This thesis explores the lived experience of women with children, i.e. ‘mothers’ undertaking part-time doctoral study and considers the challenges and conflicts that arise from what Brown & Watson (2010) describe as ‘dual lives’, managing the doctoral student role with the roles of mother and worker. The research aimed to consider extant conceptualisations and understandings so that alternative discourses could emerge, viewing the part-time doctoral experience through the lens of mothers. This was undertaken through the analysis and application of conceptual frameworks that fuse Communities of Practice (Wenger 2008), Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan 1985), Self-Categorization Theory (Turner 1987) and Lived Experience (Manen 1990). The marginalized voices of ‘Mothers doing doctorates’ provide a new perspective on the ‘non-traditional’ PhD student experience, allowing a deeper understanding of the challenges facing this ‘community’ by identifying and analysing key themes of identity, motivation, feelings and beliefs within a framework of communities of practice. Identifying Wenger’s Communities of Practice as a framework for discussion, a model was developed in relation to the field data to understand the women’s experiences of part-time PhD study. This model focused on four key areas: learning as belonging, learning as becoming, learning as doing and learning as experience. Each area related to a major theme in the women’s experience, that of identity, motivation, the student experience and their own feelings and perceptions about themselves and the process. The findings determine the process of studying for a PhD provided the women with a means of identity expression that had previously been stifled through the adoption of the role of being a ‘mum’. Through part-time doctoral study, this sense of re-awakening both intellectually and personally provided women with a renewed sense of positivity and confidence, demonstrating a resistance against the dominant ideology that dictates women’s ‘natural’ place is in full-time motherhood (Hughes 2002). It provided them intellectual stimulus and allowed them a voice, that the mother role had smothered as it was not in-keeping with the in-group identities highlighted by the women as central to their public and private domain. The academic development of the women helped them to ii see themselves as ‘worthy’, strengthening their own identity as they developed a redefined sense of self. In securing data from thirty-five women, this research provides an original insight into the experiences of an obscured and marginalised group. The combination of narrative and autoethnographic methods has surfaced original data that highlights the experiences and impact of part-time PhD study on women with children. The contribution to current thinking around part-time PhDs is the critique of extant normative practice, this research illustrates and exemplifies how these existing processes marginalise mothers doing part-time doctorates and points to new approaches in practice.

No description available.

Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Curricular and Instructional Studies, 2006. / "December, 2006." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 04/02/2008) Advisor, Carole Newman; Co-Advisor, Isadore Newman; Committee members, John Hirschbuhl, Sajit Zachariah, Peggy L. McCann; Interim Department Chair, Bridgie A. Ford; Dean of the College, Patricia A. Nelson; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2006. / "A dissertation in counseling psychology." Advisor: Changming Duan. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Oct. 31, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-89). Online version of the print edition.

The call for mentorship in the counseling profession has recently become more prominent even though a comprehensive understanding of mentoring practices remains obscure. Researchers postulated that mentoring enhances students" professional development. Yet the frequency to which mentoring occurs and thus influences development is unknown due to the lack of empirical data. The purpose of this study was to examine mentorship, at the doctoral-level, in counselor education programs by identifying the following areas of mentoring: (a) structural components, (b) potential impact, and (c) important aspects. Personal experiences of 66 participants (sample of convenience) who were mentored as doctoral students were utilized. The quantitative and qualitative results of this study were obtained through the utilization of the General Mentoring Questions, Mentoring Function Scale, and a short answer (one-shot) question. Participants, representing 28 CACREP accredited programs, identified aspects in the psychosocial and career domains of mentoring. Statistically significant differences (p<.05) in the psychosocial domain (M = 4.30) indicated that more intense mentoring occurred when compared to the career domain (M = 3.97). Statistically significant differences were not found across variables of age, gender, and race. Participants qualitatively based responses to the most important aspect of their mentoring experiences assumed a more psychosocial orientation even when career-related functions were addressed. They were often encouraged, supported, respected, and protected while developing and/or enhancing teaching, research, service, and/or counseling based skills. Sentiments regarding the impact of the mentoring experiences on self-growth, self-confidence, and personal change were also expressed. Essentially, the participants" mentoring experiences seemed to reflect the counseling principles of relationship development and promotion of well-being and empowerment as well as adherence to professional ethics. It is important to note that these results, which provide a small glimpse to mentoring, cannot be generalized. Implications, however, can be drawn. Mentorship could potentially impact retention and graduation rates and promote professional continuity and identity. Obtaining a richer comprehension of mentorship is required and will most likely enable the profession to maximize practices in an effective and ethical manner, address acclimation, and ensure its longevity. / Ph. D.

