Education Commons^™

School Board Members And The Underrepresentation Of Women In The Superintendency: A Case Study, Cherri S. Barker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The general purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how personal attitudes, values and beliefs of individual board members, and the culture of the community affect hiring decisions for the position of superintendent in rural West Texas as it relates to the underrepresentation of women in this position. Local school boards are responsible for selecting and hiring the superintendent of schools. Although most educators are women, women continue to be underrepresented in the superintendency. The research design of the study utilized a qualitative multi-site, multi-subject case study of 15 former school board members in eight rural West Texas school …

Women In Nontraditional Occupations: A Case Study Of Worker Motivation, Katherine Wesley

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupation Act (WANTO Act) of 1992 highlighted an urgent matter facing the American workforce that persists today. The urgent matter in 2012 involves the precarious effect of demographics on the American labor market, placing women at the crux of engaging opportunity or maintaining status quo.

Women must be empowered and encouraged to seek employment opportunities they have never considered, e.g. male-dominated, nontraditional occupations, for the U.S. to keep pace with labor market needs. The need amplifies the myriad of issues for women in male-dominated, nontraditional occupations.

Among the barriers confronting women is the persistence …

Just Tri: Examining The Transformative Experiences Of Women Amputees Who Participate In Paratriathlons, Amy Baczurik

All Theses

The United States has approximately 1.7 million people living with limb loss. The majority of studies focus on general disability related to limb loss rather than specifically focusing on women with amputations. Women amputees can experience difficulty in accepting the disability, which in turn may lead to decreases in life satisfaction. Often women amputees may experience varying levels of depression, negative perception of body image, as well as decreased self-confidence and decreased sense of self-efficacy. The researcher used a phenomenological lens to examine transformative experiences of women amputees who participate in paratriathlons, specifically focusing on participants lived experiences related to …

Women's Access To The Superintendency: Pathways From The Elementary Ranks, Julie Marie Powell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to describe the experiences of six women superintendents who began their careers as elementary principals. The central question was: What can we learn from the lived experience of women who came from a background as elementary educators and advanced to the superintendency in a variety of district contexts within Michigan’s traditional public school system?

The research design was a qualitative, interpretive, multiple case study approach using the data collection method of interviewing. Two conceptual frameworks – expectations states theory and feminist poststructuralism – provided the context for this research. Portraits of each of the …

Numbers Are Not Enough: Women In Higher Education In The 21st Century, Sherry H. Penney, Jennifer Brown, Laura Mcphie Oliveria

Sherry Penney

Women are now the majority of students in institutions of higher education in the United States, and in many ways women as students and faculty have seen significant progress. But numbers do not tell the whole story. Subtle forms of discrimination continue to exist, and the higher up the pyramid you go, the fewer women are to be found, whether among tenured faculty, as presidents and provosts or as board members and board chairs. Many steps can be taken to improve the situation. Some institutions are recognizing that. We note some positive changes and discuss areas where improvement is needed. …

Engineers‟ Perceptions Of Diversity And The Learning Environment At Work: A Mixed Methods Study, Brenda L. Firestone

Adult Education Research Conference

Women and people of color are particularly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) disciplines. This mixed methods study surveyed 527 engineers and interviewed eight female engineers to examine the current culture climate for diversity in engineering worksites, and how gender, race, and age intersect and affect engineers‘ perceptions of organizational inclusiveness and the learning environment surrounding diversity. Keywords: STEM, women, race, culture climate, diversity, work, mixed methods.

