Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2228
The departments within the College of Education were reorganized and renamed as of July 1, 2011. This department incorporates the former departments of Curriculum & Instruction, Education Policy Studies, and Organizational Leadership & Policy Studies.
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Item AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE SUBJECTIVE EXCLUSIONARY DISCIPLINE PRACTICES IN A LARGE SCHOOL DISTRICT(2019) Walls, Anita C; Snell, Jean; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The problem investigated for this dissertation was the overuse of exclusionary discipline practices across a large, suburban school district adjacent to a major metropolitan area. The purpose of this descriptive, mixed methods study was to examine within five elementary schools if and how student discipline referrals varied across the subgroups of grade, race/ethnicity, and gender, and the reasons teachers gave for subjective discipline referrals. In addition, this study inquired into principals’ processes for determining when a subjective student discipline referral warrants a suspension, and how their perspectives, beliefs, and experiences influence their use of exclusionary discipline actions. Student discipline referrals and suspension data were collected and reviewed from five elementary schools in Success Public Schools, as well as interviews from the principals in the identified schools. The findings from the examination of the sampling of classroom referrals and suspension data revealed that African American male students had two to three times as many student discipline referrals and suspensions as African American females in each school. Across the total population of all five schools for student discipline referrals, there were 49% for subjective offenses and 51% for objective offenses. In addition to examining the student discipline referrals, this study also investigated the principals’ beliefs. All of the principals who were interviewed for this study reported that they believe that suspensions should be implemented as a last resort and that alternatives should be considered, such as the following: after school detention, positive behavior intervention supports, and restorative practices. This study confirms and highlights that students who are referred for subjective discipline offenses are suspended from school about half of the time. In addition, descriptions of behaviors that triggered a discipline referral for a subjective offense reveal that the interpretation of student behaviors heavily relies on teachers’ judgements and their perceptions of what constitutes disrespect and disruption. Moreover, the study revealed that how administrators respond to subjective student discipline referrals varied from school to school.Item A MISSING PIECE: EXAMINING TEACHERS’ RESPONSES TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS IN BURKINA FASO(2019) Spear, Anne; Stromquist, Nelly; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Gender inequality leading to gendered violence in schools is a concerning reality worldwide. This study examines gender-based violence (GBV) in an educational context by conducting a vertical comparative case study on gender-based violence at two secondary schools in the central area of Burkina Faso, West Africa. The study sought to understand the multiple influences that guide secondary schoolteachers’ responses to GBV and the implementation of existing national policies in combatting the violence in Burkina Faso. Using the feminist poststructuralist framework, the study conducted discourse analysis of policies and explored teachers’ discourse of the phenomenon through how teachers’ meaning-making of GBV in schools contributes to decisions around addressing the violence. This qualitative research contributes to the on-going discussion of how teachers can be change agents in schools. These findings can help inform teachers’ training programs and national policy.Item Uncovering Mainstream Classroom Teachers' Understanding of Working with English Learners(2019) Walkinshaw Garris, Karen; Imig, David; Fagan, Drew S; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze the mainstream classroom teachers in this unique K-8 school setting report focusing on English Learners (ELs), what they perceive to be their roles and responsibilities in working with ELs, and what they want to learn further about ELs. For this study, mainstream teachers refer to those who provide content instruction to ELs in the areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The study addressed three questions regarding mainstream teachers including what they report that they currently know about working with ELs; what they perceive their roles and responsibilities to be in instructing ELs; and what knowledge and skills they need to better work with ELs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight of elementary and middle grades teachers at one school in a large urban district. Teachers were selected based on the criteria that they were teachers of language arts, mathematics, science and social studies in grades 4 through 8 and had ELs enrolled in their class. Interviews were also conducted with the ESL teacher at the same school and the district Title III Supervisor. Key findings included the following: mainstream teachers used the same instructional strategies for ELs that was used for all students, the mainstream was responsible for teaching ELs, and a need for professional development and resources in order to be successful instructing ELs.Item Embargoed Exchange: A Critical Case Study of Study Abroad Programming Between the United States and Cuba(2018) Woodman, Taylor C.; Klees, Steven J; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Internationalization continues to remain a central focus within the U.S. university environment. Internationalization