Mentoring in graduate education is considered an important and essential part of graduate education. The journey to the doctorate for African American students, especially for African American women, comes with many hurdles and obstacles. Mentorship for these students has become a common topic when discussing faculty- student relationships. This qualitative study was designed to understand the mentoring experiences of African American women human resource development (HRD) doctoral students and how they make meaning of their mentoring experiences with at a predominantly White institution (PWI). The research questions to guide this study were: (1) what are the perceptions of faculty mentoring for African American female doctoral students in this HRD program and (2) what are the experiences of faculty mentoring for African American female doctoral students in this HRD program. The selection of participants for this qualitative study included six African American women enrolled in an HRD program at a PWI. Purposeful sampling was used to generate information and rich data. In this study, each of the six participants was interviewed individually with an interview guide consisting of semi-structured interview questions. To successfully explore the mentoring experiences of African American female students enrolled in a HRD doctoral program at a PWI, key findings from this study were reported from a qualitative study involving six African American female doctoral students enrolled in an HRD program at a PWI. Emerging themes from the study were identified as how they got to where they are; the perceptions, expectations, and actual experiences between the women and faculty. To reinforce and inform the need for mentoring, the participants provided an insight on their experiences as an African American female doctoral student in an HRD program at a PWI. In addition to a general discussion of the mentoring relationships, I focused primarily on the African American female doctoral students perceptions, expectations and experiences regarding their mentoring relationships with faculty. The findings from this study included support from family, friends and some faculty members, feelings of isolation, disconnected from the program, overwhelmed and no guidance. Other findings included only select few (students) receive mentoring, faculty don’t expect much from African American women students and yearning for an African American female faculty mentor.

The purpose ofthis qualitative, multi-case, and longitudinal study was to examine how doctoral students’ experiences of the doctorate influence their emerging academic identities. The development of academic identities is often alluded to in higher education research as the heart of the doctoral pursuit. There is, however, little information on how the activities of the doctorate, particularly everyday student experiences, contribute to the emergence of academic identities. The guiding framework for this study was a social-psychological role identity perspective, blended with elements of Activity Theory. Through this combined view, identity is constructed through and embedded in interpersonal relationships, with identity emerging as a property of interactions with others. Data for the study were collected over a two year period. Nine Education doctoral students participated by tracking their experiences for a particular week every month across four academic semesters (15 months) and then discussed these in interviews at the end of each year. These students were selected from a larger sample based on their explicit aim to pursue academic careers upon completion of their degrees. [...] / Cette étude de cas multiples, à la fois qualitative et longitudinale, a permis d’examiner chez des doctorants comment l’expérience au quotidien de leur programme d’études influençait l’émergence d’une identité universitaire. Dans le domaine des recherches portant sur l’enseignement supérieur, on réfère souvent au développement d’une identité universitaire comme étant au coeur même de l’expérience doctorale. Il existe toutefois peu d’informations qui précisent comment les activités inhérentes au doctorat, notamment les expériences vécues au quotidien par les doctorants, contribuent à l’émergence de cette identité universitaire. Le cadre d’analyse de cette recherche s’est élaboré autour d’une perspective socio-psychologique du rôle identitaire amalgamée avec des éléments de la théorie de l’activité humaine. Examinée de ce double point de vue, l’identité se construit au fil des relations interpersonnelles et s’y intègre. L’identité se révèle ainsi comme une propriété des relations avec les autres personnes. Les données de cette étude ont été amassées sur une période de deux ans. Chaque mois, l’expérience quotidienne de neuf doctorants en éducation était documentée pendant une semaine complète. À la fin de chaque année scolaire, ces expériences ont été discutées dans le cadre d’entrevues. Ces doctorants ont été sélectionnés à partir d’un échantillon plus large d’étudiants au doctorat en raison de leur intention explicite de s’engager dans une carrière universitaire à la fin de leur programme d’études. [...]

Higher education is currently facing a number of challenges that are leading doctoral students to seek employment outside of the traditional research-focused institution. With students looking for different jobs, professional socialization and development activities need to be re-examined to understand whether current practices are meeting the needs of doctoral students. Sociologists have explored what it means to be professional at length, but a communicative voice is needed in this conversation. This research seeks to understand how to "do" professionalism in mundane, everyday contexts. Graduate student socialization, identity, and professional development literature was used as a backdrop for exploring this phenomenon. Interviews with doctoral students in communication and directors of graduate studies in communication were conducted and documents were collected from graduate programs and the National Communication Association. This material was subsequently analyzed to explore what it means to be a professional, how to develop as a professional, and how professionalism is tracked and evaluated. The analysis suggested that what it means to be professional is composed of traditional conceptualizations of research, teaching, and service, and a number of other practices and values such as independence, collaboration, collegiality, and work-life balance. This analysis also showed that while students developed these qualities through formal means, they relied more on informal methods of developing to enhance their professionalism. Formal assessment measures helped in the evaluation process, though they did not measure many of the characteristics of a communication professional. Informal means of evaluation served as a way to track some of these characteristics. Findings showed several challenges that doctoral education currently face. First, students are increasingly pursuing careers outside the traditional Research I institutional context and increasingly pursuing more teacher-centric goals. While development opportunities should reflect student goals, a shift away from a research focus could undermine placement at Research I institutions and decrease the value of the PhD, given the increase in fixed-contract hiring at public and for-profit universities. Second, doctoral students and advisers are not adequately prepared to have difficult conversations about career goals, which may be connected to students feeling underprepared to go on the job market. Third, current assessment procedures do not measure many of the more abstract qualities and values identified as professional, which makes it difficult to assess student development. Finally, this research highlighted how the role of the body in white-collar work has been overlooked and how academic practices discipline the body in particular ways. Future research and practical applications regarding each of these challenges were explored, and limitations were also discussed.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of Toledo, 2009. / Typescript. "Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education." Bibliography: leaves 175-196.

Thesis (D.Ed.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Douglas A. Archbald, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.