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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    Principals Leading for Educational Equity: Social Justice in Action
    (2012) Eldridge, Cynthia; Mawhinney, Hanne B.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This qualitative case study examined how principals promote educational equity in schools.. The study examined the experiences of three principals in a school district that mandated that principals lead for equity. The school system defined equity as the elimination of racial predictability in student achievement. To conduct this examination, the researcher conducted an analysis of transcripts from semi- structured interviews. The study's findings overview four conditions that are commonly promoted by principals to address inequities within their schools: leadership for equity, an equity focus, equity enhancing practices and structures. The findings from this case study added to current knowledge about the need for an equity plan model that principals can apply in planning and leading for educational equity in their schools. Studying how principals promote educational equity in schools proved a significant way to learn about how today's schools address inequities facing African American and Hispanic students. The study also added to current knowledge about social justice in education, as the foundation for educational equity work. Suggestions for further research include: investigating principals leading for educational equity in a district that did not mandate this idea; further comparison studies with the principal as the primary unit of analysis; including teacher and student perceptions would be beneficial. Research that provides further description of the experiences of principals working to become leaders in educational equity will extend our professional knowledge on this topic.
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    An Analysis of Pedestrian-Vehicular Crashes Near Public Schools in the City of Baltimore, Maryland
    (2005-05-04) Fults, Kandice Kreamer; Clifton, Kelly J; Civil Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In previous research, children have been shown to be involved in pedestrian-vehicular crashes in high numbers due to improper pedestrian behaviors. Little research has been conducted to examine the relationship between schools and pedestrian crashes. This study analyzes pedestrian-vehicular crashes in the City of Baltimore, Maryland to determine any relationships that may exist between crashes near public schools and the physical and social attributes of these schools. It was found that the presence of a driveway decreases crash occurrence and severity. A setback from the road will decrease crash occurrence but increase the severity of the crashes. The presence of off-street parking was shown to increase the severity of a crash, particularly for children ages 16-18. Recreational facilities are shown to increase the crash occurrence and severity of crashes. This study however, is limited as it does not include pedestrian demand data and the results should be interpreted as such.
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    An Examination of Treatment Integrity Practices and Behavioral Outcomes When Utilizing the Second Step Curriculum
    (2004-04-30) Reed, Jocelyn G.; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services
    School violence is a major problem in urban schools requiring intensive preventative and intervention practices. Social skills training programs can help teach students the nonverbal and verbal behaviors used in interactions with others that can lead to positive social outcomes (Korinek & Popp, 1997). However, very little research has addressed the degree to which a social skills training program was implemented with integrity. Similarly, little is known about the acceptability of many widely used social skills training programs. This study will contribute to the research base of social skills training by increasing the knowledge base for the treatment acceptability of and treatment integrity practices utilized when teaching the Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum (Committee for Children, 1992). This case study utilized a qualitative approach to evaluate teachers' perceived and actual implementation practices, level of treatment integrity and treatment acceptability when utilizing Second Step. Classroom observations of implementation of critical lesson components revealed that most teachers implemented second step with low levels of integrity. Focus groups conducted with teachers revealed moderate to strong levels of acceptability for Second Step. Teachers were generally aware of the lesson components that they did not implement, but generally tended to over emphasize their use of other lesson components (e.g., role plays). Difficulties with program implementation included the lack of sufficient time to implement the program and relevance of some of the lesson particularly with English language learners. Teacher acceptance was both positively and negatively related to treatment integrity levels.