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 PARENTS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: WHAT THEY KNOW, WHAT THEY THINK THEY KNOW, AND WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PROCESS(2024) Kim, Julianna; Wexler, Jade; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Parents of students with disabilities play a vital role in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning process. Research has shown that parents’ engagement and advocacy could benefit students’ services. In order for more effective advocacy, parents must know their special education rights and process. Therefore, this dissertation study explored parent’s knowledge and understanding of special education rights and process.Chapter 2 is a research synthesis of how studies have quantifiably measured parents’ knowledge and understanding. Chapter 3 is a mixed-method design study that explores whether parents’ perceived knowledge and actual knowledge are different constructs through a nationwide survey. The second section of the mixed method study is qualitative design through focus groups, and the purpose of the focus groups was to explore what information parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds desire to find and how that information should be presented. The findings from the focus groups were used to write a policy paper in Chapter 4. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes the findings and shares limitations and implications.Item Perspectives on Parent Involvement: How Elementary Teachers Use Relationships with Parents to Improve Their Practice(2008-11-20) Jacobs, Bryce Anne; Lareau, Annette; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)One of the most important areas of research in education is the role of parents in student achievement. Studies indicate that parents working as volunteers, homework helpers, and participants in school activities influence student success, but we do not know exactly how that happens or how teachers perceive of their relationships with parents. Although researchers state that the parent teacher relationship is important, they have not systematically unpacked how parent involvement is related to the instructional decision making of teachers. This study uses in depth interview data from 21 elementary school teachers who teach grades one through four. The study also includes participant observation in one private school. My findings suggest that teachers, in a variety of kinds of schools, use information about students' home lives and outside interests to make their teaching more effective. They report doing this by being able to motivate students, by being sensitive to a student's mood and by being able to make changes to their curriculum based on student needs. Much of what a teacher, especially in the elementary grades knows about his/her students is gleaned from the students' parents. It is this information that affects teacher practice in the classroom. This leads to teachers not treating all forms of parent involvement equally; they value communication and they use what they learn from communications with parents to customize their curricula for individual students. The literature to date has not examined communication patterns between parents and teachers fully. When examined closely, it seems that teachers try to manage and negotiate their relationships with parents through setting boundaries and through their communication patterns. It has been reported that teachers do not learn about parent involvement in their teacher education courses. This study affirms that assertion and increases our understanding of what teachers are influenced by: their mentor teachers, their colleagues, the school administration and their own parents. This study will add to the parent involvement research by examining teachers' views on their relationships with parents and will help educators and policy makers better understand how parents contribute to classroom instruction.Item Communication Patterns of Undergraduate Students and their Parents(2007-05-29) Yip, Christine; Guenzler-Stevens, Marsha A.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this thesis was to examine the student-parent relationship by understanding communication patterns of undergraduate students and their parents. Topics discussed, frequency, initiation, methods of communication, and student satisfaction were investigated and analyzed across race, gender, and age. There were 539 usable respondents (females n = 331, males n = 182) between the ages of 18 and 24 from a Mid-Atlantic university. Students most frequently discussed physical health issues, career planning, living situations, friends, and current financial situations with their parents. More than two-thirds of respondents did not discuss the topics of alcohol and sex. Students and parents both initiated communication an average of five times a week, and cell phone was the most common method of communication. Regarding satisfaction, more than two-thirds of respondents were "satisfied" or "strongly satisfied" with the frequency, methods used by parents, frequency of parent-initiated communication, quality of advice, and level of sharing.