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 UNCOVERING THE SILENCES: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AT A LARGE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN INDIA(2024) Saini, Ruchi; Klees, Steven Professor; Zaharia, Zeena Associate Professor; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Gender-based violence in universities is a complex and persistent problem that is under-reported and under-researched across the globe. Despite scholarly, advocacy-based, and policy consensus around the need to provide safe learning environments to college students, in-depth qualitative evidence about GBV in universities exists in an amorphous form, particularly when it comes to India. My dissertation is a narrative inquiry that employs an intersectional feminist framework to address this research gap. It draws on two years of field study involving focus group discussions with women bystanders (n=50), and art-based narrative interviews with self-identified victim-survivors (n=10) of GBV at a large public university in India, henceforth called the Indian University. Study I, “What do we know about gender-based violence in formal education institutions in India? A scoping study” is a scoping review that maps the key themes and synthesizes the policy/prevention recommendation within existing empirical qualitative literature on GBV in formal educational institutions in India. Findings show the critical role played by intergenerational hierarchies, gendered sociocultural norms linked to masculinity and femininity, conservatism within families, and intersections of caste and class with gender in shaping both the actions of perpetrators and the experiences of victim-survivors. The findings demonstrate the need for scholars and policymakers to go beyond theoretical conceptualizations of GBV that exclusively focus on interpersonal manifestations of abuse to also include within it structural and cultural manifestations of violence. Study II, “Manifestations of Gender-Based Violence at a Large Public University in India: Voices of Women Students from India” investigates the diverse manifestations of GBV at the Indian University. In the study, I employ the frameworks of the continuum of violence (Kelly, 1988) and structural/cultural violence (Galtung, 1986) to show how students experience a range of abusive behaviors within interpersonal relationships, public spaces, and inside classrooms. Based on the findings, I assert the need for scholars and policymakers to adopt a model of “continuum thinking” that acknowledges and address the “grey areas” of student’s experiences with GBV. I also theorize how specific institutional characteristics, such as the omission of mental health services for queer students, encompass a form of structural violence because it exacerbates the harm suffered by those already marginalized, thereby translating into unequal life opportunities for them. Study III, “How Universities Shape Students’ Experiences with Gender-Based Violence in India: An Intersectional Decolonial Narrative Inquiry” adds to the growing conversation about how universities’ structural and cultural characteristics shape students’ experiences with GBV. In the study, I employ the theoretical framework of “institutional betrayal” (Smith & Freyd, 2014), and foreground the perspectives of bystanders and victim-survivors of GBV at the Indian University. Findings reveal that cultural aspects linked to high-power distance (Hofstede, 1985), the influence of Hindutva politics on the campus, and the prevalence of a chalta hai (literal translation: “anything goes”) attitude sustained GBV on the campus. At the structural level, the findings illuminate that the hiring practices linked to the employment of ad-hoc professors, along with the lack of formal guidelines around the establishment of student-led societies and the tokenistic nature of GBV prevention and redressal services sustained GBV. Study IV, “A Creative and Art-Based Approach to Narrative Inquiry: Decolonizing Gender-Based Violence” explicates how I employed creative and art-based methods in tandem with narrative inquiry in my research to foster a decolonial ethics of care geared towards minimizing participant harm, fostering participant agency, and facilitating co-construction of knowledge. In the study, I make use of participant testimonies and my own observations to demonstrate how the use of vignettes in the FGDs, and art-based research in narrative interviews helped prevent re-traumatization of my participants, facilitated a deeper exploration of the hidden power structures, and supported creative avenues for the dissemination of findings. I end the dissertation by highlighting six key lessons derived from these studies. These lessons focus on the need to 1) identify and name those unspoken and unheard-of forms of GBV that are often shrouded in secrecy, 2) recognize and address the stunning adaptability of GBV 3) prioritize primary prevention strategies, 4) diversify and strengthen secondary and tertiary interventions, 5) disrupt generational and workplace hierarchies, and 6) hold institutions accountable without ignoring individual complicity.Item "Wait, Are You Jewish?": Jewish Culture on Campus(2019) Reich, Madeline Brooke; Moore, Candace M; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)With a number of recent high-profile anti-Jewish hate incidents on college campuses and across the United States, a deeper understanding of Jewish student culture is necessary for practitioners and scholars to better understand Jewish students. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of Jewish college students’ perspectives on Jewish student culture during college. Two research questions were examined: 1) How does an undergraduate Jewish student’s understanding of self, context, and their pathway to Judaism influence their cultural tool kit during college? and 2) In what ways do Jewish students use basic knowledge as part of their tool kits? Five Jewish college students engaged in semi-structured interviews. Through dialogical narrative analysis, four story types emerged: pre-college Jewish experiences, connection to other Jews, rituals and religious services, and basic knowledge.Item EDUCATIONAL PLANS BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL: NARRATIVES OF BLACK MALES' POSTSECONDARY DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES(2008) Lee, Zakiya Shani Smith; McEwen, Marylu K; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The enrollment gap between Black male and female undergraduates began in 1960 and has grown significantly over the years. Although a gender gap exists for all racial/ethnic groups, more attention should be paid to one subgroup of men who are in the worst situation - African American men. The purpose of this study was to understand the influences on and processes by which Black males make decisions about pursuing a college education and searching for a college after high school graduation. Utilizing narrative inquiry methodology, data were collected through interviews, school records, and demographic questionnaires. Participants for this study were 10 12th grade and 1 11th grade Black males attending school in a Mid-Atlantic state. Data were analyzed using initial and focused coding, and the results were considered in relation to three theoretical frameworks, Hossler and Gallagher's (1987) Three Phase Model of College Choice, K. Freeman's (2005) model of African Americans in predisposition, and critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). Participants planned to attend college for financial advancement, career development, and personal growth. Findings suggest that parental encouragement is more influential than parental expectations, as participants whose parents were involved throughout their child's schooling had the clearest college plans. Although most participants did not identify finances as influential to their college decision making, all participants made cost-conscious decisions such as applying for scholarships and financial aid and staying close to home. The effect of low grades was strong and resulted in challenging search processes but did not affect predisposition. Social capital was influential in helping participants learn about college from those knowledgeable about college. Participants also indicated that the presence of career plans, long-term goals, patience, increased motivation and information, and the influence of family may increase the number of Black males enrolled in college. Implications address participants' late start on the college choice process and suggest a default college preparatory curriculum, more informed school personnel, and the standardization of college and career information sessions that will produce knowledgeable Black males who have postsecondary educational options that are not hindered by poor academic performance or lack of information.