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 Self-concepts of adolescents with learning disabilities: A large-scale database study(2005-08-20) Strein, William; Signor-Buhl, SaraUsing the ELS: 2002 national database, we compared the self-concepts in reading, math, and general academic areas for students with and without identified learning disabilities. Unlike most similar research, students’ measured achievement in reading and math was controlled, thereby effectively comparing students at similar levels of achievement. When controlling for achievement, academic self-concepts were not lower for the students with LD. Similar to other studies, students with LD tended to statistically over-predict their achievement compared to the non-LD group.Item Adolescents on the Lookout for Suicidal Friends on Social Networking Sites(2013) Berger, Jill; Gottfredson, Gary D.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)There are opportunities to identify and intervene with suicidal adolescents through social media outlets. This study explored the effectiveness of using two types of persuasive messages to encourage adolescents to get help for Facebook friends who might be suicidal. Facebook-using adolescents (N = 299) were recruited to participate in an online survey within which a randomized experiment was embedded. More than one third of participants reported seeing Facebook friends post about suicide. Participants were randomly assigned in a 2x2x2 design to exposure or no exposure to suicide prevention information, a suicide intervention story, and a pre-test assessment. The effects of these conditions on participants' knowledge of what to do and their intentions to get adult help were examined. Participants exposed to information were more likely to report that they knew what to do for a suicidal friend; whereas those exposed to the story were more likely to express intentions to get adult help when presented with suicidal scenarios. Stories depicting social role models appear to be an effective way to encourage adolescents to take appropriate actions when friends post content suggestive of suicide on Facebook. Further research exploring how youth suicide prevention efforts can be integrated with social media is warranted.Item Using Argumentative Discussion to Enhance the Written Arguments of Middle School Students in Social Studies Classrooms(2012) Wissinger, Daniel R.; De La Paz, Susan; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Walton, Reed, and Macagno's (2008) dialectical framework on middle school students' historical discussions and written arguments. To do this,151 middle school students from six classrooms were randomly assigned to one of two conditions and asked to participate in a three-week intervention that featured: (a) examining three controversial topics in history, (b) primary source documents, (b) argumentative discussions, and (c) constructing argumentative essays. Because students were taught in small groups, the average performance of 12 groups of students who were assigned to the experimental condition was compared to the average performance of 12 groups of students who were assigned to the comparison conditions. Students in the experimental condition learned argumentative schemes and asked critical questions during discussions. Students in the comparison condition participated in the same historical investigations, received the same materials for instruction, engaged in discussions, and learned about text structure for writing argumentative essays in ways comparable to the experimental group, but used a traditional set of questions during discussions. The findings indicated a significant relationship between teaching students to use argumentative schemes and to ask critical questions during discussions and performance on students' resulting content knowledge. Main effects were also evident regarding students' historical thinking, a writing outcome that reflected use of evidence, ability to write from an author's perspective, use of contextual information, and the inclusion of rebuttals in their essays. While significant differences were not present between conditions on three outcome measures (i.e., reading comprehension, length of essays, or overall writing quality) students' in both sets of groups averaged moderate-to-high scores for reading comprehension and constructed essays that were considered proficient or advanced on the PSSA writing rubric. Taken together, the results of the study were encouraging and align with many of those in the existing literature, which emphasize the positive effects of integrating discussion in classroom activities.Item DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT MOTIVATION IN THE VISUAL ARTS USING HIP HOP CULTURE, AN ART SHOW, AND GRAFFITI(2009) Jenkins, Stephanie Conley; Hendricks, Susan; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This participatory action research study explored the development of student motivation in the visual arts using hip hop culture. Six adolescent middle school students from a Washington, DC, public charter school were studied. They participated in an after-school art club centered on the National Portrait Gallery's "Recognize: Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture" special exhibition. The subjects were interviewed before and after visiting the museum and creating their own graffiti self-portraits. The self-portraits were displayed in an art exhibit at the school along with their artist statements. The interviews, statements and field notes were analyzed using the coding method. The results showed that feelings of competence, adequate support, autonomy, authentic