motives are under question as neoliberal policies continue to limit sustained, long-term state funding for public universities and undermine the academic mission of these universities. Universities are leveraging internationalization practices, like study abroad programming, in response to the pressures of neoliberalism. Using both an academic capitalist and post-colonial lens, this dissertation seeks to understand how study abroad programming, specifically in non-traditional locations (viz., Cuba), operates within and is shaped by political and economic contexts. In this study, qualitative case study methods were used to critically examine study abroad programming between the United States and Cuba before, during and after the Obama Administration’s announcement changing diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba on December 17, 2014. The perspectives of 12 of the main actors in the field, including educational administrators and faculty from U.S universities, Cuban universities, and study abroad program providers, were captured to provide a more comprehensive view of U.S. study abroad implementation in Cuba. The findings illustrate four key aspects of the political and economic context that significantly impact study abroad programming. First, the U.S. blockade (embargo) on Cuba is shown to hinder academic operation and impede international relationship building. Additionally, the neoliberal and neo-colonial university environment in which study abroad programming is situated leads to the reproduction of colonial dynamics and amplifies inequities and power dynamics within North-South study abroad programs. Yet, in the face of neoliberal and neo-colonial pressures, solidarity building emerged as a key area for resistance within these programs. Thus, two opposing approaches, market-based and solidarity building, are dictating how study abroad programming is developed and implemented. The tensions between these approaches provide insight into the liminal space within which educational administrators and faculty develop and facilitate study abroad programming. Therefore, this dissertation critically analyzes the political and economic environment in which study abroad operates to determine implications for internationalization practice and policy in an effort to guide the future international dimensions of the university.Item Taiwanese College Graduates' Employability in the Global Context(2019) Peng, Yuyun; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)College graduates’ employability has been one of the focal objectives in higher education globally since the 1970s (Brown & Lauder, 2011; Hillage & Pollard, 1998; Brown et al., 2003). Under the massive impacts of globalization, technology revolution, and knowledge-based economy, the essence of graduate employability is shaping the curriculum design, as well as the career paths of Taiwanese college graduates. While current Taiwanese college graduates’ employability research focuses on the demographic description of graduates', educators' and employers' perception regarding employability, in-depth qualitative research that examines Taiwanese college graduates' experiences and perceptions regarding their employability readiness is scarce in the literature. Moreover, employability research in Taiwan needs to be addressed using a more holistic and cultural relevant approach where graduates' social, emotional, and professional development needs are taken into consideration. This study aims to investigate Taiwanese college graduates’ employability building, in terms of whether and how Taiwanese college graduates are well prepared for the knowledge, skills, and competency for the fast-changing world of work in Taiwan's particular social and economic context. To address the gap in the literature, this study focuses on the graduates’ narratives and digs into their perception of how college experiences, including college curriculum, work-related experiences, engagement with extracurricular activities, and career coaching resources contribute to graduates’ formation of competitive employability. In addition, this study also attempts to re-envision higher education to extensively accommodate graduates' professional and developmental needs in a more holistic manner. The study uses criterion-based sampling to reflect certain demographic characteristics of the graduate population. Eleven recent graduates from various geographic locations, disciplines, professions, and types of universities were invited to participate in the study. All participants received undergraduate degrees from departments of a Taiwanese higher education institution within two years; and had worked for more than one year. For male participants who needed to fulfill compulsory military service, the time served in the military is excluded from the two years limit. For recruitment of the participants, the research also put in effort to achieve balance in terms of gender, profession, discipline, and geography. The researcher conducted eleven individual interviews and two focus groups, and collected participants’ written reflections for analysis. In the study, graduates reflected upon how effectively the college curriculum, involvement in extracurricular activities, work-related engagement, career services, and other relevant college experiences contributed to employability building. Findings indicate that Taiwanese graduates perceive the existence of a gap between the preparation in university and the real world of work. The study also points to the context-bounded career transition struggle facing Taiwanese graduates. The researcher carefully examines graduates' experiences and proposes constructive solutions to enhance college students’ and graduates’ learning outcomes in all aspects of their college experiences. Based on the finding, the researcher proposes to redefine employability in a culturally relevant way, acknowledging unique Asian work ethics, and identify the critically needed employable skillset demanded in the participants’' professional fields. Besides mending the current campus-workplace gap, the study further discusses how higher education should prepare students and graduates for challenges brought upon by the fast-advancing technologies, and contemplate on the core values of the 21st century higher education.Item Wording their own worlds: A phenomenological exploration of teachers' lived experiences of teacher leadership(2019) Hamilton, Kristin Buckstad; Hultgren, Francine H.