Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
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Item Living Feminism in the Academy: South African Women Tell Their Stories(2009) Corneilse, Carol; Klees, Steven J; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Studies about North American and European women predominate the literature on gender issues in higher education, particularly research that focuses on female academics who are self-described feminists. The literature tells us that there are differences between the institutional experiences of feminist faculty, as opposed to female faculty in general. Most universities are male-dominated institutions and inequalities in status, rank, and salary persist, although the gaps have shrunk over time. Female faculty who self-identify as feminists are more likely to challenge discriminatory institutional practices, because feminism, by its nature, challenges the status quo. And they are more likely to be ostracized and ridiculed when they confront unequal treatment. Yet the presence of feminists in the academy signals their belief in its value as an institution. Universities offer the intellectual space to theorize about women's position in society, to generate knowledge that brings about greater understanding of women's lives, and to develop strategies for change. There is a small, but growing, body of literature documenting the experiences of female faculty in South Africa's higher education institutions. Few studies have focused on feminist faculty, however. In this qualitative study, six diverse women share their experiences of being feminist faculty in South African universities over a thirty-year period, beginning in the early 1970s. Their personal narratives begin in their formative childhood years when they first become aware of social injustice. The study documents their growing feminist consciousness, their initial encounters with feminist theories, their struggles as university and community activists, and as young faculty. The women recall pivotal events and experiences that have shaped them, and describe what it has been like to live out their feminist values on a daily basis in South Africa's universities.Item Life as a Gyroscope: Creating a Grounded Theory Model for Full-Time Working Mothers in Higher Education Administration Developing and Maintaining a Fulfilling, Balanced Life(2007-05-29) Supple, Brooke Lecky; Komives, Susan R; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Women in today's society have multiple roles, multiple identities, and multiple challenges - as married women or life partners, as daughters, as sisters, as mothers, as members of communities, and as women in the workforce, among others. In particular, the dual roles of mother and worker can conflict and present challenges for women who want to have both a career and a family. Women working in higher education administration are no exception. The purpose of this study was to understand the development of a dual-focused outlook by women with children working in the upper levels of higher education administration. By studying the work/life issues and experiences of a small sample of women who are identified as dual-focused, I expected to learn how these higher education administrators managed two significant roles - that of worker and mother - and how these women were able to achieve and maintain a dual-focused orientation. However, what I found was that these women are dual-focused in that they value both motherhood and work, but also that they have extremely strong and well-developed self-concepts. This study utilized grounded theory methods to understand the development and maintenance of a dual-focused outlook in 12 mid- to upper-level mothers in higher education administration at a large research I institution. By conducting three individual interviews with each participant and one group interview session, I was able to develop a grounded theory and model for full-time working mothers in higher education administration developing and maintaining a fulfilling, balanced life. Using grounded theory methods, one core category and five key categories emerged. The core category was developing and maintaining a fulfilling, balanced life. The key categories were: valuing self, valuing work, valuing motherhood, negotiating a balanced life, and setting the context. The five key categories overlapped to form the core category. In order to have successful work and family lives, the women in this study were found to place a high value on self, a high value on work, a high value on motherhood, and to rely on support and tools to negotiate a balanced life.Item Sailing Mid-life's Seas: The Journeys of Voyaging Women(2003-10-27) Schaefer, Barbara Anne; Hultgren, Francine; Education Policy, and LeadershipABSTRACT Title of dissertation: SAILING MID-LIFE'S SEAS: THE JOURNEYS OF VOYAGING WOMEN Barbara A. Schaefer, Doctor of Philosophy, 2003 Dissertation directed by: Professor Francine H. Hultgren Department of Education Policy and Leadership The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of mid-life women's everyday life as amplified by the experiences of those who have chosen to live on board sailboats. Significant themes are revealed through hermeneutic phenomenological methodology and developed using the powerful metaphor of the sea. Nine women took part in several in-depth conversations with the researcher about their experiences of sailing and living on board a sailboat. Their stories and reflective thoughts, coupled with literary and philosophic sources reveal the deeper meaning of the ordinary experiences of this extraordinary way of being in the world. Voiced by mid-life sailing women, the metaphor of the sea and the ways sailors navigate through "God fearing" forces provide the slate for the writing of this work's main themes The research opens us to a deeper understanding of this phenomenon in such themes as relationships with Nature, others, self and possessions; simplification of life; realization of total freedom; and the reconsideration of women's perceptions of time and place. Through the unique voice of sea women, the knowledge created from within these themes illuminates ways familiar patterns of existence can be opened up to yield new meaning. Through this research we come to know ways in which various educational venues of a lived life can serve as a forum for reshaping women's perspectives and supporting their personal growth. We learn that the mid-life woman's reconsidered images of self as revealed through her lived experience will reshape the ways she interacts in the world. This work is also a personal accounting of the lived experience of the researcher who went to sea in order to experience the life as described by the study's participants. Her voiced echoing of the themes identified by the women in the study brings their meaning to further depth. The lived themes resonate with new meaning as mid-life women come to a new way of thinking about fundamental issues which, in turn, makes them agents of change in a global community.