purpose and personal connections to hip hop culture and musical artists all increased student motivation to participate in the visual arts. Motivation decreased when students attempted to create `real' looking graffiti, consistent with existing research.Item A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS OF CONTEXT EFFECTS ON ADOLESCENT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: THE ROLE OF FAMILY, PEERS, SCHOOL, AND NEIGHBORHOOD(2009) Wilkenfeld, Britt Skeens; Torney-Purta, Judith; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The relations between multiple contexts of influence and adolescents' civic engagement were examined in order to facilitate understanding of how adolescents are being prepared for citizenship. This study extends previous research by simultaneously examining the family, peer, school, and neighborhood contexts, including how contexts are interrelated in their influence, and by employing multilevel regression techniques. The purpose of the study was to understand how contexts interact to produce positive outcomes for adolescents, especially those deemed at risk for poor civic outcomes. Utilizing data from the 1999 Civic Education Study and the 2000 U.S. Census, I examined a nationally representative sample of 2,729 14-year-olds from 119 schools in the United States. Access to the zip-codes for each school that participated in the study enabled the connection between neighborhood characteristics and schools and students within schools. Given the multifaceted nature of civic engagement, the current study considered context effects on four different aspects of civic engagement: civic knowledge, support for the rights of ethnic minorities, anticipated voting behavior, and anticipated community participation. Predictors pertain to adolescents' demographic characteristics, political discourse with parents and peers, civic experiences in school, and the demographic composition of the neighborhood. Political discourse with parents was positively related to civic knowledge, attitudes, and anticipated behavior, indicating the consistency with which socialization occurs in the home. Across the contexts examined, student measures of civic experiences in school (or civic learning opportunities) had the most consistently positive relationships with students' civic outcomes. Civic experiences in school include student confidence in the effectiveness of school participation, perception of a classroom climate that is open for discussion, and learning about ideal civic practices. Interactions between the school and neighborhood contexts indicate that higher levels of civic learning opportunities particularly make a difference for students attending schools in impoverished neighborhoods, sometimes substantially improving their civic outcomes. Schools, although implicated in the existence of a civic engagement gap, have the potential to narrow the gaps. Civic experiences in schools contribute to the preparation of youth for active citizenship and full access to these experiences reduces civic engagement gaps between students of different demographic groups.Item Listening to Adolescent Heartsongs: Phenomenological Possibilities in Teaching Writing(2007-05-29) Hartshorn, Mary Ann M; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: LISTENING TO ADOLESCENT HEARTSONGS: PHENOMENOLOGICAL POSSIBILITIES IN TEACHING WRITING Mary Ann McKenzie Hartshorn Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Dissertation directed by: Professor Francine Hultgren Department of Education Policy and Leadership College of Education University of Maryland This hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry, is called by the question: What is the lived experience of high school students who share something they have written from the heart? The metaphor of the human heart opens my understanding of the experiences of thirty-two students who write and share their writings in sophomore English class. My understanding of this experience deepens during after-school conversations with twelve of those students. Text, offering words for hermeneutic pondering, was compiled from conversations, journals, student writings and sharing activities. All voices were taped and transcribed to provide a visual remembrance of these lived experiences. The methodology underpinning this human science inquiry, is identified by Max van Manen (2003) as one that "involves description, interpretation, and self-reflective or critical analysis" (p. 4). Through my students' heartfelt words, I see them write their way to self-discovery. The importance of "lived space" (van Manen, 2002, p. 102) is brought forward, and lets me understand that students need to feel at "home" in school if they are to be successful. As we create a sacred space together, my students and I experience safety and freedom. In this space we find our "i-dentities" and hear our heartsongs. When sharing those songs, students announce their fears of failure, death and the swift passage of time; their memories; their longing for communication and disappointment in not connecting. We dwell together in the unique, sacredness of each other, opening a listening space where relationality "allows us to transcend ourselves" (p. 105). It is here that we celebrate more similarities than differences. The valued end of any class should include a place where students feel comfortable with themselves and others. Curriculum should be relevant to each student, providing an opportunity for self discovery and acceptance. Writing of a personal nature must be included across the curriculum so students learn to value themselves, fellow human beings, and the universe.