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 “What Are We?” A Narrative Study of the “Trickiness” of Identity for Asian American College Students(2018) Kim, Yoolee Choe; Park, Julie J.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Asian Americans are a significant and growing population in U.S. higher education, yet their positionality within the U.S. racial landscape has often been unclear. Acknowledged as neither Black nor White, Asian Americans have occupied an often marginalized yet nonetheless racialized position, which has disguised much of their lived experience as racial beings. This study sought to understand how Asian American college students see themselves as racial beings by exploring the role and salience of race and its intersections with other social identities. Using intersectionality as a theoretical framework, this narrative inquiry study was guided by the following research questions: (a) how do Asian American college students describe and make meaning of their racial identity; (b) in what ways, if any, do their other social identities, such as gender, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, religion, ability status, socioeconomic class, and immigrant generation status, interact with the way Asian American college students describe and make meaning of their racial identity; and (c) how do Asian American college students experience the intersections of their multiple social identities? Following in-depth interviews with four Asian American college students representing a range of identity backgrounds, individual narratives were written for each participant, telling the story of how they came to make meaning of their racial identity, other salient identities, and their intersections. A metanarrative was then generated based on the commonalities of participants’ stories. Through these narratives, the lived experiences of Asian Americans as racial beings were centered. For these four participants, identifying as Asian American was a conscious choice whose meaning was created through reflection on experiences with race, often in conjunction with intersecting identities. Systems of power, oppression, and privilege acted upon those intersections and indelibly shaped the way participants made meaning of their identities, as illuminated by intersectional analysis. The study’s findings indicate paths for future research on Asian American identity development, particularly using critical theoretical perspectives that foreground the influence of systems of power and oppression. The findings also suggest implications for supporting Asian American students and for developing and integrating intersectional approaches in order to create more socially just and inclusive institutions.Item The Role of College Students' Perceptions of Effort Source on Self-Evaluations of Academic Ability(2016) Muenks, Katherine; Wigfield, Allan; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the present studies I investigated whether college students’ perceptions of effort source influenced their perceptions of the relation between levels of their own effort and ability in mathematics. In Study 1 (N = 210), I found using hypothetical vignettes that perceptions of task-elicited effort (i.e., effort that arises due to the subjective difficulty or ease of the task) led to perceptions of an inverse relation between one’s effort and ability, and perceptions of self-initiated effort (i.e., effort that arises due to one’s own motivation or lack of motivation) led to perceptions of a positive relation between one’s effort and ability, consistent with my hypotheses and prior research. In Study 2 (N = 160), participants completed an academic task and I used open-ended questions to manipulate their perceptions of effort source. I found that participants in the task-elicited condition endorsed no overall relation between effort and ability, and participants in the self-initiated condition endorsed an overall inverse relation, which is inconsistent with my hypotheses and prior research. Possible explanations for the findings, as well as broader theoretical and educational implications are discussed.Item “Never Give up:” The Strengths and Strategies Used Among Undocumented College Students From Central America to Access and Persist in U.S. Higher Education(2015) Hernandez, Belkis Pamela; Espino, Michelle M.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and strategies that undocumented college students from Central America used to access and persist in United States higher education. A multiple-case study design was used to conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews and document collection from ten persons residing in Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. Yosso’s (2005, 2006) community cultural wealth conceptual framework, an analytical and methodological tool, was used to uncover assets used to navigate the higher education system. The findings revealed that participants activated all forms of capital, with cultural capital being the least activated yet necessary, to access and persist in college. Participants also activated most forms of capital together or consecutively in order to attain financial resources, information and social networks that facilitated college access. Participants successfully persisted because they continued to activate forms of capital, displayed a high sense of agency, and managed to sustain college educational goals despite challenges and other external factors. The relationships among forms of capital and federal, state, and institutional policy contexts, which positively influenced both college access and persistence were not illustrated in Yosso’s (2005, 2006) community cultural wealth framework. Therefore, this study presents a modified community cultural wealth framework, which includes these intersections and contexts. In the spirit of Latina/o critical race theory (LatCrit) and critical race theory (CRT), the participants share with other undocumented students suggestions on how to succeed in college. This study can contribute to the growing research of undocumented college students, and develop higher education policy and practice that intentionally consider undocumented college students’ strengths to successfully navigate the institution.Item DRINKING, TEXTING, AND HOOKING UP: THE FEMALE PERSPECTIVE ON GETTING TOGETHER WITH MEN IN COLLEGE(2014) Ross, Katherine; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Non-platonic relationships are a significant stressor for women in college, and can lead to a variety of negative outcomes (Lindgren, Parkhill, George and Hendershot, 2008). Flirting is how non-platonic interactions begin, yet it has not been studied in a university setting. In this study, semi-structured interviews with twelve heterosexual female college students gathered information about women's intentions, behaviors, and outcomes in non-platonic heterosexual interactions. Understanding college students' goals and