College of Education
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item INTERNATIONALIZATION POLICIES OF JESUIT UNIVERSITIES: A CASE STUDY OF JAPAN AND THE U.S.(2009) Jung, S.J., Kang-Yup; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the wake of globalization, higher education institutions almost inevitably have adopted and implemented internationalization policies as their primary strategy for responding to the challenges and opportunities brought about by globalization. This study concerns the comparison of the motivations, program strategies, and organization strategies of the internationalization policies of two Jesuit universities: Sophia University in Japan and Georgetown University in the United States. This study focuses on understanding internationalization policies at the two universities and developing a conceptual framework that might be useful in the expansion of scholarship of internationalization theory. There are three key research questions: (a) Is the noticeable shift from social and cultural rationales for internationalization to for-profit rationale ubiquitous?; (b) How do the policies of internationalization of the two universities resonate with the particular contexts surrounding them?; and (c) To what extent do the programs of internationalization reflect the core value of the Jesuit philosophy of education which is to prepare men and women for others? Qualitative comparative case study was conducted at both research sites through semi-structured interviews with senior administrators, deans, faculty, and administrative staff members. On-site materials are collected and analyzed. Cross-case analysis is used to compare and synthesize the findings of the two single case studies. This study found that no noticeable shift from socio-cultural rationale to for-profit rationale has taken place at the two universities. Despite financial constraints, the two universities' internationalization polices are affected most strongly by the socio-cultural rationale and the academic rationale. Sophia puts an emphasis on the motivation for intercultural understanding stemming from its history and origin, while Georgetown gives its highest attention to the motivation for human development. The two universities are able to appropriate their contexts and surroundings so that the universities' idiosyncratic features of local contexts play a significant role in defining their specific responses to the challenges of globalization which are inscribed in their international programs and projects. Finally, the Jesuit philosophy of education, "men and women for others," plays a crucial role as a bedrock on which the direction of internationalization policies is defined. However, despite the strong relationship between the Jesuit philosophy of education and policy, there is only a weak correlation between the philosophy of education and programs. This research will contribute to a wider perspective on internationalization policies through cross-cultural comparative research at an institutional level, an expansion of literature about a global university, and a re-visioning of internationalization for the sake of conscientizing internationalization at an individual level and responsible internationalization at an institutional level.Item Virtualizing the Teacher: The Lived Experience of Teaching within Technology(2009) Whitesel, Cynthia Hoff; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research seeks to heighten pedagogical understanding of the lived experience of teachers who teach online using computer technology. Philosophically based and grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology, it explores the question: What is the lived experience of teaching with/in technology? Using van Manen's Researching Lived Experience (2003) as guide, the researcher seeks to discover existential themes revealed through hermeneutic methodology, a pedagogically grounded research approach to human science research and writing with a focus on lived experience. This research is rendered phenomenological through philosophical texts by Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Emmanuel Levinas, Gaston Bachelard, Edward Casey, and Don Ihde. For a period of eight months in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, six teachers from different continents engaged in multiple, in-depth conversations with the researcher about their experiences as online teachers in multiple online programs. The conversations were text-based and took place in an online forum characterized as a discussion board. The conversational text, additional personal reflections, related literature, and philosophic writings intertwine to create a textual interpretation of this experience. Using the metaphor of knots, the researcher explores themes of presence in distance, presence in text, interface presence, teaching identity, the virtual classroom as place, and the role of imagination and flow in unraveling some of the paradoxes of teaching online. The research makes recommendations for preparing teachers for online teaching and for the development of policies relating to course design, interface design, and teaching practices. Pedagogical insights include the effects of teaching with technology on several aspects of online teaching: marginalization of contingent online teachers, technical interests related to virtual curricula, online text, teaching memory, and signature and interface pedagogies. A phenomenological rendering of Moore's (2007) theory of transactional distance explores teacher presence in distance. The researcher offers suggestions for future phenomenological research to explore the meaning of the experiences of contingent teachers, the "best practices" approach to teacher preparation programs, standardized course development models, and media/mediated and non-media/non-mediated teaching identities.Item A TALE OF TWO GROUPS: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MINORITY STUDENTS AND NON-MINORITY STUDENTS IN THEIR PREDISPOSITION TO AND ENGAGEMENT WITH DIVERSE PEERS AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTION(2009) Hall, Wendell Diedrik; Cabrera, Alberto F.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which minority students and non-minority students differ in their predispositions to engage in campus-based diversity activities upon entering college and engagement with diverse college peers during college. These ethnicity-based interactional differences were examined under a revised version of the Transition to College Model (Locks et al., 2008). The Diverse College Student Engagement Model accounts for the joint influence of student pre-college characteristics along with collegiate experiences, in shaping engagement with racially diverse peers at a predominantly White college. