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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    The Role of Effortful Control in Moderating the Relationship Between Temperamental Shyness, Fearfulness, and Internalizing Behaviors
    (2023) Zheng, Shanyun G; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Internalizing behaviors, such as anxiety and depression, have frequently been associated with temperament characteristics, specifically Behavioral Inhibition (BI) traits, such as Shyness and Fearfulness. While Effortful Control (EC) has been posited as a potential moderator in the relationship between heightened negative emotionality and Internalizing problems, empirical evidence precisely about BI remains inconclusive. This cross-sectional study investigated the role of Effortful Control and its sub-constructs (Attentional Focusing, Inhibitory Control, Low-intensity Pleasure, and Perceptual Sensitivity) in moderating the relation between Behavioral Inhibition (fear and shyness) and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 130 kindergarteners. The findings indicated that Behavioral Inhibition was significantly correlated with and predicted internalizing behaviors. However, no significant correlations were found between Effortful Control, its sub-constructs, and internalizing behaviors in this sample. Additionally, Effortful Control and its sub-constructs did not moderate the relationship between Behavioral Inhibition and internalizing behaviors.
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    KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICES, AND INFLUENTIAL FACTORS: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY
    (2023) Johnston, Tara Burke; Dreher, Mariam J; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Early and explicit vocabulary instruction is one important way teachers can support early readers for later reading comprehension success (Duncan et al., 2007; Marulis & Neuman, 2010; Neuman & Dwyer, 2011; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), 2000); however, some observations indicate that early childhood and early elementary teachers do not provide consistent and explicit vocabulary support (e.g., Dwyer & Harbaugh, 2020; Wright & Neuman, 2014; Donaldson, 2011) and that most teachers do not have much time to spend on vocabulary instruction generally (Baumann et al., 2003). To further explore why these phenomena may occur and to provide direction for future research and teacher education initiatives, this study examined the reported vocabulary knowledge, reported vocabulary practices, and reported influential factors on vocabulary instruction of seven kindergarten teachers in public school settings in the United States. Using a multiple case study design, I studied seven teachers to answer the following research questions: (1) What do kindergarten teachers report about their own knowledge related to vocabulary instruction? (2) What do kindergarten teachers report about how they implement and change their vocabulary instruction? (3) What factors do kindergarten teachers report as influencing their vocabulary instruction? Each case was bound as one teacher, and I framed my study using two main theories: Shavelson and Stern’s (1981) pedagogical decision making and Shulman’s (1986, 1987) pedagogical content knowledge as it relates to teacher professional knowledge. I collected data using a demographic survey, a knowledge screening survey, an initial interview about reported vocabulary practices, four pre- and post-vocabulary lesson interviews, and artifacts related to the vocabulary lessons. I used multiple rounds of coding for both individual case analysis and cross-case analysis. Individual case analysis yielded a profile for each teacher which describes in detail their reported vocabulary knowledge, practices, and influential factors. For example, one teacher’s profile (pseudonym Brenda) describes reported use of a consistent Tier 2 vocabulary routine for every lesson, whereas other teachers in the study did not report a consistent vocabulary instructional routine. Another teacher (pseudonym Joyce) frequently reported using hands on science lessons to teach vocabulary; she also frequently discussed how knowledge of her students’ needs impacted her vocabulary instruction. Cross-case analysis revealed that participants reported little knowledge of and wide variation in reported pedagogies to effectively support Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs) or students with reading difficulties’ oral vocabulary development. Participants frequently reported using explicit instruction to teach Tier 2 (Beck et al., 2002) vocabulary words before and during literacy read aloud lessons. However, participants did not often report teaching taxonomically or thematically connected words using informational texts; these pedagogies have proven to be particularly effective for increasing word knowledge and comprehension in young children (Neuman & Dwyer, 2011; Pinkham et al., 2014). Additionally, participants reported that they received very little professional development in how to effectively teach vocabulary, despite knowing that vocabulary instruction is important for young learners. Most of participants’ reported knowledge about vocabulary instruction was rooted in their knowledge of students’ perceived needs and knowledge they gained informally from other members of their teaching teams. These findings have implications for the professional development of both pre-service and in-service teachers, and for future research on early vocabulary practices in classroom contexts.
