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 UNVEILING THE MULTIFACETED IDENTITY OF BLACK STUDENT ATHLETES: IMPLICATIONS FOR COACHING AND SPORT LEADERSHIP(2024) Harris, Tasha; De La Paz, Susan; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This qualitative study explores the multifaceted experiences of Black student-athletes in higher education. The landscape of higher education leadership is predominantly white, with a significant majority being white men. Over 80% of chancellors, presidents, athletic directors, faculty athletic representatives, and conference commissioners are white (Lapchick, 2023); meanwhile, Black student-athletes constitute 55% of the NCAA's highest revenue sports—men’s basketball and football (Achieving (Racial Equality, 2021; Harper, 2018). This disparity is particularly striking given the significant presence and contributions of Black student-athletes to college sports. It highlights the impact of external and internal factors, such as the lack of adequate support systems, that shape the identity and experiences of student-athletes, especially those from marginalized backgrounds.Utilizing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) frameworks as analytical tools, this study highlights the importance of counter-storytelling to empower Black student-athletes and challenge dominant cultural narratives. Interviews were conducted with 10 student-athletes from both Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Adapting tools from Strauss and Goldberg (1999) and Cowan et al. (1978), this study focuses on student-athletes, and explores how racial, athletic, and academic identities intersect among Black student-athletes, illuminating their perceptions of past, present, and future selves. Findings reveal that HBCUs cultivate social capital opportunities, while PWI student-athletes need stronger navigational capital to maneuver through less supportive environments. Both institutions provide familial, aspirational, and resistance capital, but PWI student-athletes struggle more with discovering their true identities due to societal pressures and an overemphasis on athletic performance. Participant counter-stories emphasized the importance of holistic identity development, particularly regarding 'invisible identities,' where dominant athletic roles limit full identity exploration. Black student-athletes often navigate between Goffman’s (1959) concept of the frontstage and backstage self. Their frontstage self is the persona they present to society, shaped by impression management to counter stereotypes and biases, while the backstage self represents their true identity, which they struggle to develop due to the constant demands of frontstage performance. This performance aims to project an idealized version of self, challenging negative assumptions. Findings highlight how experiences at PWIs and HBCUs shape the identity development of Black student-athletes, emphasizing the need for comprehensive support systems encompassing social integration, leadership representation, and identity development programming beyond sports. As student-athletes navigate the transition out of college, the study emphasizes the importance of holistic identity development, especially in acknowledging unexplored facets of identity. Ultimately, this research fills a gap in understanding the role of CCW in navigating the complex landscape of athletic, academic, and racial experiences in higher education, offering insights for coaches and sport leaders on how to foster more inclusive and supportive environments.Item “LIBERATING MY MIND... DECOLONIZING MY PHYSICAL BODY”: EXPLORING AFROLATINE/A/O ACTIVISTS’ CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS USING PLÁTICA METHODOLOGY(2024) Martinez-Benyarko, Marinel; Espino Lira, Michelle; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)My dissertation, “Liberating my mind...decolonizing my physical body”: Exploring AfroLatine/a/o activists’ critical consciousness using plática methodology, aimed to understand the experiences of 11 AfroLatine/a/o activists in the United States. Scholars have studied AfroLatine/a/os racial/ethnic identity development and activism separately, but this dissertation highlighted the critical consciousness that both these identities possess. Through a “me-search” process, a form of critical consciousness, AfroLatine/a/os assert agency and resilience to make meaning and reflect upon their Blackness and Latinidad (García-Louis & Cortes, 2020). Additionally, those who identify as activists also engage with critical consciousness in understanding social inequities and oppression (Freire, 1970a). My dissertation explored the critical consciousness that AfroLatine/a/os activists possess using plática methodology. Using a plática methodology, I cocreated knowledge, fostered healing and vulnerability, offered collaborators validation, and incorporated life experiences and community building. Pláticas also “constitute a method that recognizes and values familial and cultural knowledge, and platicando becomes the process of drawing on that knowledge and making meaning across experiences” (González Ybarra, 2018, p. 511). Through pláticas, cuentos, chismes, charlas, regaños, and consejos are shared (Fierros & Delgado Bernal, 2016; González Ybarra, 2018; M. Guajardo & Guajardo, 2007). To accomplish this work, I developed a conceptual framework titled, “Exploring AfroLatine/a/o activists critical consciousness,” that brings together (a) Latino critical race theory, (b) Daché et al.’s (2019) Black-imiento, and (c) Freire’s (1970a) conscientization to illuminate the experiences of AfroLatine/a/o activists in a way that highlights their embraced Blackness, heightened knowledge and critical action, and lived experiences. Data were collected via a survey (46 participants), a one-on-one plática (11 collaborators), and a community plática (11 collaborators). Data were analyzed first by collaborators during the community plática. Afterward, I conducted initial/open coding and focused coding strategies. The findings of this study showed that AfroLatine/a/o activists asserted agency and engaged in critical reflection through a continuous process of learning and unlearning to understand their own AfroLatine/a/o identity, country of origin history, colonization, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and