This research study explored the dimensions of motivation that may exist for mature psychology graduates when completing their postgraduate degree. And because it is widely acknowledged that stress is often a close companion to motivation, specifically in the pursuit of academic goals, the study also investigated those aspects of coping skills these individuals employed to sustain their motivation in completing their studies. Eight mature female psychology postgraduates from four different South African public universities were identified using a non probability sampling technique. Semi structured interviews were then carried out with the eight participants; the interviews were then transcribed and analysed using content analysis. The results of the study indicated that self efficacy; intrinsic motivation, attribution and achievement goals all play a role in the students’ motivation. It further indentified perseverance as an important factor in the students’ completion of their studies. Positive beliefs, problem solving strategies and social support appeared to be the most widely used coping skills by this sample.

This study is an exploration of the educational experiences of women from the Caribbean island of Barbados who traveled to the USA to pursue higher education. An autoethnography research methodology was used in order to capture each woman’s educational experiences. Autoethnography also supported the inclusion of the researcher’s voice and interpretations as a Barbadian woman fitting the criteria for participation. These educational journeys represented the field and cultural world under study. Through analysis, themes emerged from each woman's description of Influential Others; Protagonist Self; and Educational Settings within her storied journey. Storied experiences in relation to race, ethnicity, and being women and the role American Higher Education had in each woman's life were also analyzed. The emergent themes supported the existence of a web of interacting narratives spun first in Barbados and extending to American Higher Education. Through the educational settings each woman interacted with, this web of narratives linked her educational journey to the narratives of the people who went before her; beside her; and after her. This web of narratives also supports each woman’s storied understanding of self, others, and settings within that journey. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Educational Studies

Thesis (M. A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [107]-109).

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-51).

This study explored the experiences of mature women undertaking Master’s degrees at a Historically Disadvantaged Institution of Higher Learning in South Africa. Attaining a Master’s degree is a significant milestone in education and the process may take from one to three, or more, years. The study aims to describe aspects of the women’s experiences of their research journeys and the goal of the study is to present descriptions of these experiences. The methodology is qualitative and uses a critical feminist approach, appropriate to exploring the research questions. A critical feminist stance holds that women experience the world differently to men given the patriarchal structure of society. Emphasis is placed on the primacy of the co-researcher’s perceptions of their experiences. A single method research design was followed using semi-structured interviews. The analysis resulted in the emergence of a number of central themes. Together these reflect the experiences of the co-researchers, although they did not automatically share all the experiences. The findings show that postgraduate study, in the form of a Master’s degree, was found to be transformative, meaningful and worthwhile, although not without difficulties; mainly the demands required of multiple roles within home, community, work, and the university. This study contributes towards the larger body of research within education, in particular in the understanding the experiences of mature women within the field of postgraduate study.

This inquiry project explores connections between mind and body in academic writing. What scholars, educators and researchers have noted about the inclusion of the body in academic study illuminates the challenges of understanding the relationship between the two. Using a framework shaped by embodiment and feminist criticality illuminates how the body is elided through schooling and educational systems, reaching a peak in higher education. An interdisciplinary review of the literature supports a broad consideration of embodiment and typical writing practices in academic settings. To better understand the body as a source of knowledge, data construction is holistic, using an embodied methodology with women who reenter graduate school later in life. Mindful awareness of the body guides the relating of writing experiences, and methods are designed with an ethic of care for participants, a spirit of co-creation, and shared experience. A narrative approach to data is used to explore where and how embodiment appears in women’s stories about academic writing. The research process reflects a time of social separation within a pandemic. By better understanding women’s embodied experiences, this project seeks to enrich and enliven the way institutions of graduate study understand writing as an embodied practice and to honor what the body knows alongside the mind.