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Teacher leadership remains prominent in policy, career ladder programs, research, and professional discourse, yet few studies center what teacher leadership is like for teachers or what teachers are seeking when they construct their own career pathways. This gap is important to address. Teacher dissatisfaction certainly leads to recruitment and attrition challenges, but there is also an imperative for education as a human institution to attend to teachers’ needs. This study describes the lived experiences six teachers and the author had of teacher leadership. Following the methodology of hermeneutic phenomenology as articulated by Heidegger, Gadamer, and van Manen, participant descriptions and other lifeworld texts are analyzed to render themes that evoke the lived bodies, time, spaces, and relationships of teacher leadership. Metaphorically, teacher leaders travel into between-spaces, across borders, and over edges in response to their callings. Teachers experience teacher leadership bodily, insatiably growing and enacting pedagogic knowledge. They experience leadership as a following of a pedagogic need that compels them. They navigate the world with finely tuned sense-abilities that perceive what students, teachers, and pedagogy need. Lastly, they experience leadership relationally, feeling connected with other teachers near and far. Teachers in this study also experience a profound tension. The decision to accept new responsibilities as their professional vision expands is rooted in their being as a teacher, whether the roles are in the classroom or not. Yet, teacher leadership asks them (via policy, titles, and other cultural signals) to replace their teacher identities with teacher leader or educational leader identities. The teacher leader name does not always feel right to them. The final chapter of the study invites us to wonder about expanding the teaching profession’s scope in a way that resonates with teachers. In a world where “teachership”—the state of being a teacher, just as leadership is the state of being a leader—is recognized, the name “teacher” would be expansive enough to invoke all the opportunities teachers seek in pedagogy’s name. The study explores implications for a profession that empowers itself to claim teachers’ right of participation as teachers in other worlds within education.Item PRIVATIZED FROM THE INSIDE: A NETWORK ETHNOGRAPHY OF BRAZILIAN TEACHER EDUCATION POLICY UNDER THE WORKERS’ PARTY(2019) Hall, Stephanie; Klees, Steven J; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The theory of a globally structured education agenda interrogates the political and economic systems that influence how states take on policy ideas. One way that globalizing processes may take place is through network governance, or via networks of people, ideas, researchers, governments, non-governmental organizations, private companies, etc. This study explores how power plays a role in the proliferation of particular policy ideas about teacher education in such networks. Brazilian education expanded greatly since the 1990s as did the demand for teachers of higher qualifications. Via network ethnography, this study examined the people, organizations, and ideas that influenced teacher education policy since the mid-1990s. Network ethnography is an emerging method and framework in international education research, and this study builds on what is understood about the role of corporations and other private enterprises in education policy. The results of this network ethnography revealed two primary coalitions, each of whose power over teacher education policy shifted with federal regime changes. One coalition, centered around the Brazilian Campaign for the Right to Education, frames teacher training and schooling as places to foster participatory democracy and build citizens. The other coalition, centered around the All for Education Movement, frames teacher training as a set of apolitical technical skills that should be provided in so-called proven and fiscally efficient ways. In light of these results, I argue that the dominant coalition, led by the All for Education Movement, which is backed by the business and financial sectors, steadily and consistently worked to solidify its place in the federal education policymaking arena throughout the time period under study and as a result governs teacher qualification and teacher training issues.Item School District Adoption and Implementation of a Learning Management System: A Case Study Using Rival Theoretical Lenses(2018) Hyde, Laura Highstone; Croninger, Robert; Malen, Betty; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explored school district adoption and implementation of a learning management system. A substantial body of literature exists on school district data systems. However, this literature is highly rational in its view of data system adoption, and contains limited studies on learning management systems. With these liabilities in mind, this study used rival theoretical lenses from organizational theory, the rational perspective and the institutional perspective, to investigate these central questions: 1) how does a school district adopt and implement a learning management system and 2) how, if at all, do rational theory and institutional theory