Nomads In Diaspora Space: Exploring Women's Indentity Work In The University, Sarah O'Shea

Professor Sarah O' Shea

How individuals position themselves as ‘students’ within the university landscape can provide insight into the personal and actual experience of entering this environment. This article will explore how one group of female students narrated their identity work as they moved through the first year of study in an Australian university. These students were all first in the family to attend university and some had had a significant gap between educational experiences. In depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals as they commenced university study and these were repeated at four points during the year; this series of conversations captured the …

Color Them Pink: An Exploratory Study Of Women And Other Underrepresented Minorities In Master's Stem Programs, Maggie J. Jobes

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This quantitative, exploratory study was designed to examine and compare socialization and mentoring in two groups of students, and the influence these factors had on their ranking of academic and overall experience in Master’s degree level science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) programs at a large, Midwestern university. The subjects were University of Nebraska-Lincoln Master’s degree recipients who had completed the Master’s Degree Graduate Studies Exit Survey and had identified themselves as being part of a STEM graduate program. Literature displayed the underrepresentation of women and individuals of certain racial or ethnic backgrounds in STEM fields and particularly in graduate …

A Multicase Study Of The Impact Of Perceived Gender Roles On The Career Decisions Of Women In Science-Related Careers, Stephen Frank Hren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was done to determine how the perception of gender roles developed throughout childhood and early adulthood affected the career decisions of women who showed early promise in science. In addition, this study was done to determine if my experiences as a researcher would have any impact on me personally. Four women were chosen as case study participants, providing for comparison within and across cases.

Gender roles were found to relate to the career decisions made by the four cases in three ways: (a) support from family members, teachers, mentors, and collaborators; (b) opportunities within the family, school and …

Perspectives On Women’S Development: Instructional Implications In Higher Education, Sonia Michael

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Theories of development typically explain developmental progress as a linear process with individuals moving through stages of development and becoming more independent and autonomous with each stage. While there are several theories of development, all of them suggest that there are gender differences in the way individuals develop. Perspectives on women’s development have become more prevalent with the growing awareness related to gender equity issues in education and the workplace. These theories of development suggest that women have a need to feel connected and that they tend to define themselves in terms of their relationships with others. With women over …

Understanding The Value Of Education: A Critical Component Of A Major Social Change Effort, Susan R. Madsen, Cheryl Hanewicz, Nicolle Johnson, Jessica Burnham

Susan R. Madsen

Receiving the benefits of postsecondary education is important to nations throughout the world. A more educated citizenry results in, among other things, less crime and poverty, increased physical and mental health of individuals, and greater economic growth (e.g., American Human Development Project, 2009; Pascarella, & Terenzini, 2005). These benefits are felt at all levels of society (i.e., individual, community, and national) and essentially define the social and economic structure of a nation. According to a Lumina Foundation (2009) report “college-attainment rates are rising in almost every industrialized or post-industrial country in the world, except the U.S.” (p.1). The graduation rate …

Leadership Programs For Women In Higher Education, Susan R. Madsen, Karen A. Longman, Jessica Daniels

Susan R. Madsen

The purpose of this abstract is to propose an AHRD conference symposium that will focus on leadership programs for women in higher education. This would be the first of four presentations, and will set the stage for a symposium that would be based on articles that will be published in a February 2012 Special Issue of Advances. I have discussed this with the Editor-in-Chief of Advances and the 2012 AHRD Conference Program Chair and received approval for this submission.

Furman, Lucy Salome, 1869-1958 (Sc 564), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 564. Chiefly letters, 1914-1938, written by Lucy Furman, author and educator, who taught and worked at Hindman Settlement School, Hindman, Knott County, Kentucky. Twenty-one of the letters, to Julia Neal, Auburn, Logan County, Kentucky, are collected in a separate subfolder. Miss Neal wrote her 1933 master’s thesis on Miss Furman. Also includes other letters and printed materials used in Miss Neal’s thesis.

Baker, L. Alleyne, 1858-1916 (Sc 234), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 234. Two letters written to L. Alleyne Baker, a school teacher In Auburn, Logan County, Kentucky. An 1898 letter, from a cousin, contains family news; a 1907 letter pertains to educational matters. Also includes an undated essay by a female high school student entitled, “Woman’s Sphere.”

Teacher Leaders: Women (Of African Descent) Enacting Social Justice, Vonzell Agosto, Zorka Karanxha

Vonzell Agosto

This chapter is concerned with how educational leadership preparation programs promote a sense of agency among women of African descent (who identify racially as Black) to serve as teacher leaders for social justice.