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Latent Means Modeling (LMM), this dissertation examined direct and indirect effects of factors that influence engagement with diverse students in college. Findings indicated that engagement with diverse peers does not take place in a vacuum; conditions and mechanisms that facilitate engagement also matter. Several pre-college variables and college variables were shown to influence predisposition to engage in diversity-related activities and engagement among diverse peers in college. Findings from testing the proposed model indicate that minority students were significantly higher in the latent factor Predisposition to Engage when entering college; however, no significant differences were found in the latent factor Engagement after the sophomore year of college. The differences appear to have been attenuated by some of the campus mechanisms the University of Maryland has in place to foster engagement among diverse students.Item The Case for Degree Completion: African American Transfer Students at a Traditionally White Institution(2009) Younger, Toyia Kiana; Fries-Britt, Sharon L; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this dissertation was to identify and understand the factors that contribute to the degree completion of African American transfer students at a traditionally White institution. Through qualitative methods and a case study design, the current study provides an examination of the educational journey of thirteen, African American recent college graduates. Using semi-structured individual interviews, data from the participants were collected, transcribed, and analyzed drawing from several major theoretical perspectives on college student persistence. Variables examined included interactions with faculty and with peers, racial experiences on campus, and support services offered to transfer students by the institution. Findings indicated that African American transfer students identified strong support networks, confidence in their ability to learn, intrinsic motivation and having clear educational goals as factors which contributed to their degree completion at a traditionally White institution. Implications for campus policies and practices, as well as recommendations for future research are presented.Item Examining the Influence of Selectivity on Alumni Giving at Public Universities: A Dynamic Panel Modeling Approach(2009) Simone, Sean Anthony; Titus, Marvin A; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examines the influence of institutional selectivity on alumni giving among public research universities, using a conceptual framework based on the economics of nonprofit organizations. This study introduces a dynamic panel modeling technique, which addresses many limitations that more traditional statistical models have when applied to panel data with lagged or "dynamic" variables. Using panel data from 147 public universities over 11 years, the analysis for this study compares the results from ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, and instrumental variable (2SLS) regression with a dynamic fixed effects panel model using a procedure proposed by Blundell and Bond (1998). This dynamic panel modeling technique allows researchers to simultaneously discern the relationship between variables and take into account the possible endogeneity and omitted variable biases, as well as determine conditional convergence or divergence of the values of key observed variables over time.
The results indicate that ordinary least squares, fixed effects, and instrumental variable regression models yield different coefficients, standard errors, and probability values for hypothesis tests. Results from the most robust technique, a dynamic panel fixed effects model using system generalized method of moments, did not indicate that a statistically significant relationship exists between student selectivity and alumni giving. However, the presence of a law or medical program and institutional wealth were statistically significant. Additionally, there is no evidence of convergence or divergence of alumni giving rates.
The results from this analysis have a number of implications. First, the statistically insignificant relationship between selectivity and alumni giving challenges a major paradigm in the literature regarding the influence of this measure of prestige on alumni giving. Future studies should test the influence of other conceptions of prestige and donative support, using dynamic panel modeling, to see if the results are similar. Second, this analysis shows that statistical models prominent in the literature can yield misleading results when applied to panel data. Researchers, therefore, must take great care in using the most appropriate technique when examining dynamic panel data. Finally, this analysis indicates that more complex modeling techniques are required to study alumni giving over time.
Item THE ASSOCIATION OF CRITICAL THINKING AND PARTICIPATION IN LIVING AND LEARNING PROGRAMS: RESIDENTIAL HONORS COMPARED TO CIVIC/SOCIAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS AND NON-PARTICIPATION IN LIVING AND LEARNING PROGRAMS(2009) Kohl, James Lucas; Cabrera, Alberto; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explores the association of students' self-perceived critical thinking ability with participation in Residential Honors living-learning programs versus Civic/Social Leadership living-learning programs and non-participation in living-learning programs. The study analyzes data from the 2004 National Study of Living-Learning Programs survey using Multiple Linear Regression. The sample consists of 637 First-Year students from 8 institutions of higher education from across the United States. Findings reveal that self-perceived critical thinking ability is more related to participating in Residential Honors programs than to living in the residence halls and that living-learning program participation serves as an important conduit for college experiences associated with critical thinking ability such as peer interaction, faculty interaction and residence hall climate. The results also show that less than 1% of the variance in self-perceived critical thinking for is attributable to institutional characteristics supporting the finding of Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) that between-college influences have less of an effect on student developmental outcomes during college than within-college influences. Based on the results, possible explanations for different relationships of self-perceived critical thinking ability among living-learning programs are posed, implications for practice are identified, and suggestions for future research are made.Item A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Student Support Services Program(2009) Pacchetti, Ed M.; Rice, Jennifer K.