Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2226

The departments within the College of Education were reorganized and renamed as of July 1, 2011. This department incorporates the former departments of Counseling & Personnel Services; Education Leadership, Higher Education & International Education (excluding Organizational Leadership & Policy Studies); and Special Education.

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Higher education administration

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 24
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    To Be in the Middle: A Collective Case Study Exploring Neoliberalism, Learning Analytics, and Middle Management in Academic Research Libraries
    (2024) Gammons, Rachel Wilder; Espino, Michelle; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This dissertation explores the intersections of neoliberalism, learning analytics, and middle management within academic libraries. Utilizing a qualitative collective case study methodology, it examines how nine women-identified academic librarian middle managers at U.S. public research institutions interpreted and responded to the integration of library metrics with learning analytics. The study addresses the interplay between professional values, gender identity, and faculty status, revealing five core assertions drawn from the experience of participants: the pervasive sense of “middle-ness” in organizational hierarchies, psychosocial tensions of dual roles as administrators and practitioners, systemic setup for failure within the system, personal sacrifices required to maintain professional standards, and the high costs of resisting neoliberal directives. By positioning learning analytics as a manifestation of neoliberal ideology, this research provides critical insights into the impact of market-driven policies on academic librarianship, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations and a balanced approach to integrating learning analytics while preserving traditional library values. The findings have significant implications for library policy, practice, and future research, highlighting the importance of ethical leadership amidst evolving market dynamics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    “SCREAMING DOWN THE HALLWAY”, BUT NO ONE IS LISTENING TO ME: EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF BLACK RESIDENTIAL STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS REGARDING OCCUPATIONAL WELLNESS AT HISTORICALLY WHITE INSTITUTIONS
    (2023) Dissassa, Di-Tu; Moore, Candace M; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Amid ongoing occurrences of racism in the United States, consideration of the campus climate for Staff of Color remains under explored in literature. Specifically, Black student affairs employees who both live and work on campus are an understudied population regarding how race intersects with their residential life roles and how their wellness is impacted through these intersections. Through this study’s use of critical frameworks, the coresearchers and I sought to uncover their lived experiences through interviews, reflections, and focus groups. Four themes emerged from the findings of this research: (a) The Live-In Experience as Socialized and Conventional, (b) Belonging as Dualism, (c) Physical Safety as an Impediment to Occupational Wellness, and (d) Performativity as Racism. The coresearchers articulated that they were socialized into their experiences, yet (a) felt little belonging on campus due to their race and (b) felt a misfit when living in residence halls. Although the sense of belonging findings were consistent with existing campus climate research, articulated aspects of physical safety-related occupational health theories regarding occupational wellness suggested the coresearchers felt occupational distress surrounding their physical safety. The coresearchers also highlighted clearly that they experienced high levels of performative antiracism efforts from their departments and institutions, leading to feelings of isolation. Despite these challenges, the coresearchers described finding solace in community with other Black people and People of Color to provide aspects of wellness their institutions could not provide. Further research is needed to truly understand the implications of departmental and institutional leadership around performativity and lack of belonging for Staff of Color.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Negotiating Values: A Narrative Study of Career Indecision for First-Generation College Students of Color
    (2022) Cho, Jeffrey; Turner Kelly, Bridget; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The prevailing narrative surrounding higher education in the United States is that completion of a bachelor’s degree leads to socioeconomic mobility through the attainment of a well-paying job. First-generation college (FGC) students of color are particularly attuned to this “promise of higher education,” but little is known about how they make career decisions during college and how they navigate challenges in career decision-making. This study sought to understand how FGC students of color experienced the phenomenon of career indecision under the broader scheme of their career development. Using a tripartite conceptual framework composed of social cognitive career theory, the four-factor model of career indecision, and community cultural wealth, this study was guided by the following research questions: (1) how, if at all, do undergraduate FGC students of color navigate career indecision? (2) In what ways, if any, do racial cultural values these students hold shape how they make meaning of their career indecision? Using narrative inquiry, this study adopted an asset-based lens to portray the stories of six undergraduate FGC students of color from a variety of racial and career backgrounds and their experiences with career indecision. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis revealed the racialized nature of occupational decision-making for participants. Furthermore, they needed to balance familial expectations for socioeconomic mobility through career success with their own personal occupational interests. This study’s findings provide implications for future interdisciplinary research that further investigates the roles intrapersonal and environmental factors play in the career indecision of FGC students of color during college and as they transition into the workforce. The findings also suggest ways in which colleges and universities can better support these students during their career development in ways that align with the latter’s cultural values.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    In Pursuit of the Academic Deanship: Women's Considerations, Choice Environments, and Career Paths
