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 A NECESSARY INTERVENTION: CONCEPTUALIZING AND EMPLOYING CRITICAL RACIAL ETHNIC STUDIES(2024) Charity, Crystal; Brown, Tara; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Over the last decade, secondary schools around the United States have rapidly adopted ethnic studies courses. For instance, California’s governor mandated ethnic studies as a high school graduation requirement in 2021 (Magcalas, 2023). According to scholars, ethnic studies courses offer educational experiences that disrupt the erasure and oppression of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color through Eurocentrism in schools (Hu-Dehart, 1993; Lowy, 1995). However, there is currently no universally accepted understanding of ethnic studies curricula, and ethnic studies programs vary widely. As K-12 ethnic studies programs expand around the country, educators need a unifying framework that retains ethnic studies’ critical integrity. This three-paper dissertation proposes critical racial ethnic studies (CRES), a curricular and pedagogical framework grounded in critical race theory and critical pedagogies, as a tool for organizing ethnic studies curricula. Collectively, this dissertation offers practical tools for educators to cultivate critical consciousness and racial literacies among youth and for teacher educators to do the same among teachers and teacher candidates. In study 1, “Conceptualizing critical racial ethnic studies: A critical analysis of the literature,” I use the CRES framework to analyze the research on secondary-level ethnic studies curricula and pedagogy, its limitations as a means of achieving racial justice, and possible future directions for the field. Drawing from this literature, I develop a definition of CRES and establish the historical context out of which CRES emerged, thereby demonstrating an alignment between the original goals of ethnic studies and the CRES framework. I also identify several patterns in the literature: (1) the variation in critical pedagogies employed by ethnic studies educators, (2) how youth experience CRES, (3) the CRES tenets most frequently highlighted by researchers, and (4) the differences between out-of-school and in-school CRES curricula. In study 2, “Building new worlds through an ethnic studies community education program,” I employ the CRES framework to analyze the development and implementation of an out-of-school CRES program. Through individual and focus group interviews, observations, and participant reflections, this qualitative study examines the decision-making processes of three Asian American undergraduate students working collaboratively to create an Asian American Studies curriculum for local youth of color. This study reveals that educators’ desire and ability to enact a CRES curriculum is largely dependent upon their backgrounds, experiences, and resources. For instance, the participants relied on their peers to help with curriculum development. This study reveals that access to university-level ethnic studies courses and a robust network of critically conscious peers can support facilitators' racial literacies and critical consciousness and, thus, their commitment to critical interpretations of ethnic studies. In study 3, “‘I wish I had this program in high school’: What motivates and sustains ethnic studies community educators,” I build upon the previous study by examining what motivated the three students to create the CRES program and how they persevered despite myriad barriers that can lead to burn out. Through individual and focus group interviews and participant reflections, this qualitative study interrogates how participants describe their pathways to becoming and remaining CRES educators. The findings reveal CRES educators may be inspired to pursue teaching because of their lived experiences during childhood and adolescence, particularly in schools and their families, and their subsequent involvement in ethnic studies courses and politically engaged student groups in college. The study highlights how important community networks and resources are in the development of educators’ critical consciousness and racial literacies, two key factors in employing CRES curricula. Thus, the findings provide insight into how to effectively recruit, train, support, and learn from CRES educators.Item The Critical Race Framework Study: Standardizing Critical Evaluation for Research Studies That Use Racial Taxonomy(2024) Williams, Christopher M.; Fryer, Craig S.; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Introduction: Race is one of the most common variables in public health surveillance and research. Yet, studies involving racial measures show poor conceptual clarity and inconsistent operational definitions. There does not exist a bias tool in the public health literature for structured qualitative evaluation in critical areas of critical appraisal – reliability, validity, internal validity, and external validity – for studies that use racial taxonomy. This study developed the Critical Race (CR) Framework to address a major gap in the literature. Methods: The study involved three iterative phases to answer five research questions (RQs). Phase I was a pilot study of the CR Framework among public health faculty and doctoral students to assess measures of fit (RQ1) and to identify areas of improvement in training, instrumentation, and study design (RQ2). Study participants received training and performed a single article evaluation. Phase II was a national cross-sectional study of public health experts to assess perceptions of the revised training and tool to assess measures of fit (RQ1), to determine the influence of demographic and research factors on perceptions (RQ3), and to gather validity evidence on constructs (RQ4). In Phase III, three raters performed article evaluations to support reliability evidence (RQ4) and to determine the quality of health disparities and behavioral health research studies against the CR Framework (RQ5). Analysis: We assessed the reliability of study results and the CR Framework using non-differentiation analysis, thematic analysis, missingness analysis, user data, measures of internal consistency for adopted instruments, interrater agreement, and interrater reliability. Validity was assessed using content validity (CVI and k*), construct validity, and exploratory factor analyses (EFA). Results: The study recruited 30 highly skilled public health experts across its