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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Item Teachers of Color Return Home to Teach(2023) Bunney, Kanoe; Brown, Tara M.; Swalwell, Katy; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While increases in the number of K-12 teachers of color has been linked to decreases in achievement disparities between White students and their Black and Latino counterparts, a demographic divide continues to persist between teachers and students. Teach for America has made efforts to match teacher and student backgrounds in hopes of alleviating these racial and ethnic disparities. Further, overall K-12 teacher staffing shortages have prompted alternative certification programs, such as TFA, to provide quick entry routes into the classroom. This dissertation focuses on the experiences of former TFA teachers of color who returned to their home communities as educators. Taking a narrative inquiry approach, this research utilizes the stories brought forth by participants as data sources. Participants shared stories of their K-12 student and teaching experiences in the same geographic location in which they grew up. Informed by theories related to teacher identity, racial literacy, social capital and culturally responsive teaching, this study aims to understand how teaching in one’s home community influences both teacher identity and teacher-student relationships. Three central findings emerged from the study: 1) participants drew upon assets based on cultural and neighborhood affiliations as they connected with students, 2) participants both cultivated and gained social capital in their work in the classroom and amongst faculty members, and 3) experiences away from home contributed to their racial literacy, their effectiveness as teachers, and their advocacy for students of color. These findings point to the relevance of centering both culturally responsive teaching and geographic location in urban teacher preparation programs. Pre-service teachers might benefit from volunteering in the community to better understand the students who attend neighborhood schools. Study implications also urge “Grow-Your-Own” teacher preparation programs to consider embedding a year of teaching and learning abroad for pre-service educators.Item Displacement: Placemaking for the Uprooted(2018) Khan, Dur-e-Nayab; VanderGoot, Jana; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Increasing migration to cities in developed countries is an inevitable part of present day’s globalizing society. For those migrating, the process is often a byproduct of war or absence of opportunities in migrants’ native homelands. It is a privilege, a manner of freedom, and a chance at a higher quality of life. As waves of migrants enter foreign countries, various problems arise, exacerbated by rising impressions of detachment from the loss of everything native. Migrants also experience feelings of displacement both physical and psychological. This thesis analyzes how architecture can mediate the process of assimilation into a new geography by creating a sense of place. The argument will assert that idiosyncrasies within the population are catalysts for an enlightened culture. This thesis does not intend to solve the problem of migration, but rather open a conversation about belonging, memory, and hybridity as it applies to the migrant and the built environment. Currently, there is a lack of architectural precedent successfully accommodating migrating populations. To fill this gap, this thesis will propose both a dwelling and a gallery to raise awareness, memorialize the remaining fragments of homelands and construe immigrants’ feelings of deracination to evoke a sense of empathy. The proposal will be situated in Washington D.C. so that it may serve as a model for creating similar forums in this age of mass migration.Item Sites of Belonging, Sites of Empowerment: How Asian American Girls Construct "Home" in a Borderland World(2012) Tokunaga, Tomoko; Finkelstein, Barbara; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This ethnographic study explores the ways in which nine first, 1.5, and second generation Asian American high school girls imagine, search for, and construct home-like sites. The study revealed that "home" for the girls was not only the place where the girls sleep, their families reside, or the country from where they came. Instead, "home," was multiple, literal, and imagined spaces, places, and communities where the girls felt a sense of belonging, empowerment, community, ownership, safety, and opportunity. In order to examine the behaviors, meaning, and perspectives of these girls, I conducted participant observations, interviews, and focus groups at an Asian American youth organization as well as in the girls' homes, schools, and neighborhoods. I also had online communication with the girls and collected supplementary materials and sources. The study revealed that the girls had creativity and improvisational skills to invent various "homes" as they linked the many worlds in which they lived. The girls carved out multiple "homes" --through imagining belonging globally while building belonging locally. They imagined an expansive understanding of "home" in the deterritorialized world. They idealized their countries of origin, acknowledged the United States as a possible "home," portrayed a third possible homeland where they had never lived, and fashioned a pan-Asian consciousness. The girls not only imagined "homes" outside of their immediate view but also co-constructed a home-like community in their everyday lives. They named it the Basement Group, after the place where they hang out in school. They developed a group identity which honored five characteristics: 1) expansion of who is family to include friends, 2) pride in diversity and inclusivity, 3) celebrations of cultural fusion, 4) value of "natural" girlhood beauty, and 5) shared interest in Asian popular culture. They constructed a borderland community in which they could collectively celebrate and nurture their in-between lives. This study illuminated the power and complexity of their lives in-between as well as expanded the terrains of agency that the girls possessed. The study also revealed intersectional differences among the girls. It provided lessons for youth organizations and schools to create spaces where immigrant youth can thrive.Item Assessing the Potential for Doormats to Reduce Pesticide Residues in the Home(2006-05-04) Ganser, Leanne Marie; Brown, Amy E; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined the recommended practice of using doormats at entryways into the home to reduce indirect pesticide exposure. Using doormats to reduce track-in of pesticides is commonly recommended to pesticide applicators, but no studies of the usefulness of this recommendation appear in the literature. The effectiveness of doormats was evaluated by determining the soil levels dislodged from doormats and by determining the ability for laundering to remove pesticide residues embedded into the mats. The performance of three doormat types was assessed. High levels of soil were dislodged from all doormat types. Results from laundering mats showed large variability in the level of residues detected. The results from both studies were influenced by the methods used to test the dislodgeability and effectiveness of laundering. The results of the study suggest further studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of doormats to reduce the potential for pesticide contamination inside the home.