The purpose of this study was to assess benefits of completing a doctoral degree in education for females versus males relative to expected benefits upon entry to Virginia Tech. Relationships between expected benefits, accrued benefits, and selected demographic data by gender were studied. The basic design of the study involved a survey completed by 265 (90%) of the doctorate recipients between 1980-1984. Specific computational procedures utilized in data analyses included frequency distributions, percentages, and chi-square procedures. Results of the study indicated more similarities than differences for the female (87%) and male (93%) respondents. Median age at doctorate was 38.5 years. Most respondents (75.4%) were married. Approximately 62% respondents reported their career decision assumed equal or greater importance than spouses’ career decisions. Most spouses (79.6%) were employed full-time. Most respondents (94.4%) were employed full-time. Respondents (74.9%) earned $12,000-$35,988 annually prior to entry into the doctoral program. Following the completion of the degree respondents (45.5%) earned $24,000-$35,988 in 1984. Research indicated some significant differences in expected versus accrued benefits by gender. Females expected significantly more opportunity to use training or schooling and more autonomy and independence on the job following completion of the degree. Males perceived that they had accrued significantly more benefits relative to improved autonomy and independence at work, congeniality of work relationships, visibility for jobs at other institutions or organizations, and mechanical ability. The females and males expected the same 18 out of 20 most important benefits and perceived that they had accrued the same 18 out of 20 most important benefits relative to improved aspects of employment and intellectual qualities and skills. Relationships between the age at obtaining the doctorate and accrued benefits were found for the youngest age group (27-34) for four of 36 benefits: working conditions, congenial work relationships, public speaking ability, and academic ability. Among respondents, 91.4% reported the doctoral degrees had a positive effect on career development. Respondents perceived personal benefits were primary. Professional and financial benefits were second and third, respectively. Ninety-one percent of the respondents reported it was worth the time, effort, and expense‘ involved to complete the doctoral degree. / Ed. D.

Master's degree in Research Psychology Research report, University of the Witwatersrand, 2016. / This study explored the stories of South African black female postgraduates, in particular, focusing on family dynamics in their childhoods and the role these relationships played in their academic development. South African higher education is a site of contestations as access opens up for students previously excluded from universities. However access and success continue to be racialized and gendered hence black women are unevenly represented in higher education particularly at postgraduate level. This study brings forth stories of women who have succeeded in this context, exploring questions of social and cultural capital (Bourdieu 1994).Thematic analysis highlights predominant themes across the narratives of these women. There is a very strong thread across the narratives that these women feel that their academic achievement is primarily due to hard work and a ‘natural’ or intrinsic intellectual talent that was recognised by their families and teachers from a young age. Despite the emphasis on individual aptitude, the findings also highlight participants’ recognition of the value of support from family in their schooling and even continuing into their lives as young adult postgraduate students. The nature of family dynamics in these women’s childhood and adult lives was revealed, including, the friendship that characterises daughter-mother relationships, the absence of fathers, and the role of grandmothers and other members of the extended family and community networks . It is worth noting that all participants talk of the sudden movement from public township schools to private or Model C schools that disrupts their narratives of schooling. The lack of reading in the childhood homes of some of these women contradicts the common assumption that a reading home environment is vital for the development of the appropriate cultural capital necessary for academic success. Instead, it is evident that these multigenerational families provide a range of support that allows learning to take place, including emotional and financial support, providing critical social capital. / GR2017

The profession of Psychology in post-apartheid South Africa has been dominated by women, despite attempts to address issues of equity, access and redress in recruitment and training. Certain obstacles to entering the profession, that may be specifically relevant to men, included the longevity and cost of training; the notion that Psychology is a ‘woman’s profession’; and the appeal of more lucrative job opportunities. Women, on the other hand, were often encouraged to enter female-dominated professions such as Psychology and financial support either from one’s family or an economically-independent partner facilitates the pursuit of this career trajectory. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of married females who were embarking on postgraduate study. Using semi-structured interviews, eight married female participants currently enrolled in Professional Masters programmes provided in-depth information on why they took on the dual adjustment of marriage and postgraduate study and what were the challenges and benefits associated with this process. Thematic content analysis was used to interpret these accounts which revealed that the dating phase of relationships often concluded as postgraduate study commenced due to the longevity of the study trajectory. To address the accompanying relationship insecurity, marriage was idealised as offering enhanced security and stability. Despite the notion that Masters and marriage would complement each other in order to overcome the difficulties of marriage and postgraduate study, a blurring of boundaries was experienced between the perceived challenges and benefits as the idealised complementarity was not actualised. Using feminist theory, the study added value to debates on the perpetuating influence of chauvinistic notions regarding marriage and career development for women inherent in the family life cycle theory, as well as explored the implications of the “feminisation” of the profession of Psychology on recruitment, training and future practice of female Psychologists.

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