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    Family Child Care: Characteristics, Relationships, and Parent Outcomes
    (2022) Jimenez Parra, Laura Fernanda; Jones Harden, Brenda; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Researchers employing qualitative methods consistently emphasize the close relationship between parents and providers as a unique feature of family child care (FCC) arrangements that is often missed in quality improvement initiatives (Ang et al., 2017; Hooper et al., 2019). Strong parent-provider relationships may be a critical conduit to support positive provider, parent, and child outcomes (Blasberg et al., 2019; Forry et al., 2012). However, little is known about how these constructs operate in FCC settings. I examined the association between FCC providers’ characteristics, the quality of the parent-provider relationship, and how these connections relate to parental involvement and well-being. My results revealed that FCC providers’ educational attainment and the pleasure they derived from their profession were positively associated with the quality of the relationship they formed with families in their programs. However, these relationships were not found to be related to FCC providers’ years of experience, feelings of burnout and stress, and professional development. Further, parents’ perceptions of this relationship were related to better parental mental health outcomes. Yet, there were mixed associations between parents’ perceptions of the parent-provider relationship and their engagement in their children’s education. Findings of this study highlight the need to understand the distinct aspects of quality in FCC settings. FCC offers unique features, such as closer parent-provider relationships, that need to be examined to successfully promote high-quality care in FCC homes and to inform the early childhood field about mechanisms that support positive outcomes in FCC providers and the families they serve.
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    STEM TEACHERS AS INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC LEADERS: CHANGE AGENTS AT THE SYSTEMS SCALE
    (2022) Vieyra, Rebecca Elizabeth; Elby, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This dissertation research attempts to answer the questions “What do early childhood teachers perceive as their original sources of self-efficacy for strategic leadership in STEM education?” and “How does their initial self-efficacy for strategic leadership mediate their eventual engagement as international leaders in STEM education?” This study aims to move beyond the mostly descriptive studies of teacher leadership, to understand why a particular group of teachers chose to lead. It attends to visionary leadership outside the school building or district that contributes beyond administrative or political boundaries, at the wider level of the STEM teaching profession. It explores literature across multiple disciplines to aid the adoption and contextualization of a theoretical framework for data collection and analysis of seven case studies of teacher leaders. The resulting theoretical framework is anchored in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory for its emphasis on self-efficacy and is informed by prior work in leadership and STEM teacher leader development. This theoretical lens is aligned with themes that previously emerged from the results of preliminary interviews with teachers who attributed their leadership to significant increases in leadership self-efficacy. Findings from this study suggest that the teachers acted upon their tendency toward impulsivity to accept new opportunities for strategic leadership in STEM education even when self-efficacy for STEM and teacher leadership was reported to be low, or non-existent due to the lack of familiarity with leadership or STEM (Finding #1). After accepting leadership opportunities, growing self-efficacy for leadership activities primarily derived from improvements in their STEM identity (Finding #2). Among Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy, these teachers frequently reported the importance of emotional and physiological states to engage opportunistically in strategic teacher leadership in STEM education, as well as the role of persuasion from friends and colleagues (Finding #3). Implications from this research include recognizing the importance of supporting early childhood teachers’ STEM identity through the recognition of work they already do that falls within the domain of STEM content and processes. It also suggests the need for educational leaders to help early childhood teachers move toward and overcome a commonly expressed fear of STEM. Further, it calls for those who support teachers to identify and foster risk-taking mentalities concerning leadership, offering opportunities and support even (or perhaps especially) to those teachers who do not yet feel ready to lead others. This work aims to increase the awareness of early childhood teachers’ potential as reform agents in STEM education, as well as bring attention to more human, individualized elements of teacher personal wellness and professional growth that can be realized through leadership.
