Lived Experiences of Graduate Students who are the Mothers of Young Children

<p>In this qualitative study, the experiences of graduate students who were also the mothers of preschool children were explored through the use of narrative interviews and autoethnographic reflections on personal experience. The study examines the various self-perceived identity dimensions of three graduate student mothers (through a series of interviews) and the researcher (via autoethnographic writings). Analysis of the data identified two superordinate themes: a) the identification of systems of support and role models (including presence and absence of said supports) and b) a negotiation of gendered social expectations as the students navigated the context of graduate school. Recommendations include the need for more university-sponsored systems of support for graduate student mothers, as well as a need for further studies of this type that include women of more diverse characteristics and circumstances.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Education (MEd)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Counseling and Human Development

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Harrington, Audrey M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ruth Haper

• Adult and Continuing Education
• Counseling

Statement dc:rights

• <p>In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted<br /><a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/</a></p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1423

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-2422