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The purpose of this study was to determine professor and student knowledge of, attitudes towards, and experiences with graduate level collaborative writing in Canadian universities. Data were gathered from professors and students in Engineering, Business, Education, Biology, English, and History. A mixed methods approach using two surveys and eighteen interviews was employed to explore four research questions. The surveys were analyzed deductively. Interviews were analyzed inductively and deductively. Results indicated that collaborative writing is practiced at the graduate level in a variety of ways. Professors and students described collaborative writing as mentorship, in the context of coursework, and as coauthorship for publication. In addition, a significant relationship was found between graduate students writing collaboratively and discipline. The relationship between professors assigning collaborative writing and discipline was also significant. Disciplinary differences were supported by and explored through interview data. Views in the academy seem to be shifting. Although solitary writing is the norm and highly valued in the humanities, participants in this study indicated an openness and desire to include collaborate writing in their graduate level experiences. In fields where collaborative writing is the norm, participants noted areas to address in order to increase its effectiveness. This study has implications in the areas of pedagogical change, technology, and the mandate of higher education.

The purposes of this study were: 1) to better understand the doctoral experience as participants described the meanings they gave to their experiences, and 2) to increase understanding about the ways in which the meanings attributed to their doctoral experiences enhance our understanding of doctoral persistence and attrition. The descriptions of the behavior of the selected doctoral students interviewed may help current and future doctoral students, university administrators, and faculty in the common goal of having more scholars complete their dissertations. This study contains rich descriptions of the experiences of nine purposively selected doctoral students in Adult, Higher, and Community Education at a Midwestern university who have completed their doctoral coursework and their comprehensive examinations. All participants were in the all but dissertation (ABD) status at the start of the study. Four participants graduated with the doctorate after the evidence was gathered for this study. One participant remains as an ABD in two doctoral programs. The two interviews with each of the nine participants were semi-structured. They generated evidence that answered the research questions, but also generated additional descriptions of behavior over the entire time period of the participants' doctoral programs. These additional descriptions provided a greater richness to this study.This research study was guided by several research questions. The primary question was:What behaviors filled the three years following the completion of the course requirements and comprehensive examinations for the doctoral degree other than completion of a dissertation? The secondary questions were:What decisions accompanied these behaviors? What rewards were gained by completing the course requirements? A systematic phenomenological analysis identified three major themes: 1) "The value of the doctorate program and degree", 2) "The doctoral experience", and 3) "Facilitators, barriers, and distracters". The three themes each had sub-themes.Six recommendations were provided for facilitating the completion of the doctoral degree. Each study participant is a highly successful individual. Each agreed that this doctoral program has been a tremendous help professionally and personally. None are to be considered failures even if they remain an ABD. / Department of Educational Studies

The purpose of this study was to discover how employed mothers who were graduate students coped with their many societal personas and still achieved their academic goals. Eight employed mothers who were graduate students were interviewed. Narrative inquiry guided the structure of the study. Phenomenological interviewing was used to gather evidence. A preinterview, a life history interview, a contemporary experience interview, and a reflective interview were conducted with each participant. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Profiles for each participant were created using thematic analysis and were member checked to ensure accuracy.Themes identified through the literature review were verified through thematic analysis of the transcripts. The themes identified were strength, persistence, time, self-improvement, and gender bias. The basis for the participants' strength and persistence were the life-altering events and achievements they had encountered. The participants self-identified as "survivors." To fulfill their responsibilities they were adept multitaskers and used extensive support networks. Participants pursued their graduate degrees for better employment as well as self-fulfillment. Internalized gender bias was a significant contributor to each woman's feelings of guilt. Guilt was attributed to the societal expectations imposed through being a mother, an employee, and a student. Significant tension in the form of guilt occurred between participants' perception of the role of mother as nurturing and the role of the student as empowering. Each participant managed her guilt by realizing the "self as able." The participants came to appreciate "I am good at what I do," and achieved merged identities.Global, institutional, and individual implications came from this study. In order for U. S. society to compete on a global level, more women must be educated to compete for leadership roles. Societal stereotypes made earning a graduate degree difficult for the women in this study. Institutions of higher education and those who make policies within those institutions must realize that the majority of graduate students at the master's degree level, and those in education at the doctoral level, do not fit the traditional graduate student stereotype. Women, especially, experience role conflict. The tensions participants experienced were real. Institutions of higher learning must address such issues as childcare, time to degree completion, and course accommodation if they wish to attract and retain high-level graduate women. Overall, this study found that employed mothers who are graduate students do experience significant tension and in spite of many barriers, do succeed. / Department of Educational Studies

The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) To measure the relationship between female graduate students' perceptions of dependence upon faculty members and the types of sexual harassment experienced and the types of management strategies employed to deal with the harassment, and 2) to collect descriptive data on sexual harassment of females in graduate school.The population consisted of 1400 female graduate students selected at random from four Indiana universities. A 15 item questionnaire containing questions pertaining to sexual harassment experiences, power-dependence relationships, management strategies, and attitudes toward sexual harassment was utilized. Two null hypotheses were tested using the computer program MULTIQUAL: Log Linear Analysis of Nominal or Ordinal Data by the Method of Maximum Likelihood.A total of 729 participants (52%) returned the questionnaire. Of those questionnaires returned, 1.14 (15.6%) reported some form of sexual harassment. Based on questionnaire items designed to measure the dependence of students upon faculty, respondents were assigned to one of two levels of dependence, considerable or slight.No significant differences were found in the interaction between the levels of dependence and the types of sexual harassment experienced by respondents. Also, the interaction between the levels of dependence and the management strategies used to deal with the harassment was not found to be significant.An examination of the differences in percentage response (or main effects) indicated that significant differences existed between the levels of dependence, and among the frequencies of occurrence of the types of sexual harassment and the types of management strategies reported. These findings suggested that:1. Female graduate students in relationships of considerable dependence experienced sexual harassment in significantly greater numbers than students in relationships of slight dependence (78.5% versus 21.5%).2. The types of sexual harassment most frequently experienced were: Anti-female remarks, leering and ogling (56.1%); requests for sexual activity (23.4%); and touching (20.6%).3. The management strategies most frequently reported were: Ignoring (43%); withdrawal or avoidance (37.4%); and refusing requests with or without explanation (19.6%).

The purpose of this study was to determine professor and student knowledge of, attitudes towards, and experiences with graduate level collaborative writing in Canadian universities. Data were gathered from professors and students in Engineering, Business, Education, Biology, English, and History. A mixed methods approach using two surveys and eighteen interviews was employed to explore four research questions. The surveys were analyzed deductively. Interviews were analyzed inductively and deductively. Results indicated that collaborative writing is practiced at the graduate level in a variety of ways. Professors and students described collaborative writing as mentorship, in the context of coursework, and as coauthorship for publication. In addition, a significant relationship was found between graduate students writing collaboratively and discipline. The relationship between professors assigning collaborative writing and discipline was also significant. Disciplinary differences were supported by and explored through interview data. Views in the academy seem to be shifting. Although solitary writing is the norm and highly valued in the humanities, participants in this study indicated an openness and desire to include collaborate writing in their graduate level experiences. In fields where collaborative writing is the norm, participants noted areas to address in order to increase its effectiveness. This study has implications in the areas of pedagogical change, technology, and the mandate of higher education.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2002.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1990. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliography (leaves 145-150). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-54).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.