Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item THE QUEST FOR I-LITERACY: IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING GAPS IN INFORMATION LITERACY EDUCATION IN INFORMATION SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS(2022) Douglass, Courtney L.; Jaeger, Paul; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Information scholars, educators and librarians have grappled with defining the concept of information literacy for decades – at least as far back as the 1970’s – with the most prominent common thread being as a set of skills. In pedagogy and practice, what higher education currently calls information literacy is delivered more akin to research skills or the ability to effectively conduct and share research in its myriad forms. It is problematic that for so long the emphasis on research and academic skills has wholly devalued those sources deemed non-traditional by academic measures, including popular sources, pop-culture entertainment, and the power of observation. Ironically this emphasis on academic research skills diminishes the extreme societal impact non-traditional sources and stories have had throughout the information age in which we currently find ourselves. In this dissertation, I provide a curriculum map for the required courses in five Undergraduate Information Science Programs, with the dual purpose of aligning instruction practices and gaps with the aforementioned impacts as they determine what information literacy should mean, and encouraging iSchools to adopt and promote a socially constructed model of information literacy, which I am terming i-Literacy. This study demonstrates how iSchool undergraduate programs emphasize understanding that different information mediums are required based on audience, user needs, and the information problem, but may not highlight social and civic responsibility with information use and sharing. The map also shows a strong alignment between the seemingly antiquated ‘Bibliographic Instruction’ practices from the 1980’s and 90’s, and the current pedagogy based on the ACRL Framework.Item Preparing School Leaders to Meet the Needs of Students in Poverty(2022) Vecera, Sandra Gail; Anthony, Douglas; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Opportunity gaps for certain student groups are well documented across the United States as well as in the Mid-Atlantic state where this research occurred. According to Miksic (2014), “American public education aspires to provide rich and poor, Black and White, immigrant and native-born, with equal opportunities for success” (para. 1). While all of these identifiers matter greatly, researchers from Stanford University concluded, “It’s the difference in the poverty composition that is most predictive of the achievement gap” (Samuels, 2019, para. 4). As educators, we are challenged by the question, how do we ensure equity in order to eliminate these opportunity and access gaps for students in poverty? According to recent research by the Wallace Foundation, the impact of effective principals is even larger than previously thought. Highly effective administrators have meaningful impacts on student achievement and attendance as well as teacher satisfaction and retention (Grissom et al., 2021). Leithwood et al. (2004) had also found principals to be the second most important school-level contributor, after teachers, to student achievement. Focusing on school-based leadership and principal pipelines can reduce opportunity gaps for students in poverty. One way to ensure high-quality administrators in every school is through a standards-based induction program for new administrators that is grounded in equity. This study focused on an existing Assistant Principal (AP) Induction Program in a medium-sized public school district in a Mid-Atlantic state. The purpose of this sequential mixed-methods study was to (a) explore the district’s new APs’ (defined as those within their first two years in the role) knowledge related to equity according to Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) Standard 3: Equity and Cultural Responsiveness and (b) determine new APs’ needs for induction related to providing equitable supports to students and families. The research questions guiding this study were: 1. For which of the elements of Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) Standard 3: Equity and Cultural Responsiveness do new APs rate their practice as effective or highly effective? 2. What do new APs perceive as the key administrative practices needed to achieve equity and cultural responsiveness? 3. What barriers or challenges do new APs report that prevent them from meeting or exceeding PSEL Standard 3: Equity and Cultural Responsiveness? New APs completed a baseline knowledge survey as well as participated in individual, structured interviews. Survey responses were summarized and interview transcripts were coded for themes. A document analysis was also conducted in order to triangulate the quantitative and qualitative data. This study found that administrators did not rate their practice as effective or highly effective for PSEL Standard 3 Elements B, D, and F. New APs also identified the key administrative behaviors they needed to achieve educational equity, which were to create a sense of belonging, ensure students have access to resources, and additional supports. Participants also identified the barriers to achieving equity in their practice as systemic decisions and structures, staff mindset, demands of the AP role, and access to resources. Current findings suggest that the school district should consider expanding equity professional learning as part of administrator induction, emphasizing equity at the element level as a part of the induction program, and partnering with other offices and university programs to further enhance administrator induction and training.Item RE/LIVING: EQUITY AND INCLUSION, BECOMING(2021) Mata-Ortega, Gabriel; Keefe, Maura; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This document is the graduate research developed from re/living: equity and inclusion, becoming. As a choreographer, educator, performer, and researcher, Gabriel Mata-Ortega develops through a notion and process of decentering, an extension of decolonizing dominant practices in western concert dance. The focus of the research lies in personal experiences, the body of work from Limón technique, and western concert dance. The work is expanded by theories and practices from work by dance writers, researchers, and choreographers in modern dance and disco culture. Engaging the idea of intersectional dialogue, the varying identities of Mata create pathways to connect, bridge, interrogate, and develop.Item Bilingual in a Monolingual District: Stakeholder Perspectives