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 Predicting Study Abroad Interests and Choice Goals Through Social Cognitive Career Theory(2020) Wang, Ruogu Jason; Lent, Robert W; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Studying abroad in college is an educational choice that has significant implications for students’ personal, academic, and career development. Applying the Social Cognitive Career Theory interests and choice models (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), this study examined social cognitive predictors of study abroad interest and intent. First, the psychometric properties of new and revised domain-specific social cognitive variables were assessed with an initial sample of students (N = 325) from a Mid-Atlantic university, yielding 8 factors and adequate factor-derived psychometrics. This was followed by measurement model testing on a second, nationwide sample of students (N = 277), which showed that the overall model fit indices offered good fit to the data. Regressions on the second sample produced support for most of the SCCT paths predicting study abroad interests and study abroad intent. Finally, practice-based implications and directions for future research are discussed.Item Being "good company" to students on their journeys toward intercultural maturity: A case study of a study abroad program(2018) Nyunt, Gudrun; Espino, Michelle; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In an increasingly interconnected global society, study abroad is often seen as an effective way to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century but recent studies have questioned the effectiveness of study abroad. The purpose of this qualitative case study of the Maryland Social Entrepreneur Corps Study Abroad program – an 8-week summer program in a Latin American or Caribbean country with a pre-departure and a debriefing course – was to explore how educators can shape the learning environment in a study abroad program to promote students’ development of intercultural maturity. Data collection included semi-structured interviews with student participants and the instructor of the pre-departure and debriefing courses at the beginning and end of the program; a focus group with student participants; observations of the pre-departure and debriefing course sessions; document analysis of recruitment materials, course syllabi, and student assignments; and participants’ scores on the Global Perspective Inventory, a quantitative tool. The study’s findings indicate that participants experienced some growth in all three dimensions of development– cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal – though most did not reach the mature level of the intercultural maturity. Educators in the study abroad program fostered students learning by integrating participants in the day-to-day lives of host families and other host nationals and portraying culture as complex and contextual, but also missed opportunities to do so. Educators struggled to balance encouraging participants to take initiative and bring in new ideas with providing guidance and leadership. Time for reflection was limited and educators missed opportunities to take reflection to a deeper and more critical level that could have helped participants make sense of their experiences and learning abroad. The study adds to the literature by (a) connecting study abroad outcomes to overarching goals of higher education in the 21st century; (b) advancing a conceptual model that combines King and Baxter Magolda’s developmental model of intercultural maturity with Baxter Magolda’s learning partnership model; and (c) by providing feedback for King and Baxter Magolda’s developmental model of intercultural maturity.Item Alternative Break Programs and the Factors that Contribute to Changes in Students' Lives(2012) Niehaus, Elizabeth K; Inkelas, Karen Kurotsuchi; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to and ways in which student participants in Alternative Break (AB) programs report that their AB experience influenced their intentions or plans to volunteer, engage in advocacy, or study or travel abroad, or their major or career plans. Additional analysis explored the specific program characteristics related to the influence of the AB experience on students' lives in these six ways, and differences between domestic and international AB programs. The theoretical basis of this study was provided by Mezirow's (1991, 1997, 2000) theory of Transformative Learning, Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of Reasoned Action, and Etzioni (1992) theory of Normative-Affective Decision Making. Building on these three theories, Astin's (1991) Inputs-Environments-Outcomes (IEO) model provided structure to the analysis and interpretation of the relationships between student, program, and institutional characteristics and the outcomes in question. The data from this study were collected as part of the National Survey of Alternative Breaks, a multi-institutional survey of students who participated in Alternative Spring Break programs in 2011. Overall 2187 students responded to the survey, representing 443 separate AB trips and 97 colleges and universities. Data from the survey were analyzed following the above conceptual framework (modified to account for the nesting of the data) using descriptive analysis and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The results of this study show that students overwhelmingly do report that their AB experience influences these outcomes, and there are a number of program characteristics related to the influence of the AB programs. The extent to which students were emotionally challenged and able to connect their AB experience to larger social issues, the frequency with which students wrote in individual journals, the amount students learned from their interactions with community members and other students on their trip, and the comprehensiveness of the reorientation program after returning to campus were all significant, positive predictors of all or most of the outcomes explored. Finally, an international program location was significantly related to the influence of the AB experience on students' intentions or plans to study or travel abroad.Item Examining the Socially Responsible Leadership Development Outcomes of Study Abroad Experiences for College Seniors(2010) Lee, Amye Mae; Komives, Susan R.