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 Exploring Identities and Relationships: Narratives of Second-Generation, Black, West Indian College Students From Boston(2019) English, Shelvia R.; Griffin, Kimberly A; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the collegiate experiences of second-generation, West Indian college students from Boston. Too often, Black students are treated as a monolith in education research and practice. This study provides new knowledge regarding how second-generation West Indian college students communicate and enact their racial, ethnic, and immigrant identities in their relationships with faculty, staff, peers, and family while in college. The theoretical framework guiding this study was Communication Theory of Identity, which centered the connection between identities and relationships. Through the use of narrative inquiry, seven West-Indian participants from Boston completed a demographic questionnaire and shared their narratives through two, semi-structured, in-person interviews. Through hand coding methods and inductive and deductive analysis of the data, five themes emerged: (a) Proving Cultural Authenticity, (b) Defining a West Indian Identity, (c) Differences Exist, but Race Still Matters, (d) Homophily in Friendships, and (e) Representation Matters: Faculty and Staff Relationships. The findings offer insight of how participants viewed themselves, communicated their identities to others, and whether their relationships affirmed who they viewed themselves to be. Participants encountered disparate messages about their race, ethnicity, and generation status, compelling them to respond depending upon their audience and context. In particular, the shift from and contrast between participants’ Boston neighborhoods to predominantly white campuses across Massachusetts contributed to a difference in how participants perceived themselves. In college, participants confronted the racialized component of their ethnicity and grappled with how they were viewed as Black and West Indian. Friendships provided the optimal space and relationship in which participants most easily navigated their racial, ethnic and immigrant status identities. In contrast to their friendships, participants minimally shared about themselves outside of close relationships with Black faculty or staff. The shifts in the racial composition of participants’ environments, coupled with the types of messages they received in their interactions and relationships, demonstrates the connection between relationships, context, and identities.Item Not your terrorist: Case studies examining the intersectional identities and aspirations of Arab American Muslim middle school boys(2017) Shafey, Dina; Turner, Jennifer D.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Arab Muslim boys living in the United States have experienced varying levels of public scrutiny since 9/11 and prior to. Public perceptions of these experiences are centered on media-driven representations; often inaccurate depictions of the nuanced lives of these boys. While Arab Muslims have lived in the United States more than a century, their lived experiences, particularly experiences while in school are missing. This research study examined how Arab American Muslim Middle School boys perceived their intersecting identities while navigating instances of bias. To address this, one overarching research questions guided this study: “How do key intersecting social classifications race, gender, culture, and religion, impact Arab American middle school boys’ ethnic identity perceptions?” To further explicate on these nuances four sub-questions were addressed, including: “How do these boys define success and achievement in relation to schooling?”; “How have middle school Arab American boys experienced cultural bias/or how have they perceived cultural bias?”; To what extent do Arab American boys seek out resources (community family, religion), through their social networks?” and “How have they navigated schooling as framed by these experiences of cultural bias?” Using an Intersectional Identities Theoretical Framework (Crenshaw, 1989; Phelan, 1991; Collins, 2009), this study explored the multifaceted nature of identity perception, namely the boys’ experiences with power relationships resulting from these identifiers. Four themes surfaced including how they operationalized power and oppression across identity categories namely, Religion, Culture, Gender and Race. To delve into these questions and to represent the experiences of each boy with detail, a qualitative case study design (Bodgen & Biklen 2003; Erickson & Shultz, 1992; Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2006) was used to analyze and produce rice and detailed narratives. This study will promote discussion about the very nature of the lived experiences of Arab Muslim boys growing up in the United States. It will also serve as a platform for administrators and policy makers in the daily decisions, for example curriculum decisions, impacting this scrutinized population.Item The Evolution of Science Ownership in Learners Engaged in Design and Technology Usage(2014) Yip, Jason C.; Druin, Allison; Stieff, Mike; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In my dissertation, I set out to explore the following research question on bridging: How does ownership evolve as learners engage in a guided inquiry-based science learning environment focused on design and technology usage? My dissertation explores a case study of four learners involved in an afterschool program called Kitchen Chemistry (KC). KC is a nonformal learning environment in which learners engage in scientific practices within the context