on Equitable Access to Dual Language Programs(2020) Marcus, Margaret Sullivan; MacSwan, Jeff; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This qualitative comparative case study explores the perspectives of 30 critical stakeholders, including parents, school administrators, and central office personnel, on perceptions of dual language education (DLE) programs at two public dual language schools in a large Mid-Atlantic metropolitan district. This study also explores how these different stakeholders access and perceive access to these programs. Grounded in a conceptual framework that includes Ruiz’s orientations of language (1984), interest convergence (Bell, 1980), critical consciousness (Cervantes-Soon et al., 2017; Palmer, et al., 2019), and equity (Espinoza, 2007; Monk, 1990; Murphy, 1988), this study uses semi-structured interviews to demonstrate converging and diverging views on equitable access to dual language programs. In the focal district of this study, a lottery system offers a mechanism for school choice, but this process does not always lead to access to dual language programs due to high demand and long waitlists. Latinx families choose a bilingual program for different reasons than their English-speaking counterparts. For the Latinx population, dual language represents a way for these families to maintain a connection to their language and heritage. For English-speakers, the DLE program decision is connected to attending their neighborhood school, the idea of their children having early exposure to a language, and the diversity of the community. This study contributes to the current body of literature that explores Latinx and English-speaking parents’ reasons for choosing a DLE program. This study differs from current literature because it includes multiple stakeholder perspectives to understand different interpretations of access to these highly sought-after programs. This study concludes with implications and suggestions for policy, practice, and research. As part of the Memorandum of Understanding with the focal school district, this work will be shared with central office personnel. This research has important implications for policy decisions regarding equitable access to DLE programs, particularly in terms of program intentions and communication between stakeholders.Item MAKING IT THROUGH: PERSISTENCE AND ATTRITION ALONG MUSIC, EDUCATION, AND MUSIC EDUCATION PATHWAYS(2019) Grisé, Adam Twain; Elpus, Kenneth; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In this secondary analysis of data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, I examine predictive factors related to uptake, persistence, and attrition on professional and educational pathways leading individuals to careers in music, education, and music education. I investigate seven years of longitudinal data comparing persistence and attrition factors between pathways, utilizing a multiple perspectives approach to conceptualize the equity of each point along the path. Using recently updated restricted use data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, an ongoing study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics drawing on a nationally representative sample of over 25,000 individuals, I isolated people who, during their high school or college years, indicated intentions to pursue either educational or professional pathways leading to a career in music education. Additionally, I identified individuals who either expressed intentions to pursue pathways toward teaching a non-music subject or toward becoming a professional musician. Tracking these individuals across four sampling points over a seven year period from the beginning of high school to the end of college illuminates the entry and exit points for aspirant music educators, non-music teachers, and professional musicians. I provide a tripartite conception of equity to evaluate the pathway outcomes associated with persistence and attrition along each of these respective paths by framing each outcome phase in terms of demographics, societal influences, and individual contributions. Comparing these populations horizontally to each other provides perspective on how the music education pathway relates to and differs from these parallel trajectories. Comparing persistent to attritive populations within each stream uncovers systematically predictive factors at key junctures. Findings show the significant influence environmental factors, demographic profile, and individual navigational contributions have on uptake into, persistence along, and attrition from the music, education, and music education pathways. Further, these results illustrate key similarities and differences between those who persist on each parallel path. By illuminating some of the systemic choke points along the progression from high school student to professionally-intent degree seeker, this study may have recruitment, matriculation, retention, and attrition implications for music teachers, music teacher educators, policy makers, gatekeepers, and advocates.Item WIDGETS AND DIGITS: A STUDY OF NOVICE MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS ATTENDING TO MATHEMATICS IDENTITY IN PRACTICE(2013) Frank, Toya Jones; Clark, Lawrence M; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This is a study of novice middle-school mathematics teachers' attention to mathematics identity guided by three primary goals: (a) to understand how they were conceptualizing mathematics identity, (b) to investigate how they attended to mathematics identity in practice, and (c) to glean an understanding of the forces that they saw as influential in attending to mathematics identity. I explored how these teachers conceptualized mathematics identity and attended to it across four dimensions: ability, importance, motivation, and the nature of mathematical tasks. I used a metaphor of interlocking gears to represent how these four dimensions were interrelated. While each practicing novice teacher (PNT) conceptualized mathematics identity differently, they all viewed it through an ability lens, meaning their attention to mathematics identity was predicated upon how they positioned students as mathematically competent or incompetent. I used qualitative methods to highlight the perspectives and practices of three PNTs novice teachers who participated in an alternative certification program that prepared teachers to teach in a district with a long, documented history of low student achievement. I used Engeström's (1987, 1999, 2001) activity theory to explore how the elements of the teachers' activity systems promoted or impeded their attention to mathematics identity. I highlighted salient themes across all PNTs in a cross-case analysis. The teachers in the study attended to mathematics