The History of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate Choral Music Program, 1958–2023

Bruhn, Andrew University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC/Illinois) had an important impact on choral music through the creation of the first Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Choral Music in the United States beginning in 1958. Since that time many leading choral conductors have earned advanced degrees at UIUC, such as longtime Florida State University professor and composer Andre Thomas; St. Olaf Choir conductors Kenneth Jennings and Anton Armstrong; and longtime conductor of the Westminster Choir Joseph Flummerfelt. These individuals constitute and uphold the legacy of the program, yet no comprehensive history of the department exists. This study explores 1) the history of choral music at UIUC that led to the founding of the graduate choral program, 2) important leaders and their mission for the program, and 3) the Illinois legacy through highlighting a sample of the many alumni who are now significant in the field of choral music. In learning about this history, choral leaders will gain insight into the principles that yielded the international acclaim of the program. The study concludes that the legacy of the Illinois program centers around scholarship, effective leadership, and establishing a vast community of alumni. Through these areas, the reputation of the UIUC graduate choral program grew. Illinois’s unique position in creating the first DMA Choral Music, and then developing a legacy of excellence, led to its distinctive standing among graduate choral degrees.This dissertation provides a scholarly record that can serve as more specific research for the future as well to those interested in the history of the UIUC School of Music. As the Illinois graduate choral program was so impactful, this writing attempts to capture the legacy of the area in ways that will be inspiring to others who seek to develop their own choral communities.

Interpretation and Implementation of the Accelerated Placement Act by Illinois School District Leaders

Kristoff, Tara University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

Understanding how Illinois school district leaders craft acceleration policy and procedures in compliance with the Accelerated Placement Act has not been studied yet. The Accelerated Placement Act was adopted into law by former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner on August 25, 2017. The Accelerated Placement Act had a mandatory implementation date for all Illinois public schools on July 1, 2018. The goal of this phenomenological study is to contribute to the literature on acceleration by providing research on how Illinois central office administrators make sense and give a sense on the Accelerated Placement Act. The focus of this study is on how the attitudes of Illinois school administrators regarding acceleration and the Accelerated Placement Act affects the policy and procedures they are crafting for their school districts. In other words, this study examines if Illinois school administrators' beliefs and perceptions about acceleration influence their interpretation and implementation of the new law as they write acceleration policy as well as procedures to meet the legal mandates. There are three critical areas to explore when examining the policy and the procedures written by Illinois school administrators in compliance with the Accelerated Placement Act. First, there is an examination of the policy agenda, setting, and adoption of the Accelerated Placement Act at the state legislative level. Second, there is a critical analysis of how Illinois school district leaders make sense of acceleration and the Accelerated Placement Act. Of importance in making sense of the Accelerated Placement Act is the discussion and comparison of the varying acceleration procedures written by school district leaders in this study based on their interpretation, beliefs, and attitudes of the requirements in the new educational law. Third, there is an investigation into how the school district leaders in this study give sense to internal and external stakeholders in their school district on acceleration and the Accelerated Placement Act.Data was gathered from qualitative interviews with Illinois central office administrators who currently work in public school districts located in three regions of Cook County, Illinois: South, West, and North. The data gathered from the qualitative interviews provide findings and themes that show how Illinois school leaders have approached acceleration since the adoption of the Accelerated Placement Act. The findings from this phenomenological study reveal the following:1. The school district administrators do not share a common definition for acceleration.2. The school district administrators do not have a collective understanding of the purpose of acceleration.3. Most school administrators are not in favor of acceleration due to bias, negative past experiences, and misconceptions.4. There is no additional state funding as well as no additional rules and regulations from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to help support and provide guidance to school administrators. 5. District acceleration procedures are not aligned or correlated to the legal requirements in the Accelerated Placement Act as well as district policies on acceleration. Five recommendations are suggested based upon the study's findings to help current central office school administrators make sense and give sense on acceleration and the Accelerated Placement Act to aid in the policy implementation process of the new law. The recommendations are the following: 1. Current central office school administrators need to be part of the educational policy-making process at the legislative level.2. More detailed rules and regulations are needed from ISBE on how to implement the Accelerated Placement Act with fidelity to help guide Illinois school district leaders.3. Professional development in acceleration and Accelerated Placement Act are needed to counteract bias and misconceptions on behalf of the Illinois school district leaders.4 Oversight from ISBE is needed to ensure compliance with the law at the local level.5. Central office school administrators need to be more transparent with all stakeholders about acceleration and the Accelerated Placement Act.