communication strategies in non-platonic interactions may improve educational and intervention strategies (Lindgren, Blayney, Schacht, George & Pantalone, 2009). Researchers analyzed interview data using Consensual Qualitative Research methods, which allow for rigorous exploratory analysis aimed at describing the actual experiences of college student women. Students spoke about their personal experiences as well as to their perceptions of norms on college campuses. The conclusions drawn from the data demonstrate the ways in which the college social environment, indirect interpersonal communication, and a desire for human connection characterize college student women's experiences of non-platonic relationships in college.Item The Effect of Living-Learning Program Participation on College Students' Mental Health(2012) Fink, John E.; Hummel, Mary L; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis used Astin's (1993) I-E-O framework to explore how participation in a living-learning program as well as other college environments affected college students' mental health. Data from seven unique institutions that administered an additional mental health module as a part of the 2008 and 2009 National Study of Living-Learning Programs were used in this study. Independent samples t tests, chi-squared tests, and multiple regression were the statistical methods used to investigate three research questions with Keyes et al. (2008) Mental Health Continuum - Short Form (MHC-SF) as the dependent variable. The final predictive model explained 33.5% and 37.6% of the variance in students' MHC-SF scores in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Findings did not evidence a predictive relationship between students' participation in a living-learning program and their mental health. Several aspects of the college environment favorably predicted students' mental health, including ease with transition to college, socially supportive residence hall climate, self-confidence, sense of belonging, and sense of civic engagement. Other variables unfavorably predicted students' mental health, including identification as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, as well as emotional consequences of alcohol use. This study's findings offer implications for practitioners and directions for future research.Item Moving Forward: Addressing stress, positive resources, and gender(2012) Yang, Minji; Miller, Matthew J.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined a comprehensive stress-buffering model in a sample of 200 college students. Specifically, this study looked at social support and optimism as moderators between different types of stress and psychological health while controlling for gender given prior research that has demonstrated gender differences among the study constructs. Hierarchical regression analyses found that social support, but not optimism, worked as a significant moderator between different stressors, developmental challenge stress, time pressure stress, and social mistreatment stress, and psychological health. Supplemental analyses found in an independent samples t-test analysis that female college students had higher mean levels of time pressure stress than male college students. An extensive literature review of the study constructs including conceptual and methodological information and areas of improvement are delineated. Limitations of this study as well as future directions in research and clinical practice are also included.Item An Exploratory Study of Student Affairs Professionals' Conceptualization of Adulthood(2011) Pickard, Jennifer Meyers; Komives, Susan R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study used the conceptualization of emerging adulthood (a newly proposed phase in the lifespan that is attributed to demographic and societal shifts extending the time period in which young people feel as if they are in-between and neither adolescent nor adult) to examine student affairs professionals' perceptions of college student adulthood. Specifically, the research questions examined differences by generational status (Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial) on the importance of the 34 individual criteria that comprise adulthood (Arnett, 2001; Badger et al., 2006; Nelson et al., 2007) and the importance of these criteria when grouped into the five subscales of emerging adulthood: role transitions, norm compliance, biological/age-related factors, family capacities, and relational maturity. An online survey of student affairs professionals produced 654 respondents. Results from statistical analysis indicated that the most important criteria for student affairs professionals in determining whether or not a person has reached adulthood are accepting responsibility for the consequences of one's actions, developing greater consideration for others, becoming less self-oriented, being financially independent from parents/guardians, and establishing a relationship with parents as an equal adult. Overall, generational status did not result in dramatic differences in student affairs professionals' conceptualizations of adulthood. Regardless of their generational status, almost half (46%) of the student affairs professionals in this investigation did not believe that traditional undergraduates just entering college were adults but when these same students graduate, almost three-quarters (72%) of the student affairs professionals respondents believed that the traditional students were full-fledged adults. Findings confirmed that student affairs professionals' criteria for adulthood are similar to those of traditional college students and parents (Nelson et al., 2007), but also revealed a significant disconnect in the timeline that student affairs professionals deemed necessary for the achievement of adulthood as compared to traditional college students and their parents. These results have implications for both higher education research and professional practice as they highlight the conflicting expectations of students and parents as compared to student affairs professionals and higher education as a whole regarding the role that the college milieu plays in the achievement of adulthood.Item First to the Finish Line: A Case Study of First Generation Baccalaureate Degree Completers in the University of Maryland Student Support Services Program(2010) Mahan, Christine P.; Cabrera, Alberto; Fries Britt, Sharon; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explores factors first generation college graduates identify as impacting their successful baccalaureate degree attainment. This research was conducted using qualitative case study method, and a cross case analysis of individual case summaries was completed. Through a review of degree attainment, persistence, and first generation student literature, major pre-college and college themes/issues influencing degree attainment were identified and used to develop the study's theoretical framework. Data was