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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    EXAMINING THE SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS AND LEADERSHIP PRACTICES OF MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS WITH HIGH SUCCESS RATES OF MINORITY STUDENTS IN ALGEBRA I
    (2014) McKnight, Monifa Bellinger; Parham, Carol S; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This qualitative case study examined the self-efficacy beliefs of three middle school principals who had high enrollment and successful completion rates of minority students in Algebra I. With current tracking systems impacting minority student enrollment in rigorous courses, particularly in the area of mathematics, there is a need to explore and analyze the beliefs and practices of successful principals to ensure academic success for minority students in the subject of mathematics, particularly in middle school. To conduct this study, I analyzed transcripts from semi-structured interviews. The findings from this study reinforced the notion that self-efficacy beliefs were largely influenced by mastery experiences and vicarious experiences. The findings from this case study contributed additional knowledge about principal self-efficacy and the need for leadership development programs to help leaders define their own self-efficacy practices as it relates to closing the achievement gap. Examining the self-efficacy beliefs of successful middle school principals who have high minority student success in Algebra supports a compelling way to learn about how school leaders are addressing ways to close the achievement gap between African American and Latino students in comparison to their Asian and White peers. This study has practice implications for school systems interested in building the capacity for principal leadership development programs focused on leaders building a durable sense of self-efficacy to lead middle schools for change. Closing the achievement gap in helping all students to graduate college-ready requires a renewed focus on leadership during the middle school years.
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    Examining Teacher Beliefs about Diverse Students Through Transformative Learning: The Common Beliefs Survey and the Disorienting Dilemma
    (2011) Duncan Grand, DeAnna; O'Flahavan, John; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    As the diversity of America's public school students grows, current and future teachers must be prepared to meet the needs of students who are increasingly different from them ethnically, racially and socio-economically. Research indicates that one of the ways to impact teachers' instructional practices with these and other students is to address problematic teacher beliefs and assumptions around these dimensions. Using the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Diverse Students Initiative's Common Beliefs Survey, this research study explores Mezirow's Transformation Theory as a possibility for addressing these often problematic teacher beliefs. Specifically, the study looks at the research question: What was the nature of Common Beliefs Survey users' disorienting dilemmas (CBS)? The disorienting dilemma is the first step in perspective transformation as outlined in Mezirow's Transformation Theory. The study's participants included teacher educators and graduate and undergraduate education students. Overall, the study affirmed that disorienting dilemmas varied among individuals in terms of intensity; are often emotional in nature; and users' attributes were main contributors to experiencing disorienting dilemmas. The study also indicated that the CBS content helped trigger disorienting dilemmas among most of the study's participants by providing opportunities to reflect on their beliefs and assumptions and by providing information that challenged existing information or knowledge they had.
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    Examining the Status of Equity in Undergraduate Enrollments for Black, Latino and Low-Income Students at Public Four-Year Universities and Flagship Campuses
    (2007-11-27) Gerald, Danette Stacie; Milem, Jeffrey F.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study extends prior research (e.g., Bensimon, Hao & Bustillos, 2006; Perna, et al., 2006) that has examined postsecondary access and equity in enrollments for underrepresented student groups. Descriptive statistics are used to examine the status of equity in undergraduate enrollments for Black, Latino and low-income students, as well as trends in the status of equity for these groups from 1994 to 2004, at public flagship campuses and at other public four-year universities. Multivariate regression analyses are used to test the study's conceptual model which explores whether a relationship exists between variables shaped by human capital and institutional isomorphism, and institutions' equity indices. This study advances understandings of the degree to which the public four-year sector is adequately enrolling students from underrepresented groups, the relationship between institutions' flagship status and the enrollment equity indices for various groups of, the relationship between the pursuit of prestige and equity in undergraduate enrollments, and how variables within institutions' purview of control are related to their enrollment equity indices. The study's findings suggest that Black, Latino and low-income students do not achieve equity in undergraduate enrollments at public four-year universities or flagship campuses in a majority of states. In most states, Black and low-income students are more likely to achieve equity at public four year universities than at flagships, while Latinos are more likely to achieve equity at flagship campuses than at other public four-year universities. Of all three student groups, however, low-income students are most likely to be underrepresented in undergraduate enrollments at both public four-year universities and flagship campuses. The descriptive analyses also show that, over a 10-year period, the enrollment equity indices for Black and Latino students have decreased at public four-year institutions and flagship campuses in a majority of states. Conversely, the enrollment equity indices for low-income students increased at public four-year and flagship universities in a majority of states during the same time period. However, despite the upward trend in the enrollment equity indices for low-income students, in 2004 this group achieved equity at public four-year universities in only five states and at the public flagship university in only one state. The results of the multivariate analyses suggest that a relationship exists between human capital and institutional isomorphism variables, and the enrollment equity indices for Black, Latino and low-income students. The analyses also reveal a statistically significant negative relationship between institutions' flagship status and their enrollment equity indices for Black and low-income students, but not for Latino students. The study's findings have implications for policy, practice and research. Specifically, the findings underscore the need to examine the status of equity within state-specific contexts, and to calculate separate equity indices for different institutional sectors. The study also identifies several directions for future research.