Teacher Preparation: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of African American Pre-Service Teachers Enrolled at Three Public Illinois Universities

Mitchell, Jeniece D University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

This research was conducted as a qualitative study of African American college students’ racialized and academic experiences while completing the teacher preparation program at their respective universities. This study was carried out at three predominantly White institutions (PWIs) of varying sizes in rural, urban, and suburban cities in the state of Illinois. The study results supported previous research about the importance of mentoring for minority students. Findings also indicated the need for implementation of recruitment and retention programming headed by the degree-awarding college to support African American pre-service teachers through degree conferral and state licensure attainment.

Perceptions of Access and Status Among Undergraduate Business Students

Lithgow, Jana K University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

Fraternal organizations have existed on campus since the founding of Phi Beta Kappa in 1776 (Baird, 1991; DeSantis, 2007; Phi Beta Kappa, n.d.; Thelin, 2011; Torbenson, 2005, 2009). Empirical evidence shows that membership brings added value to an undergraduate student experience (Biddix et al., 2014; G. D. Kuh & Lyons, 1990). However, there is also scholarship indicating that fraternal organizations often emphasize socializing over academics while their members participate in overt racism, sexism, and exclusivity (Brubacher & Rudy, 1976; Maisel, 1990).This study examined undergraduate business student access and status using Astin's theory of student involvement (A. W. Astin, 1984) and Bourdieu's concept of habitus and theory of social reproduction (Bourdieu, 1977). Using a phenomenological approach, the study was conducted within the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This study identified aspects of the student experience, including professional development, student involvement, and status, that were influenced by professional business fraternity membership. Furthermore, this study revealed the influence of access and support on undergraduate business students' experiences. These findings suggest that business fraternities play a significant role in the undergraduate student experience within highly selective business schools. Implications for theory and research include disrupting social reproduction on college campuses, while implications for policy and practice highlight opportunities within student services, diversity and inclusion, oversight, and collaborative practices.

Chinese Student-Athlete? A Socio-Cultural Examination of Education for Elite Chinese Athletes

Haugen, Matthew Bryan University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

Market reforms in China are generating new initiatives in the sports industry, which has opened this sector to innovative development programs that correspond to citizens' changing needs. This dissertation is based on my doctoral studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and on research conducted while I was a Fulbright scholar in China from August 2017 through November 2018, as well as six years of living and working in China as coach and consultant. The project uses archival, policy, ethnographic, and interview data to study Chinese athletes, their formal education, and athletic training in the context of the neoliberal and transnational reforms occurring within China's sports industry. I read Chinese government policy documents in the original Mandarin Chinese and conducted interviews in Mandarin.Many of China's elite athletes devote a substantial amount of time toward their athletic training, which hinders their ability to obtain a quality formal education. Since there is often an educational gap for athletes, the central questions studied concern the cultural values and attitudes that Chinese citizens associate with combining athletic and academic education. Are those involved in China's sports industry adopting the notion of the student-athlete? If so, what are the causes and consequences of this shift? What role does the US model of student-athlete play in developing initiative programming within the Chinese sports industry? These are the main questions pursued within.I asked stakeholders involved in the athletic industry--Chinese officials, parents, coaches, athletes, and practitioners-- to provide feedback on their values and perceived societal changes associated with combining an athletic and academic education. This study will provide a comprehensive understanding of the history, politics, and socio-cultural nuances that create obstacles in China's attempt to combine sport and education. Based on my research and experience in China, as well as critiques and ideas associated with neoliberalism and sports development, I make suggestions throughout the dissertation regarding new and future models and reforms for Chinese student-athletes. The investigation will generate a cross-cultural exchange between the US and China of best practices in the academic schooling of aspiring athletes and identify developmental models that can assist Chinese athletes in studying academic, technical, or professional subjects at the same time that they are engaged in sports training.

"Rosas Y Espinas" Counter Stories of Illinois Latina Educational Leaders

Reyes Childress, Beatrice University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