internalized racism. The second finding described the racialideologies that AfroLatine/a/o activists created, which included (a) embracing Black identity by taking pride in their physical appearance, hair, and skin color; (b) centering their resistance in language; and (c) rejecting stereotypes and generalizations of Latine/a/o as a monolithic group. Additionally, this study found that AfroLatine/a/o activists defined their activism as community, advocacy, and compassion. Lastly, the collaborators shared how their AfroLatine/a/o identity was a form of existence as resistance, a form of activism. This study presents various contributions to higher education theory, praxis, research, policy, and AfroLatine/a/o activists. My dissertation makes the following contributions: (a) understanding how marginalized communities navigate and resist oppressive systems, (b) validating the experiences and knowledge of AfroLatine/a/o activists, and (c) challenging a monolithic perspective of Latinidad by showcasing how AfroLatine/a/os embrace their Blackness.Item SKYRISE: BLACK GIRLS ‘ARCHITEXTING’ YOUTHTOPIAS(2023) Young, Alexis Morgan; Brown, Tara M; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation illustrates the utility of Black girls’ imaginations in liberatory projects, particularly in the (re)imagining of education. As this biophysical world continues to reveal the insidiousness of current systems of power, now, more than ever, people are exploring the (im)possibilities of abolition. Central to the project of abolition is imagining otherwise ways of being and living; thus, those committed to actualizing liberated futures for Black girls must make sure their voices are amplified in world-making projects. This project examines a six-week extracurricular program, Astronomy Club, that serves as homeplace (hooks, 1990) for six preadolescent Black girls. During the program, Black girls engaged in architexture, the hybrid approach of melding principles of architecture and literature to document their speculations of a youthtopian future. Grounded in Black Feminist Futurity (Campt, 2017), Black Quantum Futurism (Phillips, 2015); Black Critical Theory (Dumas & ross, 2016); the overarching question of this qualitative study asks: In a literacy program designed for and with them, how do Black girls ‘architext’ their imaginations of Black girl-centered educational futures? Data sources include interviews video-recorded observations of program sessions and multimodal program artifacts, analyzed through a grammar of Black futurity as modeled in Campt’s (2017) Listening to Images. Study findings indicate that when the Black girls in this study dream of freer educational futures, they: (1) dream in the dark, (2) dream in community, and (3) dream of a world full of justice. Furthermore, they provided directives for constructing youthtopian learning environments and described them as sites that: (1) center Black life and Black girlhood in the curriculum, (2) tend to their identities and socioemotional positions, and (3) nourish their body, mind, and soul. This study adds to the continued project of creating a new world for and documenting the revolutionary ideologies of Black girls. This dissertation is an invitation to improve the educational conditions of Black girls through their analyses of present schools and their fantasies for schools they desire in the future.Item "You Can't See Me By Looking at Me": Black Girls' Arts-based Practices as Mechanisms for Identity Construction and Resistance(2021) Kaler-Jones, Cierra; Galindo, Claudia; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation explored how eight adolescent Black girls (co-researchers) used arts-based practices in a virtual summer program as mechanisms for identity construction and resistance. Theoretically grounded in Black Feminist Thought, Black Girlhood, and Black Performance Theory, I designed and implemented a virtual summer art program aimed at co-creating a healing-centered space to engage in critical explorations of history, storytelling, and social justice with Black girls. The co-research team participated in the 5-week Black Girls S.O.A.R. (Scholarship, Organizing, Arts, Resistance) program as part of the study. At the end of the program, co-researchers took themes from the sessions and created artwork to present a Community Arts Showcase to their loved ones. I combined performance ethnography (Denzin, 2008; Soyini Madison, 2006) and integrated aspects of youth participatory action research to answer the following research questions: 1) How, if at all, do Black girls use arts-based practices as mechanisms for resistance and identity construction? and 2) What specific attributes of Black girls’ involvement in arts-based programs foster identity construction and acts of resistance? This study employed “two-tiered” (Brown, 2010) qualitative data collection. For the first component, co-researchers and I collected our conversation transcripts from the sessions to create a collaborative artistic production. The second component included my concurrent collection of session observations, field notes, pre-and-post interviews, and artwork to document the co-researchers’ experiences in the program. The data showed that Black girls used arts-based practices to 1) rewrite singular historical narratives of Black history in the standard curriculum; 2) share counter-narratives; 3) heal in and build community out; and 4) dream a better world into existence. Additionally, Black girls named 1) showcasing their work to loved ones; 2) being supported by other Black girls; 3) learning about self and communal care; and 4) reexamining history by centering Black women’s resistance as specific attributes of their involvement in the program that contributed to their identity construction and resistance. This study offers much-needed data on the power and potential of culturally-sustaining, arts-based pedagogy in virtual educational spaces, as well as contributes to the growing body of literature that centers Black girls’ epistemologies in education research.Item THE INTERSECTIONS OF MASCULINITY, GENDER, AND RACISM: EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES AND INTERACTIONS OF BLACK MALE GRADUATE STUDENTS ATTENDING A PRIMARILY WHITE INSTITUTION(2021) Perry, Jamar J; Slater, Wayne; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Negative