of cooking. Learners engage in inquiry practices through the development of their own scientific food investigations. In my study I examined how four focal learners come to develop a sense of ownership of science learning as they each develop their own personal food investigations. Using Wenger's (1998) framework of identity formation in communities of practice (imagination, engagement, and alignment), my study shows that a learner's identity and social dynamics from home, school, and informal learning shape and fashion what he or she chooses to own, how ownership is expressed, and how that ownership can both support and hinder a learner's science learning.Item Intertextuality, Identity Works, and Second Language Literacy Development in the Digital Media: An Ethnographic Case Study of Two Indonesian College Students' Literacy Practice on Twitter(2013) Marissa, Dian N.; Lavine, Roberta Z.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research shows us that those immersed in digital media are engaged in an unprecedented exploration of language, social interaction, and self-directed activity that leads to diverse forms of learning (Buckingham & Willet, 2006). In the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in particular, numerous studies have been devoted to investigate the diverse ways in which English language learners (ELLs) engage with English texts in the digital media and their relationships with English language learning (Hornberger, 2007). However, these studies have often focused on ELLs who live in English-speaking countries and are more exposed to the target language in their daily lives -internet-mediated or otherwise (Lam, 2000; Lam, 2009; McGinnis, Goodstein-Stolezenberg, and Saliani, 2007). There is not enough empirical research that have investigated the literacy practices of those ELLs who live the majority of their lives using another language, and yet are increasingly exposed and connected to English mainly through the Internet. Furthermore, among the research on ELL's literacy practices in the digital media, little attention has been paid to how these practices lead to the linguistic development of the users who are involved in the processes (Ivanic, 1998). This study aims to contribute to the knowledge base of SLA by exploring the different ways in which two Indonesian college students engage in producing and interpreting English texts in the digital media, and how these literacy practices lead to the development of their English literacy. Qualitative analyses conducted in this study focused on English texts that the students produced and interpreted in a social network site (SNS) called Twitter. Specifically, this study examined a particular practice that is gaining popularity among young people today - the practice of intertextuality (Fairclough, 1992; Ivanic, 1998). This study explored how this intertextual practice relates to English language learners' identity construction and negotiation, and to the development of their English literacy. This study has implications for educators who seek new ways to bridge students' out-of- school literacy practices and school-based literacy, as well as connecting the literacy practices in digital and non-digital contexts.Item Borderlands and Border Crossing: Japanese Professors of English and the Negotiation of Translinguistic and Transcultural Identity(2012) Rudolph, Nathanael John; Martin-Beltran, Melinda; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Recent scholarship in the field of ELT posits that critical constructions of the Native Speaker/Non-Native Speaker and Native English Speaker Teacher/Non-Native English Speaker Teacher binaries in the ELT literature have oversimplified and essentialized categories of teacher identity (e.g., Menard-Warwick, 2008; Park, 2012) and as a result cannot account for contextualized negotiations of borders of linguistic and cultural identity around the world. In the interest of addressing this issue, the following study explores the lived experiences of four Japanese professors negotiating their translinguistic and transcultural identities in the field of English language teaching (ELT) in Japan, and how through these experiences they have arrived at challenging who they might be or become as English language learners, teachers and users. Employing narrative inquiry and the use of semi-structured interviews, the study attempts to provide a sociohistorically-situated account of participants' lived experiences conceptualizing and negotiating borders of being and becoming as English language learners, users and teaching professionals. In doing so, the study attempts to examine the interplay of local and global discourses of identity implicated in the construction and perpetuation of borders within ELT in the Japanese context. The study seeks to encourage dialogue in the ELT research and teaching community both within and beyond Japan, related to how these discourses might adversely affect learner, teacher and user identity and contextualized language teaching. In addition, the study attempts to contribute to debate within ELT scholarship regarding who "non-native" teachers might be or become and the roles "native" and "non-native" teachers might play in globalized ELT.Item Revisiting the silence of Asian immigrant students: The negotiation of Korean immigrant students' identities in science classrooms(2012) Ryu, Minjung; Edwards, Ann Ryu; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is a study about Korean immigrant students' identities, including academic identities related to science learning and identities along various social dimensions. I explore how Korean immigrant students participate in science