For decades, researchers have studied the need for students to have educators that reflect their same ethnic backgrounds. Despite the many known benefits of having culturally diverse educators, the field of education has a huge demographic divide between the rapidly growing PreK-12 Latinx student population and its educational leaders. Currently, there is very little published research that highlights the factors that contribute to PreK-12 Latina educational leaders successfully navigating the education system and moving up the hierarchy. In fact there is no published research on Latinx leaders serving in Illinois school districts despite its large Latinx student population.The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the counter stories of Latina educational leaders serving in Illinois PreK-8 and PreK-12 school districts. The twelve research participants interviewed included an assistant superintendent, a chief academic officer, three central office directors, six principals and one assistant principal. In particular this study focused on the experiences and beliefs that motivated the Latinas to enter into leadership roles, the challenges they have encountered, as well as what factors have assisted them in navigating the leadership hierarchy. Latino critical race theory (LatCRT) and intersectionality between race and gender were utilized to frame and demonstrate factors that impacted Latinas entering educational leadership roles as well as their ability to elevate into higher levels of leadership.The findings from this study demonstrated that the leaders highly value education and strongly believe that ethnic representation in education matters which proved to be a prominent factor motivating these women to pursue educational leadership roles. All of the leaders demonstrated examples of resilience and perseverance throughout their lives overcoming a number of obstacles and discrimination in their journey to become administrators. Due to their lived experiences, the Latina leaders understand the complex intersectionality between race, culture, poverty, and gender and how it impacts Latinx students and parents. The following themes emerged as aiding Latina leaders in their navigation of the administrative hierarchy: positive relationships with supervisors, networks, programs, organizations, financial supports, mentors, and their own personal characteristics.This research highlights how the Latinx education crisis encompasses more than just the underperformance of Latinx students but it also includes the underrepresentation of Latinx educational leaders, a demographic divide that will continue to grow if it is not addressed systematically. In order to improve the educational system for the diverse population of students it serves, Illinois institutions and organizations must make a concerted effort to challenge the status quo by focusing on increasing diversity in educational leadership.

Invited but Excluded: Examining the Underrepresentation of African American Women and Girls in STEM-Based Fields of Education, and How Historically Black Colleges and Universities Are Bridging the Equity Gap

Breeden, T. J University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation explores the social, institutional, and structural conditions believed to be at the center of the racial disparities that influence access and participation within secondary and post-secondary environments of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. More specifically, this study investigates the disproportionate underrepresentation of African American women and girls in STEM fields of education, examines how the unique social experience of African American women is compounded by the intersectionality of their racial and gender identity, and investigates how Historically Black Colleges and Universities are making science and technology education more equitable, socially inclusive, and culturally representative of our broader academic society.

Composing Community: Social Practice Composition and the Performance of Community in Choral Works by Reena Esmail, Julia Wolfe, and David Lang

Murray, Patrick John University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation is an ethnomusicological study within the field of choral conducting of how an ideal of community-building, central to the practice of Western classical choral music, shaped the creation and performance of three recent choral works by American composers: Reena Esmail's Take What You Need (2016), Julia Wolfe's Anthracite Fields (2014), and David Lang's crowd out (2014). Drawing from literature on "social practice" in art criticism and performance studies (Jackson 2011; Bishop 2012; Courage 2017), I introduce the related term social practice composition to characterize the style in which the co-creators of these works rendered "community" visible in musical performance: through the configuration of social relations between performers and participants in sound and on stage as an integral part of the compositional artwork itself. I treat premiere performances of Esmail's, Wolfe's, and Lang's works as individual case studies in social practice composition, following an ethnography of musical performance approach (Madrid 2009; Buchanan 2016). In each case, I argue that the specific ways that the composer and their collaborators brought individuals and communities into relation with one another through musical performance point toward distinct meanings of community present in the choral field: for Reena Esmail and her collaborators in Skid Row, Los Angeles on Take What You Need, community as a site of personal and social healing (Koen, Barz, and Brummel-Smith 2008; Stige 2016); for Julia Wolfe and her collaborators in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Anthracite Fields, community as an expression of cultural authenticity (Muller 2002); and for David Lang and organizers in Chicago, Illinois on the 2017 performance of crowd out, community as a source of social capital (Putnam 2000). Taken together, these studies point towards ways that professionals and amateurs in the field of Western classical choral music in the United States today put ideas about community to use and demonstrate how choir becomes a site where musicians and community members alike imagine, contest, negotiate and maintain contemporary meanings of community. As a dissertation in choral practice, I use ethnomusicological methods to offer a critical reflection on the aesthetics, participatory strategies, and professional responsibilities of musical artists working in the choral medium who employ social practice composition as a form of community engagement, in order to encourage the theorization and growth of this working method in the fields of composition and choral music. .

