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 Urbanicity and Academic Self-Concept(2009-02-27) Strein, William; Pickering, Cyril; Grossman, JulieThe main focus of this study was the relationships between school urbanicity (size of community in which the school is located) and fifth-grade students’ academic self-concepts. Using multi-level modeling methodology (HLM) we were able to investigate “school effects”, net of individual students’ characteristics. School urbanicity had no effect on reading, math, or general academic self-concept. School-level effects were found consistently for aggregate school achievement in reading and math, congruent with Marsh’s Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect. Less consistent school-level effects were found for proportion of minority students and school-average SES. Individual level effects mirrored those reported in other literature with tested achievement having the greatest effectItem Big Fish and Other School Effects on Academic Self-Concept(2010-08-14) Strein, William; Grossman, JuliieA substantial amount of research indicates that academic self-concept is a function of both individual characteristics, and school effects that impact on the development of self-perceptions. Few studies have studied a cohort of students as they progress through the transition from elementary to middle school. The present study uses multi-level modeling to examine school effects on students’ academic self-concept in reading and math as they transition from elementary to middle school. Data come from the ECLS-K data set. Few school effects were found, but students’ SES was found to be a strong moderator of the relationship between reading achievement and self-perceptions of students’ ability and interest in reading.Item A Self-Study Examining The Effectiveness of Creative Dramatics With Urban Youth(2007-05-29) White, Carmen Irene; McCaleb, Joseph; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Teachers' lack of ability to bring creativity to their classrooms and students' lack of motivation to learn have captured my attention in examining my own implementation of the concept of creative drama, specifically with urban youth. As a practitioner and now teacher/researcher, I am an accomplished leader of creative dramatics; and this self-study addresses the primary research question: What techniques associated with my implementation of creative dramatics have been proven effective with urban students? Creative drama is a vehicle for developing active learning experiences, especially for urban classrooms where there is need for creative initiatives in the curriculum. Therefore, this study examines my instructional practices in order to provide an understanding of creative drama as it relates to the role of teachers as leaders in urban education. In researching my own practical application of creative dramatics, I had three primary goals: first to better understand my role as a leader of creative drama with my urban students; secondly, to examine the characteristics of urban learners by gaining insight into urban conditioning; and lastly, to know if creative drama engaged and empowered my students to learn with more purpose. This was of significant importance especially since these very same students had been disengaged and had shared disempowering learning experiences. Once I integrated creative drama into the curriculum, my urban students engaged the subject matter and became independent thinkers during the creative process. Additional goals concerned the need to examine the relevance of accessibility and subsequent outcome assessments resulting from urban learners. I wanted to examine the need to offer urban learners creative drama. I found that the creative drama sessions empowered my students to take charge of their learning process. I also captured how elements of the creative drama process transferred into their everyday lives. I discovered that creative drama captured the elements of spirituality, harmony, and individual expressionism that motivated urban youth to take control of their learning experiences. I document how my journey as a leader of creative dramatics with urban youth elevated my level of understanding of my instructional methods, how this enhanced understanding was manifested, and the effectiveness of creative pedagogy. Lastly, but more importantly, this study illustrated the significance of offering creativity to urban youth and documents the success that is captured best in the hearts, minds, and behaviors of my students. These students, as benefactors, offered creative and enlightening information to this study. A contribution of this study to the field of arts-in-education is to provide novice teachers an understanding of how the use of creative drama strategies can help them become more creative and effective in the classroom, especially when working with urban youth.