classrooms and how they enact and negotiate their identities in their classroom discursive participation. My dissertation is motivated by the increasing attention in educational research to the intersectionality between science learning and various dimensions of identities (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, social networks) and a dearth of such research addressing Asian immigrant students. Asian immigrant students are stereotyped as quiet and successful learners, particularly in science and mathematics classes, and their success is often explained by cultural differences. I confront this static and oversimplified notion of cultural differences and Asians' academic success and examine the intersectionality between science learning and identities of Asian immigrant students, with the specific case of Korean immigrants. Drawing upon cultural historical and sociolinguistic perspectives of identity, I propose a theoretical framework that underscores multiple levels of contexts (macro level, meso level, personal, and micro level contexts) in understanding and analyzing students' identities. Based on a year-long ethnographic study in two high school Advanced Placement Biology classes in a public high school, I present the meso level contexts of the focal school and biology classes, and in-depth analyses of three focal students. The findings illustrate: (1) how meso level contexts play a critical role in these students' identities and science classroom participation, (2) how the meso level contexts are reinterpreted and have different meanings to different students depending on their personal contexts, and (3) how students negotiated their positions to achieve certain identity goals. I discuss the implications of the findings for the science education of racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students, particularly given the increasing number of immigrant students in U.S. classrooms, and for the education of Asian immigrant students.Item Embracing mathematics identity in an African-centered school: Construction and interaction of racial and mathematical student identities(2010) Nyamekye, Farhaana; Chazan, Daniel; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Document: EMBRACING MATHEMATICS IDENTITY IN AN AFRICAN-CENTERED SCHOOL: CONSTRUCTION AND INTERACTION OF RACIAL AND MATHEMATICAL STUDENT IDENTITIES Farhaana Nyamekye, Ph.D, 2010 Directed By: Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, Daniel Chazan, Curriculum and Instruction This dissertation is a report of a multiple case study of eight seventh grade African American students attending an African-centered school. This African-centered school is attended solely by children of African descent and adheres to a system of African cultural values, focusing on culture, relationships, and academic excellence. The report provides in depth case analyses of two of these students as they navigate their multiple identities. The foci of the analyses are on the students' construction of their math learner identities and racial identities and on their construction of both of these identities taken together. Phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory illuminates the challenges and supports that these students encounter in constructing their identities. The mathematics and racial socialization practices within the school and within the students' home environments are documented within this report as support mechanisms that provide opportunities for the students to construct identities as African American mathematics learners. The findings suggest that academic spaces that reduce the stress of racism and help students to value their racial identity may be particularly important spaces for other African American mathematics learners. The findings also have positive implications for the implementation of African and African American cultural practices and programs that can help other African American learners to positively construct identities as both African Americans and math learners. The documented findings raise critical questions about whether other African American learners that share the historical legacy of enslavement with the students in this study would benefit from African-centered schooling, despite the heterogeneity within this population.Item Undergraduate College Students' Perceived Sense of Civic Responsibility and Social Change Behaviors in the Context of Service, Advocacy, and Identity-Based Student Organizations(2010) Chowdhry, Chetan; Quaye, Stephen J; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study utilized data from the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) to explore the differences between college students involved with service, advocacy, and identity-based student organizations, as well as those not involved in any of these organizations, in their perceived sense of civic responsibility, as well as their frequency of engagement in social change behaviors. In addition, it explored the relationship between students' perceived sense of civic responsibility and their frequency of engagement in social change behaviors. The researcher utilized two one-way ANOVAs to see if there were significant differences in perceived sense of civic responsibility and frequency of engagement in social change behaviors among students who were involved exclusively in service, advocacy, or identity-based organizations, as well as students who were involved in a combination of these organizations, and students who did not participate in any of these organizations. The researcher found significant differences between students in the different organizations, with students in a combination of organizations and students