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis explored the leadership development outcomes of study abroad experiences for college seniors. This is the first study attempting to identify the link between involvement in study abroad, a growing trend in higher education, and student leadership development, a value of higher education institutions. Data from the 2009 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership was used in this study, specifically the sample of over 31,000 seniors from 99 four-year institutions. The hypothesis that study abroad contributes significantly to student leadership development was tested using hierarchical regression statistical analysis. This study's model explained 21% of the variance in the omnibus measure of the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS), with pre-college leadership development factors as the only independent variable with significant contribution. A post-hoc analysis found that there was a small but significant difference on the omnibus SRLS between those who did, and those who did not, study abroad. This study's findings offer implications for higher education practitioners and research.Item Youth Exchange and Peacebuilding Post 9/11: Experiences of Muslim High School Exchange Students(2010) Radomski, Carol; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. government initiated a youth exchange program to bring Muslim students to the U.S. for a school year. The Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program was created to help reduce tensions, and foster mutual understanding and respect between people in the U.S. and the Muslim world. It is commonly assumed that exchange programs promote cross-cultural understanding and goodwill, leading to a more peaceful world. Drawing on literature in the fields of peace education, intergroup relations, and international educational exchange, this study explores the connections between youth exchange and peacebuilding in our post 9/11 world. This qualitative, interview-based study examines the experiences of twenty-one Muslim high school exchange students participating in the YES program in the 2007-2008 school year. The study participants were between 16 and 19 years old and came from eight countries in the Middle East and Asia. The study highlights the exchange students' experiences living with American host families and attending American high schools. The study also explores how the exchange students carried out their role as young ambassadors, helping Americans understand their countries, cultures, and religion, as well as how they dealt with sometimes being labeled as terrorists. The experiences of the exchange students in this study provide evidence that youth exchange can foster changes in attitudes, affects, skills, and behaviors that are likely to contribute to a more peaceful world. The program structure and duration facilitate the formation of close personal relationships, as well as tremendous personal growth. The program goals and expectations also contribute to the students' success as young ambassadors. The students were able to correct inaccurate stereotypes and develop skills in cultural mediation. This study also demonstrates that youth exchange incorporates many of the key components of peace education programs. Recommendations for program changes include focusing more directly on peace and peace education, addressing conflict issues, building skills in conflict mediation, developing leaders for peace, and training local coordinators in peace education.Item Grounded Identities, Transient Lives: The Emergence of Student Voices in an Era of Globalization(2008-11-20) Gargano, Terra; Finkelstein, Barbara; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study offers a rare glimpse into the histories, images, and meanings that inform the experiences of six international degree-seeking undergraduate students at the University of Maryland College Park in the spring of 2007. Specifically, the design and content of this study centers around the recovery of student voices as a way to understand the limitations and possibilities of international education policies and practices. The experiences of these six students in many ways challenge the understanding and categorization of a traditional international student. Focusing almost exclusively on nationality as an organizing agent and bereft of significant and robust concepts that bring into view the content of international student sense-making, international education discourses neglect to explore the complexity and range of meanings students ascribe to educational sojourns, thereby resulting in a series of undocumented generalizations made about students. This study reveals that these twenty-first century students are experienced border crossers with very complex identities. These students engage in diverse constructions of meaning as they negotiate the boundaries of geography and mind that are inherent aspects of crossing borders. The perspectives of these contemporary students suggest the need for a foundational rethinking of the assumptions that ground the international education literature and a reconceptualization of the entire apparatus of thinking about educational sojourns. Through an analysis of how student participation in transnational spaces influenced pathways to the university, how students negotiated identities as international students, and how students envisioned futures, it becomes evident that a new kind of international student is emerging.Item Study Abroad as a Passport to Student Learning: Does the Duration of the Study Abroad Program Matter?(2005-05-27) Neppel, Jill Marie; Kurotsuchi Inkelas, Karen; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined the effect of the length of a study abroad program on the achievement of four learning outcomes: cognitive complexity, liberal learning, personal philosophy, and interpersonal self-confidence. Data was collected through a web-based survey instrument that was administered to a sample population of University of Maryland study abroad participants. The following study abroad programs were represented: Fall 2003, Winter 2004, Spring 2004, Summer 2004, Academic Year 2003-2004, Fall 2004, and Winter 2005. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed in the research design with gender and academic class standing as covariates. The results found each of the research hypotheses to be statistically significant. The amount of growth in cognitive complexity, liberal learning, personal philosophy and interpersonal self-confidence was found to be significantly higher in the self-reported scores of those respondents who studied abroad on long-term programs in comparison to those individuals who studied abroad on short-term programs.Item An examination of the relationship between students' interaction with host nationals while on study abroad and their development of intercultural sensitivity(2004-05-12) Armfield, Patricia Anne; Komives, Susan R.; Counseling and Personnel ServicesThis study examined the relationship between students' interactions with host nationals while on study abroad and their development of intercultural sensitivity. The theoretical base was drawn from Allport's (1954) contact hypothesis. The researcher used the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Chen & Starosta, 2000), items revised from previous studies concerning interaction with difference, and demographic items. The sample consisted of 60 undergraduate students who had returned to the University of Maryland from a Fall 2003 semester abroad. Regression results found a significant increase in students' level of intercultural sensitivity prior to participating in study abroad and their level upon their return. The results are limited by low response rates. No significant relationship was found between the students' interactions with host nationals as measured in this study and their development of intercultural sensitivity. Future research is needed to further apply and operationalize Allport's (1954) contact hypothesis.