perceptions of Black boys and men have persisted and have been analyzed through numerous studies over the years, showcasing both educator’s low gendered schooling expectations of them and their racial trauma and stress they experience attending PWIs if they are able to graduate from secondary school. Placing Black men in deficit positions starts in our nation’s PreK-12 public schools through their experiences in college, affecting their ability to participate successfully in the labor market, obtain higher earnings and savings, and their professional and personal mobility. Research that focuses on these negative perceptions impoverishes our understandings of Black men who do succeed in schools, from PreK-12 through doctoral study. The purpose of this collective case study was to explore Black male doctoral students understanding of their lived histories of masculinity, race, and racism through their connection with their childhood, schooling, and doctoral study. Data sources included an individual interview, journal entries, member checking, and a focus group. This study took place at a primarily white institution (PWI) in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and focused on three Black male doctoral students. Through the adoption of racial/critical race literacy, Critical Race Theory, and Black masculinity literacy as theoretical frames, the findings highlight four common themes—or what I call “dimensions”—from participants’ interviews and journal entries of their experiences and interactions with doctoral study based on their historical understandings of themselves: a) feelings of loneliness/not being able to forge closeness with other Black male doctoral students; b) negative perceptions of and racial microaggressions attending a PWI; c) the influence of Black masculinity to progress; and d) the ways PWIs can establish progressive spaces for Black men. One participant inhabited a dimension that was unique to him with how he claimed masculinity for himself based on his historical positioning and socialization: e) using traditional masculinity to claim manhood. The findings from participants’ focus group highlight two common dimensions of participants’ understanding of their experiences as they reflected together: a) reflecting and learning from Black masculinity in relation to white spaces; and b) recommendations for recruiting and retaining Black men in doctoral study. These findings show how Black male graduate students reflect upon their masculinity histories and schooling and connect them to their understandings of themselves as Black doctoral students. This work contributes to our understanding of successful Black male doctoral students and breaks new grounds by showcasing that Black men do uphold ideals of progressive masculinity that do call for the liberation and protection of all people of color. It also shows how Black men are historically socialized and grounded as gendered and racial beings and how they view white spaces from these lenses as navigational tactics. It also demonstrates how Black men can and do communicate with each other when given the chances to, interrogating their own masculinity practices in conjunction with modeling their own behavior in progressive ways for other Black men. Finally, this study advocates for educational stakeholders to act in concrete and tangible ways to increase Black male doctoral student presence at PWIs.Item "Natural Enemies" or Intentional Allies? Teachers' & Parents' Perspectives on Middle School Boys of Color(2016) Lowe, Shasha Yolande; MacDonald, Victoria-María; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined the perspectives and “shared knowledge” of parents and teachers of boys of color. The following overarching research question guided this study: “What do parents and teachers want each other to know about their middle school son or student of color regarding academics, engagement, and behavior?” Additionally, it explored the challenges and opportunities for shared knowledge and understanding of their (respective) son’s’ or students’ academics and engagement. The methodology was qualitative in nature and the intent in conducting this case study was to describe, interpret, and explain the “shared knowledge” between these stakeholders at a predominantly minority middle school. A sample of seven parents and seven teachers from one school in a mid-Atlantic state participated in interviews and focus groups. Results indicated that parents and teachers of boys of color viewed each other as “intentional allies.” Results further showed that parents and teachers were aware of the challenges faced by boys of color in and out of school. That awareness was reflected in strategies that both groups employed to support, prepare, and protect their son/students. Lastly, the study found that teachers received no formal training in building parent-teacher partnerships, but gathered experimental knowledge on how to build those relationships. These findings have implications for teacher education programs, schools, parents, and teachers.Item The Life & Rhymes Of Jay-Z: An Historical Biography, 1969-2004(2015) Dibinga, Omekongo; Finkelstein, Barbara; Klees, Steve; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the life and ideas of Jay-Z, arguably the most powerful rapper in history. It is an effort to illuminate the ways in which he managed the vicissitudes of life as they were inscribed in the political, economic cultural, social contexts and message systems of the worlds which he inhabited: the social ideas of class struggle, the fact of black youth disempowerment, educational disenfranchisement, entrepreneurial possibility, and the struggle of families to buffer their children from the horrors of life on the streets.Item Family involvement in children's mathematics education experiences: Voices of immigrant Chinese American students and their parents(2013) Liang, Senfeng; Edwards, Ann; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examines ways in which Chinese immigrant families are involved in their children's mathematics education, particularly focusing on how different types of families utilize different forms of capital to support their children's mathematics education. The theoretical framework defines four types of Chinese immigrant families - working families, small business families, transitional professional