three phases as part of the final analytic sample. Phase I had poor reliability in which the results could not be confidently interpreted (RQ1) and indicated needed improvement in study design, training, and instrumentation (RQ2). Based on Phase II results, we met or exceeded acceptable thresholds for measures of fit – acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and satisfaction (RQ1). Demographic or research factors were not associated with responses (RQ3). Interrater agreement was moderate to high among rater pairs (RQ4). Due to lack of confidence in significance testing, interrater reliability results were inconclusive. Overall data results showed excellent content validity. Based on EFA results, construct validity for reliability and validity items was poor to fair (RQ4). Data results were inconclusive on internal validity and external validity. The twenty studies used in critical appraisal showed low quality or no discussion when the Critical Race Framework was used (RQ5). Discussion: The CR Framework study developed a tool and training with quality evidence for implementation effectiveness, content validity, and interrater reliability to fill a major gap in the public health literature. It contributed an innovative theory-based tool and training to the literature. Future research should seek to study individual perceptions and practices that influence outcomes of CR Framework application and to reduce barriers to ensure that minimum sample sizes can be met for additional testing.Item Beyond Political Neutrality: Towards A Complex Theory of Rights in the Modern Democratic State(2006-10-23) Mason, Chataquoa Nicole; McIntosh, Wayne; Williams, Linda F; Philosophy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)As of late, women, racial and ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, and other similarly situated groups have begun to make right-claims that once again test liberal notions of neutrality and raise significant questions concerning whether or not full equality and autonomy is possible in modern democracies. This study focuses on the impact of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other markers of difference on the realization of rights in the modern democratic state. This dissertation uses three case studies, which separately and together demonstrate attempts to realize full freedom and autonomy through practices of direct democracy, the California Referendum Initiative; appeal to the courts, the issue of Gay Marriage; and the creation of public policies and landmark legislation, the Violence Against Women Act. The findings of my research suggest that at all levels of government, race, class, gender, sexual orientation and other markers of difference shape the realization of rights in the modern democratic state. In this study, I extend the insights offered by critical race scholars by proffering a complex theory of rights that is able to account for the impact of identity and culture to the realization of rights and rights-claims made by individuals and groups in the public sphere. Employing a complex theory of rights, the findings of this study confirm that there are a variety of factors that influence the realization of rights in the modern democratic state. Chief among them are: (1) A notion of the good operating in society that is connected to deeply entrenched societal values and norms and that privileges the dominant culture; (2) the structures and institutions that govern society are enmeshed in race, class, sexuality, and ethnic hierarchies; (3) the accumulated advantages gained through historic practices of exclusion, conquest, and enslavement; (4) the representation of the dominant group and subjugated groups in the public sphere through texts, the media, and discourse; and (5) whether or not individuals or groups are recognized as bearers of rights under the law.Item Transformative Black Teachers and their Use of Computer Related Technologies in Urban Schools(2004-11-02) Frederick, Rona Monique; Price, Jeremy N.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Over the last decade, the Internet and other computer-related technologies have become ubiquitous to many U.S. schools. However, little is known about the ways Black educators working in urban schools integrate computer technology into their classroom practice. Although studies have been conducted on successful urban schoolteachers and their pedagogical philosophies, few explore how instructional computers are used to meet diverse students' personal and cultural needs. Furthermore, rarely do reports seek to highlight the stories of exemplary Black urban schoolteachers who use technology in spite of limited and out-dated resources. In response, this research, utilizing interpretive case study methodology, examined how four Black teachers integrated the Internet and computer-related technologies into their teaching practices in ways that transformed the thinking and lives of their Black students. Tenets of Critical Race Theory, an analysis of race and racism in the law and in society, was used to examine these Black teachers' classroom practices. This research occurred in two phases. First, I situated the historical, social and political context of Roosevelt City and the emergence of its Black schooling system. This account provided a context for understanding the historical struggle of its Black community to access knowledge within a city based on racial domination and subordination. I analyzed archival data, newspapers and articles, to capture the historical and current atmosphere of Roosevelt City Public Schools. During the second phase, I chose four "transformative" Black teachers to participate in 1) a formal interview about their life story and their teaching philosophies using computer technology; 2) a series of on-going classroom observations in which I examined the classroom dynamics, discourse patterns, activities and the physical setting; and, 3) a series of informal interviews about specific interactions in the classroom. Through the use of ngona, counter-storying, I documented their teaching practice over the course of one thematic unit. Overall, the findings suggest that computers and related technologies 1) assisted teachers in engaging in meaningful instruction about the Black experience, 2) served as an intellectual partner where Black students constructed knowledge; and, 3) became a medium for legitimizing Black student' real life experiences in the "official curriculum."