The Impacts of a Science-Based Videogame Intervention on Interest in STEM for Adolescent Learners

Yi, Sherry University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

Interest development is a topic that has fascinated and puzzled educators since the 20th century. Despite decades of research and important advances in the field, questions remain about interest and its relationship to learning. In particular, given the pervasiveness of technology in our daily lives, it is essential to understand how interest develops within these technology-enhanced environments. In this dissertation, I investigate the extent to which a digital sandbox game that allows for autonomy and peer-to-peer interaction can trigger interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as explore how prior game mastery impacts these changes. The sandbox game, Minecraft, is used as a platform to test whether interest in STEM can be triggered within a digital learning environment for adolescent learners. This study seeks to contribute to our foundational understanding of how interest functions within a digital learning environment.From the educational psychology perspective, interest is both a psychological state and a motivational variable. Interest is fluid and dynamic; what triggers interest in one individual may not work for another. For the purposes of this dissertation, interest triggering is defined to occur when a learner shows a willingness to reengage with content, express positive effect, attach value to a subject, reflect about the learning content, or connect content based on prior knowledge or experience.Since 2016, our team has been developing a customized server in Minecraft that allows for participants to explore hypothetical scenarios of Earth (e.g., Earth on a tilted axis) supported by the National Science Foundation with the goal of designing an interest triggering experience for STEM topics. Participants in 2018 and 2020 were recruited at a local youth center in a Midwestern university town where we advertised our program as a five-day STEM-focused Minecraft summer camp. Selected case studies expressed the highest or lowest interest in STEM and Minecraft mastery in their respective groups on a 5-point Likert scale. Cases draw from a total of five sources: fieldnotes, STEM interest surveys, knowledge assessments, interviews, and self-reported levels of Minecraft mastery.Fieldnotes provide the contextual information necessary for understanding interest-triggering trends across the 2018 and 2020 camps. Surveys revealed the cases' overall interest in STEM as well as specific subtopics (science and technology). Content introduced during short lessons throughout the camp experience were assessed by astronomy knowledge scores and habitability definitions, which indicated a change in knowledge. Lastly, interviews provided direct quotes for interest triggers that occurred. Instances of STEM-related interest triggering were first identified through the use of interviews and fieldnotes. Then, these episodes were quantified and categorized to unveil similarities and differences between each case, followed by specific examples of each type of interest triggering an episode.This research provides insights on how a sandbox videogame that enables freedom of choice and peer-to-peer interaction can act as a suitable context for triggering interest in STEM, even for those who expressed low interest in STEM prior to the intervention. Based on the four reviewed cases, a sandbox game that allows for peer-to-peer engagements and freedom of choice served as an effective context for triggering interest. Results showed an increase in interest for those with high Minecraft mastery prior to the intervention and mixed results for those with low Minecraft mastery. Outcomes from this study can be used to study interest triggering in other domains and out-of-school learning contexts and serve as a foundation for those examining interest development within digital learning environments.Results show positive effects of using a sandbox game to trigger interest in STEM for learners with varying degrees of incoming interest in STEM and Minecraft mastery. In three out of four cases, interest in technology improved regardless of changes in interest in STEM or level of Minecraft mastery. In cases of low Minecraft mastery, one-on-one technical support was needed to sustain engagement with content and STEM interest triggers seemed to rely on the unique preferences of learners. For those with high incoming interest in STEM, they exhibited majority explicit/prompted interest triggering episodes, whereas those with low incoming interest in STEM exhibited majority implicit/prompted interest triggering episodes. Future studies on interest triggering should continue to utilize a variety of measures to track changes in interest rather than rely on one type (e.g., using only surveys) and further explore how videogame technologies can be used to study interest development.

Second Language Academic Writing: What's the Target?

Chason, Lisa R University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ProQues 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

This qualitative, interview-based study features nine multilingual faculty members at a major R1 university in the United States. They are all highly accomplished second-language writers (SLWs), and the study draws upon their lived experience and expertise in guiding SLW graduate students who are seeking to develop their proficiency in an immersive English-language environment. The university writing center plays a key role as well, as a place where increasing numbers of SLW graduate students receive one-on-one assistance, and where many of the issues raised in the study take shape. With two additional interview subjects - the director of the writing center and an accomplished local poet - the pool is enriched to discuss timely topics that are at once practical, theoretical, and philosophical. The study is framed by the tension underlying the contrasting scholarly fields of Second Language Writing and the Translingual Approach in Writing Studies, representing pragmatic versus critical perspectives but also different assumptions and values regarding language and writing. By posing the guiding question "What is the target?" a diversity of subjects are examined including the impact of an English-language style of academic writing, how native-like second language writing is expected to be, and contrasting the norms of Standard Written English and language accuracy with conceptions of language mix and fluidity. Concerns are raised with some of translingualism's innovative theorization, leading to the alternative proposal of "writing with an accent" that advocates for applying to writing the kind of tolerance and negotiation that typically occurs with L2 speech, while not vilifying academic English language standards or those who teach them.