involved exclusively in advocacy organizations having the highest mean scores on perceived sense of civic responsibility and frequency of engagement in social change behaviors. Students in identity-based organizations and those not involved in any of the organizations had the lowest mean scores on these two variables. In addition, the researcher found a positive, medium strength correlation between students' perceived sense of civic responsibility and frequency of engagement in social change behaviors among all of the involvement categories. Overall, this study provides important initial findings regarding the civic engagement characteristics of students involved in particular student organizations.Item "I'm not enough of anything!": The racial and ethnic identity constructions and negotiations of one-point-five and second generation Nigerians(2009) Awokoya, Janet Tolulope; Wiseman, Donna L; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)For many African youth, questions of identity are pressing concerns. Many who were born in, but raised outside of their country of origin, known as one-point-five immigrants, and their second generation counterparts (Rong & Brown, 2002), often find themselves at the center of several conflicting cultures. These youth are often challenged in their ability to negotiate and reconcile the varying expectations of their respective racial and ethnic groups. While living in multiple, cultural worlds is the experiences of many minority youth (Phelan et al., 1991), it is uniquely challenging for Black immigrant youth as both their blackness and immigrant background make negotiating their racial and ethnic identities more challenging, than non-black and non-immigrant minority youth. Using qualitative methodology (questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus group), this dissertation explored the manner in which eleven, one-point-five and second generation Nigerian college students construct and negotiate their racial and ethnic identities. The research was guided by four broad research questions: (1) How do one-point-five and second generation Nigerian college students describe and experience their interactions with Africans and non-Africans (peers, family, and school personnel)? (2) How do they describe and experience their processes of racial and ethnic identity development? (3) How do their interactions with Africans and non-Africans shape their racial and ethnic identity development? (4) How do they negotiate their racial and ethnic identities among Africans and non-Africans? The results revealed three major findings that characterized the identity experiences of one-point-five and second generation Nigerian immigrants. First, participants often constructed and negotiated their racial and ethnic identities differently within their families, peer groups and the schooling context. Second, participants had to "learn" the meaning of blackness in the U.S. context, which significantly impacted how they experienced their racial identities. Lastly, participants often felt challenged about the authenticity of their Nigerian identity, by both Africans and non-Africans alike. This study provides a significantly more nuanced discussion on the identity constructions and negotiations of one of the fastest growing segments of the diverse black population--African immigrant youth.Item Re-Dis-Covering Identity: A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Ontological Complexities of Being Gay(2008-07-28) Eddy, Wallace; McEwen, Marylu K.; Hultgren, Francine H.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of gay men. The study of identity in student affairs and higher education is grounded in student and human development theory. Does theory explain identity for gay men? How do gay men make meaning of their experience? This study is conducted in the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology. This methodology is based in the work of Heidegger, Gadamer, Ricoeur, Derrida, Levinas, and Sartre as key philosophers in phenomenological inquiry. Although these philosophers ground the methodology, van Manen offers the set of research activities that come together and offer ways to organize the exploration of this phenomenon. Through exploration of existential sources, the themes of being an imposter in majority culture, living a double life, the power of words to hurt or connect, and the notion of "the closet" emerged. Once these themes from the existential sources were uncovered, participants who live the phenomenon under investigation were sought. Working with six college students, I looked deeper into how the phenomenon manifests itself and how gay men make meaning of their lived experience. The theme of identity emerged as paramount. Specifically, the gay men participating in this study describe their identity as both complicated and, at times, ineffable; they knew who they were, but found theoretical descriptions of them limited and limiting. Gay men also find that their identity plays a pivotal role in the connections they are able or are not able to make with others - sometimes being gay hinders, and at other times it helps make connections. From my work with these men, I suggest to educators that we need to stay attuned to the pedagogical environment, allow gay role models to be available, and educate future teachers about the potential crises and anxieties faced by gay men in middle and high school due to bullying. Finally, I suggest to those who teach developmental theory that it be underscored that theory is not a panacea and can never fully describe human beings. The concern I have is with the over application of theory in place of listening to and engaging with students.