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    Exploring Instructional and Institutional Opportunities and Challenges in a Newly-Formed Translanguaging Dual- Language School
    (2021) Shi, Lijuan; Rolstad, Kellie; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Translanguaging pedagogy disrupts linguistic inequalities and creates transformative spaces for emergent bilingual students in dual language education (DLE) programs to leverage and expand students’ full linguistic repertoires. Guided by translanguaging theory and positioning theory, this case study presents an analysis of the opportunities and the challenges of implementing translanguaging pedagogy in a co-teaching Chinese-English dual language Pre-K school in China. Using the entire school as a case, this investigation is based on data from videos and field notes of class observations, interviews of teachers, school leaders and parents, audio recording of school meetings, and school documents. The study focuses on two main factors: First, how translanguaging pedagogy was implemented in the school including the individual or coordinated translanguaging practices of 34 Chinese and English teachers and the challenges they encountered; second, the institutional factors including teachers’ institutional positionality and the understanding of translanguaging among stakeholders (teachers, administrative leaders, and parents), which all influence the implementation of translanguaging pedagogy. The findings provide a rounded view of how the school’s translanguaging policy provided opportunities for teachers to legitimately navigate between two languages in teacher-student interactions and teachers’ co-teaching practices. Teachers employed various translanguaging strategies to construct three translanguaging components (translanguaging bridges, translanguaging assessments, and translanguaging showcases) through which emergent bilingual students’ full linguistic repertoire were validated and developed. The school’s child-initiated play pedagogy and stakeholders’ strong translanguaging stance supported the implementation of translanguaging pedagogy. The findings also reveal that the legitimizing position of translanguaging pedagogy did not eliminate all the challenges teachers encountered. These challenges stemmed from teachers’ insufficient experience of practicing translanguaging and their limited skills in translanguaging co-teaching design. Discrepancies between the institutional positions and co-teaching assignments, between language equivalency inside and outside the classroom, and between different stakeholders’ expectations created hindrances for the implementation of translanguaging pedagogy. This study adds to the growing research on translanguaging in early childhood education, as well as offering useful translanguaging strategies and examples for language teachers at Pre-K schools. This study explores the ideological boundary between two languages and reflects the core of translanguaging theory, which resonates with anti-bias education and conceptualizes the sociolinguistic reality and symbolic competence of emergent bilingual students. This study also provides insights about what kind of administrative and peripheral support is needed for translanguaging to occur and what obstacles may hinder teachers’ translanguaging practices in this specific DLE program. The findings can inform other schools to overcome challenges and enact an anti-bias and dynamic bilingual education based on the acknowledgment of the full linguistic capital students bring to the classroom.
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    Promoting Children's Early Mathematical and Statistical Understanding Through Parent-Child Math Games
    (2022) DePascale, Mary; Ramani, Geetha; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Basic statistical literacy is essential for understanding and making inferences from information received from external sources and for developing critical thinking skills necessary for engagement in real-world contexts. However, many children and adults struggle with understanding and interpreting data and graphs. Therefore, it is critical to develop engaging, effective methods for teaching early graphing and data analysis, as they have the potential to enhance children’s development of statistical understanding, math, and higher-order thinking skills that remain essential throughout their lifespan. Math games are a common method for teaching math in a way that is engaging and effective for young children. However, few studies have examined games for math content beyond numerical skills. The current study examined the effectiveness of a home-based, experimental graphing game intervention for children’s statistical understanding and math skills. One-hundred-forty-eight 5- to 6-year-old children and their parent were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: graphing board game, graphing card game, or literacy board game, and completed a pretest, 4-week intervention, and posttest. At each test session, children completed statistical understanding and math ability measures. During the intervention, parents and children played games together in their home. Game materials were mailed to families, and families video recorded a session of gameplay at the midpoint of the intervention. Parent and child use of numerical, mathematical, and statistical talk during play were examined. Children in the graphing game conditions improved more than children in the literacy game condition on measures of statistical understanding and arithmetic. Families who played graphing games used more number and math talk during play than families who played literacy games. Talk during play did not relate to gains in statistical understanding or math abilities. These findings provide initial evidence on the effectiveness of games for promoting children’s early statistical understanding, as well as descriptive information about children’s early graphing skills and parent and child engagement in graphing games at home. Results also support the development of play-based interventions and materials to promote children’s early mathematical and statistical skills, with implications for children’s later development and achievement.
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    The Association Between Parental Executive Function and Children’s Language Skills at 18 Months
    (2021) McKee, Kelsey; Cabrera, Natasha; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Executive function (EF) is thought to be particularly important for parenting (Crandall et al., 2015). Studies have shown that maternal EF is related to parenting quality and children’s social and cognitive outcomes (Bridgett et al., 2015). These studies are few and are mostly conducted with mothers raising the question of whether paternal EF also affects children in the same way as maternal EF. In an effort to address these gaps I examined whether maternal and paternal EF influenced child language at 18-months, in part through parental engagement in home learning activities, in a sample of low-income, first time parents and their infants. My results did not show a significant, direct influence of maternal or paternal EF when children were 9 months old on children language skills at 18 months. Similarly, neither of the overall indirect effects of parental EF to child language through home parental learning activities were significant. However, paternal EF did positively predict paternal home learning activities, though this was not the case for mothers. Results of this study highlight the unique influences on maternal and paternal parenting and suggest further study is needed to fully elucidate the relation between parental EF and child language skills.