collected through several methods: survey; in depth interviews and document analysis. Data was collected on a total of thirteen participants representing the 2001-2004 University of Maryland Student Support Services cohorts. An analysis of collected data revealed several factors participants perceived as significantly affecting their successful degree completion. These factors include academic preparation, college enrollment patterns, peer influence or participation in peer enclaves and perceived ability to pay. Family encouragement and support in both the student's pre-college and college experiences emerged as one of the most important influences upon first generation degree attainment. Further, results of this study revealed that mothers, in particular, play an important role in their first generation student's success. Mothers provide key motivational encouragement and support, regardless of their lack of familiarity with the college experience. Another key factor that plays a positive role in the first generation student's successful graduation is participation in an academic support program. Results of this research demonstrate that the academic, counseling and referral services and support provided by these types of programs help close the gap in terms of amassing critical degree completion social/cultural capital and mitigating academic challenges entering first generation students often bring to their college experience. The results of this study contribute to the dialogue on closing the gap in educational access and fostering degree completion success of first generation students. Implications for policy and practice are detailed in this study and suggest, to achieve maximum impact, educational access and degree completion initiatives must begin at least by the eighth grade and continue through college graduation. The study also includes suggestions for future research on first generation students, their families and the initiatives developed to support their educational aspirations.Item Group Involvement Experiences in College: Identifying a Thematic Taxonomy(2008-03-03) Dugan, John Patrick; Komives, Susan R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore whether latent phenomena could be identified to assist in the classification of students into subgroups based on their patterns of involvement across 21 types of co-curricular group experiences (e.g., cultural groups, student governance, club sports). Further analysis attempted to establish whether the emergent taxonomy of subgroups truly discriminated among students. This was accomplished through the use of data from the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership, a national research program examining the influences of higher education on college student leadership development. The sample was comprised of 11,209 seniors from 50 institutions across the United States. The primary research question employed exploratory latent class analysis as a means to determine the number of latent factors underlying student patterns of involvement. A total of four latent factors were identified and students were classified into one of eight latent classes interpreted to reflect: Affinity Group Affiliates, Identity and Expression Leaders, Academic Careerists, Cultural Collegiates, Athletes, Social Recreators, Recreational Academics, and Social Collegiates. Findings from secondary research questions contributed to the validity of the taxonomy by demonstrating differential influences of latent class membership on a theoretically-derived measure of leadership. Significant relationships were also identified between latent classes and the demographic variables of race and gender. Results suggested a more complex composition of the category of collegiate identified in numerous taxonomies of college students (Astin, 1993a; Clark & Trow, 1966; Kuh, Hu & Vesper, 2000). Findings also served as a response to the numerous calls for research examining patterns of student involvement in co-curricular group experiences (Gellin, 2003; Foubert & Grainger, 2006; Hernandez, Hogan, Hathaway, & Lovell, 1999; Hoffman, 2002; Moore, Lovell, McGann, & Wyrick, 1998; Renn & Bilodeau, 2005a). Results have implications for both higher education research and professional practice. This includes the provision of new analytic and conceptual approaches for studying college student populations as well as college impact. Findings may also serve as a useful heuristic tool to assist student affairs professionals in their advising and mentoring of college students.Item The same and different: A grounded theory of the experiences of college students who have a sibling with a developmental disability(2007-06-03) Weisman, Jennifer; McEwen, Marylu K; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research on people who have a sibling with a disability has focused minimally on the experiences of college students who have a sibling with a disability and generally focused on specific aspects and outcomes instead of a more holistic view. Much of the prior research was also conducted during a time when the climate around disabilities was different. This study took a contemporary and broad view of how college students with a sibling with a developmental disability experience college. This study used a qualitative methodology, constructivist grounded theory, to explore the experiences of college students with a sibling with a developmental disability. There were nine initial participants in the study and seven participants who completed the study. All had at least one sibling with a developmental disability and were either currently enrolled in an undergraduate institution or had graduated within two years. The seven participants who completed the study were each interviewed three times and many also shared academic papers or admissions essays that related to their sibling or disability issues. Data from the multiple in-depth interviews and documents were analyzed and the emergent theory was grounded in the data and described the experiences of college students who have a sibling with a disability. This theory contained a core category and five key categories. The core category, which incorporates the essence of participants' experiences, is My Experience in College is the Same and Different. There are five key categories related to the core category: Lessons Learned from Siblings, Having a Sibling Shapes My Personal Traits, Having a Sibling Plays a Role in My College Choices, Having a Sibling Contributes to My Academic Experiences, and Being a Sibling in My Social Interactions. This research contributes to the literature by providing a holistic and contemporary look at a sub-population of college students that has been understudied. It also offers important recommendations for future sibling research as well as ways for colleges to support siblings. As a qualitative study, it offers an in-depth look at college student siblings and demonstrates the complexity of their experience.