    (2021) Templeton, Lindsey Lee; O'Meara, KerryAnn; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Fewer women than men hold leadership roles in many fields, including higher education (Johnson, 2016). Despite changes in the demographics of college students (Lumina Foundation, 2015) and the traditional definitions of leadership (Kezar et al., 2006), the number of women declines as rank increases, starting at the role of full professor (Dominici et al., 2009; Johnson, 2016). The traditional path to the pinnacle of academic leadership – the role of the academic president – typically flows from faculty to department chair, dean to provost to president (Moore et al., 1983). Based on this pathway, the academic deanship is frequently viewed as a critical point in the path to academic leadership (Moore et al., 1983; Thrash, 2012; Wolverton & Gonzales, 2000). Yet little research actually examines individuals’ reasons for pursuing the deanship and women lack representation at this critical point in the pipeline (Almanac of Higher Education, 2014; Behr & Schneider, 2015). The purpose of this study is to understand how and why senior women faculty decide to pursue the academic deanship. Using a qualitative, collective case study and awareness of different aspects of identity, this study examines the choice processes for 12 women serving as deans at research-intensive institutions as they reflect on their decision to pursue the academic deanship. This research is framed by Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent et al., 1984), choice architecture (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008), and decision-making theories (March, 1994). Data collection included a two-step interview process and analysis of participant-generated narratives and visual depictions. Key findings suggest: 1) women choose to pursue the academic deanship in order to make an impact on their college, institution, or discipline; 2) the decision-making processes of women in pursuit of the academic deanship are shaped by their local choice environments, individual ambition, and prevailing assumptions; and 3) previous leadership experience is a critical component in women’s decisions to pursue the role of dean. Implications for research and practice are provided, including a need to systemically challenge the traditional path to academic leadership and to create space for women to lead at their home institution.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    COLLECTIVE RESISTANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A PARTICIPATORY ACTION STUDY WITH & FOR UNDOCUMENTED COLLEGE STUDENTS IN VIRGINIA
    (2020) Salazar, Cinthya; Espino, Michelle M.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this study was to understand how undocumented students at a large public research university in Virginia (VPU) navigated higher education to pursue their educational goals by engaging three undocumented college students as co-researchers in participatory action research (PAR). Using a conceptual framework I called the ecological model of undocumented student persistence (EMUSP), which integrated Suárez-Orozco, Yoshikawa, Teranishi, and Suárez-Orozco’s (2011) ecological developmental model and Padilla’s (1991, 1999, 2009) expertise model of student success, my co-researchers and I were able to account for the multiple ecosystem barriers (macro—federal, exo—state, and micro—institution) that undocumented students in the Commonwealth were facing. Through this framework, we focused on the persistence strategies that undocumented students implemented by obtaining an in-depth understanding of the knowledge they possessed and developed, as well as the actions they took to manage the barriers they encountered in higher education. The study revealed that exosystem level (Virginia) tuition equity guidelines were dependent on temporary macrosystem level (United States) policies and negatively affected participants’ persistence and emotional wellbeing. Within the microsystem (VPU), participants perceived higher education administrators as unsupportive and available resources as limited and insufficient to meet their needs as undocumented students. Family surfaced as a critical microsystem and source for participants’ motivations to pursue and persist in higher education. Finally, inside the “black box” of higher education, participants managed the barriers they encounter in college but were unable to overcome them, resulting in a recurring cycle of persistence. Overall, this study adds to the literature in four distinctive ways, by (a) studying a subgroup of undocumented students that is underrepresented in higher education scholarship, college students without documentation in the Commonwealth of Virginia; (b) employing PAR, a methodological approach that has not been used to study undocumented college students; (c) advancing a conceptual framework, the EMUSP, that combines the ecological developmental model (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2011) with the expertise model of student success (Padilla, 1991, 1999, 2009); and (d) exposing the post-2016 U.S. presidential elections’ sociopolitical realities affecting undocumented immigrants within higher education, as well as their counterstories of college persistence.