explain contextual forces and organizational actions in this process? These questions were answered with a single, exploratory case study in a school district that had recently adopted and implemented a learning management system. The multivocal literature that guided this study contains four strands: evaluative, status report, prescriptive, and specialized. Study findings revealed that the district engaged in a three-stage process of adoption, planning, and implementation of a learning management system. Although the rational perspective explained findings that aligned with the multivocal literature in the adoption and planning stages, district actions in the implementation stage were more clearly understood from the institutional perspective. Organizational processes in formalization, coupling, alignment, adaptiveness, and accountability, and external, contextual forces in accountability, privatization, and diffusion of innovation, proved to be salient concepts. These findings suggest that rival, theoretical lenses have utility in an investigation of school district learning management system adoption and implementation.Item HOW SCHOOL PRINCIPALS USE TWITTER TO SUPPORT LEADERSHIP PRACTICES: A MIXED METHODS DESIGN(2018) Lynch, Jennifer Mohler; Croninger, Robert G; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the past ten years, Internet-based communication mediums have eclipsed print and television media. Digital communications allow for information to be shared rapidly, in real-time, and with little mediation. The pervasive integration of digital platforms has changed the values, norms, and expectations of today’s society. This has profound implications for how school leaders interact with all stakeholders. School leaders are charged with executing three main roles: setting directions, developing organizations, and developing people (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003). Communication serves as a critical element that supports the effective execution of these roles. In a predominantly digital society, leaders may benefit from the integration of digital platforms to create a comprehensive communication profile. Despite a robust body of literature on leadership practices, there is little research on how K-12 school principals are using digital communication platforms to execute leadership roles and responsibilities. This study contributes to the literature by exploring how school leaders are using the popular digital platform Twitter. This research employed a sequential mixed methods design, utilizing both descriptive quantitative data and interview qualitative data to answer the question “who” is tweeting and explore the deeper questions of “why” and “how” school leaders use Twitter. This study moved through six phases with prior phases informing subsequent phases to construct a comprehensive profile of Twitter use and leadership practices. This research demonstrates that school principals primarily use Twitter as a promotional tool to excite and engage an expanded stakeholder base around a common vision. Both informational and promotional tweets served to build relationships, provide information, and satiate the intense informational needs of an expanded stakeholder base, now firmly situated in the digital generation. School leaders used Twitter to project information that serves to support their leadership roles of setting a vision and developing an organization. To a lesser extent, they used Twitter to consume and collect information that supports their leadership role of developing people.Item The Initial Implementation Patterns of the C3 Framework in Maryland School Districts(2018) Pugh, Shannon Michelle; De La Paz, Susan; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This qualitative study examined the initial implementation patterns of the C3 Framework in Maryland school districts. The National Council for the Social Studies published the C3 Framework as a guide for state departments of education to revise social studies standards. This study sought to determine how district social studies leaders viewed the C3 Framework, how the district social studies leaders translated the C3 Framework in their districts, and why they chose to implement the C3 Framework as they did. The primary data sources were interviews and documents; the data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis to identify overarching attitudes toward the C3 Framework and implementation patterns. Policy implementation research specifically related to cognitive theory and capacity was used to help explain the implementation process. This study found that beliefs, financial and human resources, and time were the main factors influencing implementation. The study also found that how districts approach and support reform implementation for social studies might be different from how districts previously approached and supported new standards and curriculum in other content areas. In this study, all district social studies leaders focused primarily on disciplinary literacy components of the C3 Framework, specifically those related to history. District social studies leaders focused on document-based activities, student projects, and writing to source but few addressed the Inquiry Arc in a way that challenged or altered expected approaches to teaching and learning social studies. Many used the C3 Framework as leverage to justify the continued work and focus on historical thinking and other disciplinary literacy work in their districts. Most district social studies leaders used inquiry and disciplinary literacy as synonyms; the pattern suggests that further work to help educators distinguish between these related approaches to learning is necessary to help support the use of inquiry in the social studies. As more states use the C3 Framework in state standards, this study might help states and districts guide how they approach its implementation.