The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the ways in which employed feminist mothers of adolescent daughters share information about the world of work, and (b) how daughters are influenced by the communication they have with their mothers about careers. The research was conducted in a series of qualitative interviews with eight mother-daughter dyads and two mother-daughter triads. The mothers and adolescent daughters lived in one of two communities in the Southeastern United States. Mothers and daughters were interviewed together and separately. In the process of analyzing data from the interviews, 30 themes emerged. The themes in the category of "Mothers' Attitudes" were: 1) earlier career goals, 2) barriers to occupations, 3) sex discrimination at work, 4) sexual harassment, 5) positive professional experiences, 6) balancing work and family, 7) expectations of others, 8) something to fall back on, 9) division of labor at home, 10) influencing daughters' choices, 11) assessment of daughters' strengths and struggles, 12) workplace challenges daughters may face, 13) definitions of feminism, 14) comfort level with feminist label, 15) developing a feminist consciousness, and 16) feminism and child rearing. "Daughters' Attitudes" were coded: 1) dream job, 2) roads not to be taken, 3) career goals and objectives, 4)attitudes toward subjects in school, 5) influence of teachers and others 6) perceptions of mothers' expectations, 7) perceptions of mothers' work life, 8) career awareness and exploration, 9) fifteen years from now, 10) projected division of labor at home, 11) definitions of feminism, and 12) comfort level with feminist label. "Mother-Daughter Interaction" yielded two themes: 1) frequency and location of communication, and 2) advice and support for daughters' career choices. Recommendations for action included (a)that school personnel recognize mothers' contributions to career development, and (b) that schools and parents work together on eradicating sexism in schools. Some suggestions for areas for future research were (a) math teaching strategies, (b) parents and daughters in extra-curricular activities, (c) mothers in nontraditional careers, and (d) mothers and daughters in different cultures. / Ph. D.

A memoir is variously defined as an abbreviated autobiography; a record of events based on the writer's personal observation or knowledge; and the written story of one's own life. I set out to do those things. But when I sat back to read the first of many drafts, I discovered my story was her story-my mother's. At some level, I have always known this. But I was unprepared to see the evidence writ large. But more than that, I was dismayed that the wisdom I imagined my calendar years had conferred, was not reflected in my writing. There was still the primal wail of a weeping child. Quieter, of course. Wailing is not seemly for occasions other than childbirth, great loss, or sudden death. And railing against the past is utterly futile. Foolish. I found great comfort in the words of C. S. Lewis. They mirrored my experience. As the telling of my story deepened, the writing became, successively, an incision, a probe, and as Lewis says, a surgery of the gods. Like surgery, there was first of all fear, followed by pain, discovery, excision, loss, repair and restoration, and finally, healing and a different outlook altogether. I found great value in revisiting these memories and seeing that the giants of my young years are only human, after all, not the ogres I imagined. Like the shadow in a darkened room, the house cat stretched on the window sill looms like a great inscrutable Sphinx. A tree branch, benign by day, morphs into a grotesque claw, scratching and scraping at the window pane. Memories rear up at first like ghosts in a graveyard. But under a steady beam of light, the apparitions subside. Writing this memoir has been a window into the past, perhaps an icon, a way of seeing beyond the surface and into the soul. My own certainly, and perhaps glimpses of the others I've written about as well. Two central truths have emerged from writing my memoir. The first is the power of forgiveness in healing relationships. Forgiveness is not our natural bent; it goes completely against our natural state. But we can choose to change. Just as learning to swim is counter to our earthbound existence, but possible, learning to embrace the freedom of forgiveness is also possible. The second is something I've always sensed, but now know: the innate power of a mother to shape the soul of her child. / Graduation date: 2003

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Stuckey-French, Florida State University, College af Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 21, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-102).

published_or_final_version / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. 1964. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Includes tables (part. fold.). Sponsor: Floride Moore. Dissertation Committee: Millie Almy. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-167).

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Sociology. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-60).

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Kentucky University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-64).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1980. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-139).