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    Developing Citizenship Through Community Service: Examining the Relationship Between Community Service Involvement and Self-Perceived Citizenship Among Undergraduates
    (2006-05-22) Smist, Jennifer Anne; Jacoby, Barbara; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis investigated the relationship between community service involvement in curricular and cocurricular community service and students' self-perceived citizenship. Community service involvement was addressed through four methods: community service as part of a class, with a student organization, as part of a work-study experience, and on one's own. This study used data collected from 1,205 undergraduate students at the University of Maryland in spring 2006 as part of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership. The instrument employed in this study was based on a revised version of the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS-Rev 2) and was designed to assess student leadership development within the framework of the social change model of leadership development (Higher Education Research Institute, 1996). Self-perceived citizenship scores differed significantly based on whether students participated in community service during college. Community service through student organizations and work-study experiences were found to be significant predictors of self-perceived citizenship.
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    ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS: BACKGROUND CONTEXTUAL AND COLLEGE ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCES ON SELF-EFFICACY AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
    (2005-12-05) Vogt, Kristen E.; McEwen, Marylu K.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this research study was to examine, for undergraduate women of various Asian American ethnic backgrounds, the influence of background contextual and college environment factors on their sense of academic self-efficacy and achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. Social cognitive career theory and its critiques provided a theoretical foundation for relationships from past performance, socioeconomic status, acculturation, and college environment variables (compositional diversity, racial climate, gendered climate, academic peer support), to academic self-efficacy and achievement. Data were collected through an online survey. Instrumentation included the scales of Language, Identity, and Behavioral Acculturation; Gender Discrimination; Faculty and Classroom Behavior; Interactions with Peers; and Academic Milestones Self-efficacy. The participants were 228 Asian American undergraduate women in STEM at a large public, doctoral research extensive university on the east coast; the response rate was 51%. In three MANOVAs for nine social cognitive career variables, four ethnic groups (East, South, Southeast, and Multi-ethnic Asian American) significantly differed only on socioeconomic status. In path analysis, the initial model was not a good fit and was rejected. The model was respecified through statistical and theoretical evaluation, tested in exploratory analysis, and considered a good fit. The respecified model explained 36% of semester GPA (achievement) and 28% of academic self-efficacy. The academic achievement of Asian American women in STEM was related to past performance, background contextual factors, academic self-efficacy, academic peer support, and gendered climate. The strongest direct influence on achievement was academic self-efficacy followed by past performance. The total effect of Asian acculturation on achievement was negative and the total effect of American acculturation on achievement was not significant; academic self-efficacy mediated these complex relationships. The total effects of racial and gendered compositional diversity and racial climate on both academic self-efficacy and achievement were not significant. Students in majors with more female peers reported less academic peer support. In this study, when culturally specific variables embellished social cognitive career theory, the theory exhibited cultural validity for undergraduate Asian American women in STEM. The nature of the relationships among culturally specific variables and college environment variables, however, requires further study.
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    Lifting the Veil on Invisible Identities: A Grounded Theory of Self-Disclosure for College Students with Mood Disorders
    (2004-07-27) Farzad Nawabi, Partamin; McEwen, Marylu K.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Little research exists about college students with mood disorders and their unique developmental issues. Previous studies of college students with disabilities have largely focused on physical and learning disabilities. In response to this gap in the current literature, this study explored how undergraduate students with mood disorders make decisions about self-disclosure while in college and the factors and influences that contribute to their decisions. This research holds the promise of increasing visibility for this hidden and otherwise invisible student population. This qualitative inquiry, the product of a constructivist paradigm, used grounded theory methodology to develop a deeper understanding of the participants' experiences related to self-disclosure. Nine participants were identified through theoretical and purposive sampling. Each participant was enrolled in an undergraduate program at a large, Mid-Atlantic university, and was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder by a mental health professional. Three participants were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and three with major depressive disorder. In addition to these six participants, three participants who were initially diagnosed with major depression were rediagnosed with bipolar disorder by their psychiatrists. Participants were interviewed three times during a five-month period. The data were collected through in-depth interviewing and document analysis. Data analysis generated one core category and five key categories, which collectively formed the emergent theory that explored self-disclosure for college students with mood disorders. The core category, describing the main theme of the students' stories of self-disclosure, was Lifting the Veil. The key categories were Receiving Diagnosis, Constructing an Illness Identity, Impact of Stigma, Perceived Campus Support, and Attributes of Personality. Peer debriefers confirmed the study's credibility and an inquiry auditor substantiated the dependability of the final analysis. The grounded theory that emerged from this research offers a framework for understanding how college students with mood disorders make decisions about self-disclosure. The findings of this study suggest important recommendations for how students, faculty, and staff may best demonstrate support for college students with mood disorders in the effort to positively influence their self-disclosure experiences as well as to promote the development of more inclusive and hospitable environments for these students.