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    Reading Analyses with Chilean Children
    (2021) Cubillos Guzman, Montserrat; Turner, Jennifer; Galindo, Claudia; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Chilean data show that a large reading-proficiency gap exists between students with high and low socioeconomic status (SES), that most children do not see themselves as readers, and that half of adolescents read below grade level (Agencia de Calidad de la Educación, 2019; Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, 2014). To understand the reasons behind these phenomena, I conducted three complementary studies on reading comprehension, motivation, and literacy-related home practices with over 800,000 Chilean students, using nation-wide secondary data analysis.In the first study, I examined the association between the frequency of early literacy parent-children interactions (e.g., reading together, reading labels and signs, singing songs, etc.) before they entered first grade and students’ reading scores in fourth grade, while accounting for their second-grade proficiency. I observed that parents frequently engaged in literacy interactions with their children, that those interactions significantly predicted students’ later reading proficiency, and that the effect was steeper for families with high SES than for those with low SES. In the second study, I explored the association between parents’ reading motivation and frequency and their children’s. I examined data of students from sixth, eight, and tenth grade. I found that adolescents were more likely to be motivated and frequent readers if their parents were also keen readers. I also found that SES was a powerful predictor of the likelihood of being a keen reader, and that the effect of having a keen-reading parent was more positively pronounced for adolescents with low SES than for those with high SES. In the third study, I explored whether tenth graders’ reading motivation and frequency was associated to their reading scores. I observed that a large percentage of students who were proficient readers in fourth grade failed to achieve proficiency in tenth grade and that the odds of achieving proficiency in tenth grade increased when students were motivated and frequent readers. Furthermore, students’ odds of being proficient readers increased when their classmates reported high levels of reading motivation and frequency of reading. I discuss the implications of this and my other two studies.
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    De Facto Bilingual Education: The Role of Home Language Support in the Academic Achievement of Dual Language Learners
    (2020) Guzman, Natalia; MacSwan, Jeff; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Despite a clear finding that immigrant children in bilingual education programs outperform children in English-only instruction, little is known about the underlying causes of this effect and the variability in the results. This study seeks to understand cases in which bilingual students with emerging English skills appear to experience success or rapid academic gains in English-only classrooms in the apparent absence of home language support in school. Using a sample of 2,428 Spanish-speaking bilingual students in 438 schools from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), multilevel models are employed to integrate multiple sources of data from parent interviews, self-administered teacher surveys, school administrator questionnaires, and one-on-one student assessments. Drawing from research on family language policy, which focuses on how bilingual families manage and use languages, and on theories of bilingual education, this study shows that the academic support that parents provide using the home language gives bilingual children background knowledge or a network of contextual clues that helps them navigate English-only classrooms. This background knowledge gained through parental support in the home language allows bilingual learners with the lowest level of English proficiency to score higher in mathematics in English-only environments during the kindergarten year in the same way as home language support contributes to children’s success in bilingual and dual language programs. This finding is an empirical verification of what has been called “de facto” bilingual education, a situation in which an emergent English learner succeeds in an English-only classroom due to parental academic support in the home language. In addition, this study shows that the parents’ preference for a home language does not jeopardize the English language attainment of young children upon entry to kindergarten. These findings are of great significance to educators, policymakers, and researchers who strive for equitable educational practices that support the inclusion of all students in the classroom, as they provide a context for understanding oft-reported immigrant successes in English-only classrooms as “de facto” bilingual education provided by parents at home.
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    The Effects of Observed Friendship Formation on Group Level Peer Experiences: A Study of Behaviorally Inhibited Preschooler
    (2020) Fleece, Hailey; Rubin, Kenneth H; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Early social withdrawal places children at a greater risk for later internalizing disorders and peer difficulties. However, positive friendships can serve as a buffer against this trajectory. Currently, very little is known about if friendships develop between preschool aged withdrawn children, and how this affects their group level peer processes. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether socially withdrawn children who made a friend demonstrated gains in social skills in their preschool classrooms over an 8-week period during which they had participated in an intervention designed to increase social interaction and decrease social reticence. Overall, the children who made a friend over the intervention period had less observed reticent behavior and more prosocial behavior in their preschool classrooms both before and after the intervention period. These children entered the intervention with more advanced social skills and were able to utilize them to develop a meaningful friendship.