  • Thumbnail Image
    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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    STORIES OF A TAIWANESE DIASPORA: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY ON THE EXPERIENCES OF TAIWANESE AMERICAN STUDENTS
    (2018) Chang, Stephanie Hsiao-Sho; Park, Julie J; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    There is a growing emphasis on students’ cultural experiences on campus. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore Taiwanese American students and their connection to Taiwanese culture. As a critical-cultural narrative inquiry this study (a) brought attention to Taiwanese American students and their engagement with Taiwanese culture, (b) expanded upon notions of home and experiences of bicultural integration, and (c) utilized diaspora as a theoretical perspective in a student development and higher education context. Research questions guiding this exploration included the following: (1) What do Taiwanese American students identify as significant and meaningful components of Taiwanese culture? (2) How and where do Taiwanese American students connect to Taiwanese culture on campus? (3) In what ways do the experiences of Taiwanese American students contribute to the existence of Taiwanese diaspora? Eight Taiwanese American students from a Mid-Atlantic University participated in this study. Each participant engaged in two interviews. The outcome of this study included individual participant narratives and a grand narrative encompassing four themes: recognizing their parents’ influence, navigating multiple cultural contexts, finding meaningful connections in non-Taiwanese American settings, and making decisions to move closer to Taiwanese culture. This study explored the importance of Taiwanese American students’ connectedness to their ethnic cultural background.
  • Thumbnail Image
    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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    MOVING BEYOND COMMON PARADIGMS OF LEADERSHIP: UNDERSTANDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED LEADERSHIP IDENTITY
    (2017) Rocco, Melissa Lynn; Griffin, Kimberly A; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In both formal and informal ways, leadership is woven into the fabric of higher education. Developing students into leaders who meet the demands of an increasingly interconnected world is a message found in institutional mission statements, program objectives, and learning outcomes. As such, scholars highlight the need for using relational, process-oriented, and socially responsible leadership paradigms with college students (Dugan, Kodama, Correia, & Associates 2013; Dugan & Komives, 2010; Higher Education Research Institute, 1996). Yet, despite educator efforts, most college students maintain approaches consistent with leader-centric and hierarchical paradigms (Haber, 2012). In order to design interventions that broaden students’ leadership perspectives, educators must better understand how students develop their understanding and practice of leadership. The Leadership Identity Development (LID) Model (Komives, Longerbeam, Owen, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005, 2006) is a stage-based model demonstrating development toward interdependent notions of leadership, or, how a person moves beyond leader-centric paradigms toward more relational and process-oriented approaches. Though, research on what prompts development toward later stages of the model is limited, indicating the need for further exploration. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors and forces in educational experiences that contribute to advanced stages of leadership identity development. Case study methods were used to explore the experiences of seven participants with leadership identities consistent with the later stages of the LID Model. Participant narratives indicate leadership learning immersion programs, peer facilitation experiences, and academic courses as transformational. Within these experiences, experiential learning, developmental sequencing, and learning about relational leadership broadened participants’ leadership perspectives and practices. Participants with consistent engagement in leadership learning from adolescence through college developed advanced leadership identities earlier than other participants, and earlier than those in previous studies. In addition, aspects of social identity development influenced participants’ development toward later stages of the LID Model. Findings of this study suggest educators should focus on the value and timing of leadership learning in educational interventions throughout the lifespan, as well as the opportunity for students to cultivate leadership learning in others. Educators should also give further consideration to the interaction between social identity development and leadership identity development.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Jiao Tong: A Grounded Theory of Chinese International Students' Transition to American Tertiary Education
    (2016) Kavaliauskas Crain, Lena; Griffin, Kimberly; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    University students are more globally mobile than ever before, increasingly receiving education outside of their home countries. One significant student exchange pattern is between China and the United States; Chinese students are the largest population of international students in the U.S. (Institute of International Education, 2014). Differences between Chinese and American culture in turn influence higher education praxis in both countries, and students are enculturated into the expectations and practices of their home countries. This implies significant changes for students who must navigate cultural differences, academic expectations, and social norms during the process of transition to a system of higher education outside their home country. Despite the trends in students’ global mobility and implications for international students’ transitions, scholarship about international students does not examine students’ experiences with the transition process to a new country and system of higher education. Related models were developed with American organizations and individuals, making it unlikely that they would be culturally transferable to Chinese international students’ transitions. This study used qualitative methods to deepen the understanding of Chinese international students’ transition processes. Grounded theory methods were used to invite the narratives of 18 Chinese international students at a large public American university, analyze the data, and build a theory that reflects Chinese international students’ experiences transitioning to American university life. Findings of the study show that Chinese international students experience a complex process of transition to study in the United States. Students’ pre-departure experiences, including previous exposure to American culture, family expectations, and language preparation, informed their transition. Upon arrival, students navigate resource seeking to fulfill their practical, emotional, social, intellectual, and ideological needs. As students experienced various positive and discouraging events, they developed responses to the pivotal moments. These behaviors formed patterns in which students sought familiarity or challenge subsequent to certain events. The findings and resulting theory provide a framework through which to better understand the experiences of Chinese international students in the context of American higher education.