families, and settled professional families - and addresses three forms of capital - cultural, social and economic capital. In the analysis, the first two groups are often clustered as less educated families and the other two groups as highly educated families. Nine families with different backgrounds participated in the study. Data include observations, interviews, essays and Twitter messages from students, and a video discussion activity. Data analysis utilized cross-case analysis (Yin, 2002). First, this study shows significant differences in how Chinese immigrant parents conceptualize U.S. mathematics education. Highly educated parents believed U.S. mathematics education failed to meet their children's mathematical needs while less educated parents were less critical of U.S. mathematics education. Second, this study examines how different types of families use cultural, social and economic capital to influence their children's mathematics education. Parent tutoring and aspirations are indicators of cultural capital. Less educated parents tended to tutor their children when they were in lower grades. Students with highly educated parents received more direct tutoring from their parents, even when they went on to more advanced grades. All parents had high aspirations for their children's education, but to varying degrees depending on the type of family. One common approach was to send their children to supplementary education programs which suggest an indicator of social capital. Family location and hiring tutors are indicators of economic capital. All families but one managed to live in what they believed were good school districts. Higher income families also spent money to hire tutors to teach their children academic subjects (including mathematics) and sports. This study contributes to the exploration of the role of families in the mathematics education of Chinese American students. It also extends current literature in general Chinese American studies that primarily focus on highly educated, high income, professional families and less educated, low income, working families while omitting populations that fall between them, particularly small business families and transitional professional families.Item The Perceived Undergraduate Classroom Experiences of African-American Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)(2013) Holmes, Kimberly Monique; 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 study was to explore African-American women's perceptions of undergraduate STEM classroom experiences, and the ways in which those experiences have supported or hindered their persistence in physics majors. The major research question guiding this study was: How do African-American women perceive the climate and interactions with peers and faculty in undergraduate STEM classrooms? Using qualitative methods and a multiple case study design, a sample of 11 women were interviewed. This study was also informed by data from 31 African-American women who participated in focus group interviews at annual meetings of the National Society of Black and Hispanic Physicists. Findings indicated that the women excelled in small courses with faculty who took a personal interest in their success. They also perceived that there was a pervasive culture in physics and other STEM departments that often conflicted with their own worldviews. Findings also indicated that the women's perceptions of classroom experiences varied widely depending on professors' behaviors, institution types, and the level of courses. It is anticipated that through a better understanding of their perceptions of STEM learning environments and factors in their persistence, STEM faculty and departments can better retain and support this population of students.Item Poetry, Prose, and Portraiture: Voices of 21st Century Black English Teachers on Impacting Black Student Achievement(2012) Carrol, Summer; MacDonald, Victoria-Maria; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation study utilized Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) and Portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot, 2005) to investigate five African American English teachers' perceptions of how they impact Black student achievement. Study participants included teachers who taught in two neighboring school districts located in a large metropolitan area in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Teachers' years of experience ranged from 2 to 15. Data collection methods included journal writing, focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and a questionnaire. Findings are presented in the form of individual poetic portraits for each teacher (Childers, 2007; Hill, 2003, 2005; Schendel, 2009) and emergent themes (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997). Teachers viewed themselves as impacting Black student achievement by employing a more-than-content teaching philosophy that emphasized helping students develop life skills and knowledge that would be beneficial post high school. Teachers found it difficult, however, to positively impact Black student achievement because of frustrating situations they faced in their school settings. Teachers' frustrations are organized into five categories: institutional frustration, pedagogical frustration, relational frustration, positional frustration, and cultural frustration. Situated within the literature on Black teachers published post-1970, the findings add complexity to the common portrayal of Black teachers as culturally-synchronized (Irvine, 1990) othermothers (Foster, 1993; Irvine, 2002), mentors, and role models (Irvine, 1989) for Black students. Findings also deepen the scholarly conversation surrounding the negative, unintended consequences the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) court ruling had for Black teachers and Black students. The study's implications call for intra-racial professional development workshops and teacher education initiatives designed specifically for African American teachers; long-term ethnographic studies investigating the experiences and relationships between Black teachers and Black students in contemporary resegregated schools; policy initiatives aimed at creating a Brown v. Board of Education agenda for contemporary times; and theories that reconceptualize racial uplift pedagogy for 21st century schools.