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Document: A BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM Ed M. Pacchetti, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Dissertation Directed by: Jennifer K. Rice, Ph.D. This study extends previous research on the Student Support Services program, a federal program that works to ensure college retention and graduation for low-income and first generation students, by examining the benefits and the costs of higher-impact SSS projects. Higher-impact SSS projects are defined as such because the graduation rates of their participants exceed the national graduation rate for other low-income and first generation students who have not participated in the SSS program. Applying a methodology used in other benefit-cost analyses of education programs, this study explores how the benefits over 40 years following participation in higher-impact SSS projects exceed the costs of these projects. This study focuses on benefits and costs to society. The benefit measures utilized in this study include higher income, lower health care costs and lower costs of crime. The cost measures include grant award costs, institutional project contributions, Pell Grant costs and the costs of Stafford Loan subsidies. The findings show that at three discount rates of 3%, 7% and 10%, the benefits of higher-impact SSS projects consistently exceed their costs. In addition, in most estimates of the future value of benefits generated by higher-impact SSS projects, the benefits generated by these projects are significant enough to provide for the grant award costs of all SSS projects at 4-year colleges and universities in project year 2005-2006, the year that is the focus of this study. This study's findings have implications for future research. Because the benefits of higher-impact SSS projects are significant, future research should focus on identifying the components of these projects responsible for success and incorporating these components into less successful projects in an attempt to increase the college graduation rates of all SSS projects. However, this study emphasizes that benefit-cost analysis should be one of many measures used to evaluate SSS projects and determine program success.Item The Role of Academic Space Management at Research Universities and Academic Medical Centers(2008) Watt, Catherine E; Schmidtlein, Frank A.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Facilities represent the greatest financial investment for most institutions, yet they remain largely ignored from a management perspective. Improving academic facilities information would provide institutional leaders with an additional tool to improve institutional planning and resource allocations. Academic Space Management (ASM) is a construct that suggests how space management can be more detailed, web-based, and utilized for planning and decision making. This project reports on a case study of three research-focused institutions and the institutions' interest in and use of space information. Results suggest the importance of senior leadership, trust among participants, the practical nature of the space database, and understanding the role that institutional culture plays.Item Peer mentoring and leadership: Differences in leadership self-efficacy among students of differing peer mentoring relationships, genders, and academic class levels(2009) Smith, Meredith Ann; Clement, Linda M.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined the relationship between peer mentoring and leadership self-efficacy. The design of this study was an ex post facto analysis of a sub-study of 2006 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership. The sample included 10,555 respondents from 52 institutions ranging in Carnegie classification type. The researcher utilized a one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to see if there was a significant difference in leadership self-efficacy between students who served as peer mentors and students who did not serve as peer mentors in college. The study found that students who served as peer mentors in college had a significantly higher leadership self-efficacy than non-peer mentors. Additionally, the study also examined the subset of respondents who identified as peer mentors in college. Utilizing a two-way ANCOVA, the researcher found no significant difference in leadership self-efficacy between male and female peer mentors. The finding of no significant difference in leadership self-efficacy between gender groups is important because past studies on college students have found that men typically report higher levels of leadership self-efficacy than women. The researcher did find significant differences for each class-standing group in same two-way ANCOVA. The post-hoc Bonferroni multiple comparison procedure showed that there was significance across all class-standing groups. Another important finding from this study was that students who had mentors in college were more likely to serve as mentors. This post-hoc analysis was computed through implementing a chi-square test for independence. The overall findings of this study add important foundational understanding of the relationship between peer mentoring and leadership in college students.Item A Case Study of Undergraduate Student Employment at a Private University: Exploring the Effects of Social Class and Institutional Context(2009) Satterlee, Richard Thomas; O'Meara, KerryAnn; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research examined if the trend which finds greater numbers of undergraduate college students working, and in some cases for many hours each week, has differing outcomes for students from different social class backgrounds. Employing a Bourdieuian theoretical framework the study examined if college students' choices about work (e.g., whether or not to work; whether to work on-campus vs. off-campus; and how many hours to work per week) are shaped by their social class and the institutional context of the college they attend. The study also investigated if the policies, practices and characteristics of one private university affected students' work, academic and co-curricular choices. The research investigated these questions through employing a cross-case study analysis that focused on the work experience of students at a private, four-year Catholic university in the northeast. The case study drew on multiple data sources, including institutional level data collected from students' participation in national surveys, interviews with students, and interviews with college administrators and student employers. Findings from the research indicate that students from working class backgrounds were more likely to work more hours per week during the academic year than their middle- and upper-class peers who were employed. Working class students also were more likely to hold more than one job during the academic year and to combine on-campus and off-campus employment than their middle- and upper-class peers. Despite this, working-class students often found a sense of belonging and fit through their jobs. The study also found that working class students were far less likely to participate in study abroad than their middle- and upper-class peers. Working class students frequently cited a concern for the continuity of their employment as a deterrent to study abroad. Working class students were somewhat less likely to participate in co-curricular programs than their middle- and upper-class peers. Nonetheless, the study found that working class students often pursued campus jobs that provided opportunities for leadership development, community service or interaction with faculty.