identity in various ways. I categorized these tools in three ways: (a) attention to mathematics identity via instruction, (b) attention to mathematics identity via planning, and (c) an emergent sociopolitical stance. I used the cases to provide illustrative examples of what attending to mathematics identity in each category looked like in practice. Across all of the PNTs, the rules at multiple levels (classroom, school, and district) that governed their activity systems were similar in nature. Their test-driven (Valli, Croninger, Chambliss, Graeber, & Buese, 2008) contexts shaped instructional decisions. At the classroom level, classroom management also proved to be a force that either supported or impeded the PNTs' attention to mathematics identity in practice. With the findings and analysis in mind, I present implications for teacher education, data collection, and theoretical considerations.Item Beneath the District Averages: Intradistrict differences in teacher compensation expenditures(2012) Malkus, Nathaniel Nelson; Rice, Jennifer K; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Previous research indicates that typical district budgeting practices mask large between-school teacher compensation expenditures (TCE) differences, that teacher sorting drives those TCE differences, and that TCE differences drive overall resource inequities. While scarce accurate school-level resource data has hindered intradistrict equity research, extant analyses have shown substantial TCE differences disadvantage schools with more non-white, poor and low-performing students. Though compelling, these findings are limited empirically because they examine small numbers of districts and conceptually because they examine average salaries, which cannot control for between-school differences in pupil-teacher ratios or student compensatory needs that could legitimately alter TCE between schools. Empirically, this study expands evidence of intradistrict inequities by measuring TCE variation using universe teacher-salary data for schools and districts in 16 states. Conceptually, this study allows for improved intradistrict TCE equity comparisons through a novel weighting approach that adjusts per-pupil TCE to control for differences in schools' compensatory needs and pupil-teacher ratios. Using detailed data for four states, each district's de facto staff-allocation weights are estimated and used to weight schools' student counts to statistically control for different allocations of teachers relative to student compensatory needs. Schools' TCE is indexed by weighted pupil counts to control for legitimate TCE differences associated with compensatory needs. By measuring TCE at the student level while controlling for compensatory needs, this weighted per-pupil TCE approach provides a more precise measure of intradistrict TCE equity than the average salaries used in previous research. Using descriptive statistics, district-level OLS regressions and hierarchical models on schools within districts, these analyses gauge the scope of TCE inequity and identify the district and school characteristics associated with it. Findings reveal that TCE variation is a widespread district phenomenon, and that districts with greater between-school variation in student poverty, race, and performance have more TCE variation. Within districts, schools with more poor, non-white, and low performing students receive below-average TCE. At the district and school levels, teacher sorting is strongly associated with the distribution of TCE. These findings suggest that intradistrict TCE inequities are widespread and divert targeted compensatory funds. Moreover, intradistrict resource equity deserves increased policy and research attention.Item Participatory Equity and Student Outcomes in Living-Learning Programs of Differing Thematic Types(2011) Soldner, Matthew E.; Inkelas, Karen K; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study evaluated participatory equity in varying thematic types of living-learning programs and, for a subset of student group × program type combinations found to be below equity, used latent mean modeling to determine whether statistically significant mean differences existed between the outcome scores of living-learning participants and their peers in traditional residence hall environments. This study employs a conceptual framework informed by Astin's (1991) IEO model and Pascarella and Terenzini's (1980) model of structural mediation in residential environments, and is based on data collected as part of the 2007 National Study of Living-Learning Programs. First, a team of raters used descriptive content analytic techniques to identify a typology of living-learning programs consisting of 41 specific thematic types, based on those programs' stated goals and objectives. That typology was the basis for computing Hao's (2002) equity indices, which were used to determine whether students from different racial/ethnic groups or socioeconomic statuses were under- or over-represented in specific thematic types of living-learning programs, relative to their representation in living-learning programs overall. Twenty-two race/ethnicity × type combinations exhibited low levels of participatory equity, as did 13 socioeconomic status × type combinations. Three group × type combinations were selected for latent mean modeling, including: (a) Asian/Pacific Islander students in disciplinary, general academic, honors programs; (b) White students in international/global programs; and (c) low-SES students in honors programs. The outcome of interest for Asian/Pacific Islander and low-SES students was ease of academic transition, and, for White students, diversity appreciation. Analyses revealed that although L/L participants reported higher mean scores on measures of several key living and learning environments, no statistically significant mean difference in outcome measures was observed. In the face of the participatory inequities found in this national sample of living-learning programs, the primary implication for student affairs practitioners generally is that the exploration of equity in high-impact practices for students--and involvement and engagement opportunities for all members of the university community--is warranted. This implication is indicated for living-learning practitioners as well, who can also take findings vis-à-vis the relationship between key living and learning environments and specific student outcomes in to account when designing and improving the programs with which they work. Finally, living-learning practitioners should consider whether the relatively small differences in environment measures and the lack of detectable differences in outcome measures is driven by weak treatments, weak measures, or both.