Women's Awareness Of Cancer Symptoms: A Review Of The Literature, Sandra C. Jones, Keryn Johnson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Improvements in cancer detection and treatment have led to consistent declines in mortality from many cancers. However, many patients present for treatment at a point where more invasive treatment is required and/or treatment outcomes are less than optimal. One factor that has been consistently shown to be associated with late diagnosis and treatment is delay in seeking help for symptoms. This paper reviews the literature on women's awareness of cancer symptoms and aims to identify knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to improve help-seeking behaviors. The discovery of substantial gaps in awareness suggest a need for improved …

How Porous Are The Walls That Separate Us?: Transformative Service-Learning, Women’S Incarceration, And The Unsettled Self, Coralynn V. Davis

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article, we refine a politics of thinking from the margins by exploring a pedagogical model that advances transformative notions of service learning as social justice teaching. Drawing on a recent course we taught involving both incarcerated women and traditional college students, we contend that when communication among differentiated and stratified parties occurs, one possible result is not just a view of the other but also a transformation of the self and other. More specifically, we suggest that an engaged feminist praxis of teaching incarcerated women together with college students helps illuminate the porous nature of fixed markers that …

A Woman's Place, Kathryn Funk '99

News and Events

No abstract provided.

Five Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Majors : A Portraiture Of Their Lived Experiences, Patrice Prusko Torcivia

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Numerous studies have addressed science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and their relation to education and gender ranging from elementary school pedagogy to career choices for traditional-aged college students. Little research has addressed nontraditional female students returning to the university to in the STEM fields. This study used the portraiture methodology and the idea of being an educational connoisseur (Eisner, 1998; Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997) to explore the lived experiences of five nontraditional female students returning to the university to study a STEM major. The study is situated in an interpretivist paradigm, using interviews, journal writing, art work, and observations …

Legal Consciousness And Lgbt Research: The Importance Of Law In The Everyday Lives Of Lgbt Individuals, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The law occupies a prominent place in the everyday lives of LGBT individuals, and the continuing regulation and policing of sexuality and gender weighs heavily on many people who identify as LGBT. Despite remarkable progress in the area of LGBT civil rights, LGBT individuals in the United States still lack formal equality and are denied many of the protections that are afforded other historically disadvantaged groups. These legal disabilities represent an ongoing source of minority stress and can produce a correspondingly high degree of “legal consciousness” within the LGBT community. Given the importance of law in LGBT lives, it is …

Ageing And Women Disabilities In Sub-Sahara, Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor, Uzoamaka Lucynda Koledoye Mrs.

Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

In a typical African community, women age gracefully, as they bear children, care, train, provide natural support; as well as receive support from their children when they grow older. The presence of infirmities and disabilities affect aging and hinder effective livelihood, human performance and general well-being of sub-Saharan African women. Critical knowledge gaps exist for responding to the general needs of the disabled women which is a concern to the authors. This position paper addressed the issues concerning aging and women disabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa, the challenges, and roles of adult educators could play as support systems and in ensuring …

Leadership Styles Of Female Senior Student Affairs Officers, Montague Theresa Orinthia

Dissertations

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the self-reported leadership styles of female Senior Student Affairs Officers at public and private 4-year institutions. This study sought to determine if (a) there is a dominant leadership frame usage among female SSAO’s, (b) determine if leadership style varies significantly among females with less than 5 years of experience in the profession as compared to those with 5 or more years of experience in the profession and (c) identify whether multi-frame leadership style usage differs between female SSAOs at public and private 4-year institutions. This study employed a cross-sectional research design …

Validation Of Chinese Women’S Alcohol Expectancy Instrument, Yue Qiu Yu

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The present study was designed to develop and validate the Chinese Women’s Alcohol Expectancy scale; and to examine gender differences in alcohol expectancy. 134 interviewees from Canton, Kaiping and Hong Kong participated in study 1. 1,550 students from thirteen universities in three provinces, Beijing, Yunnan and Wuhan, China, completed the women’s alcohol expectancy questionnaire in study 2. The findings in study 1 revealed six prominent categories that inform women’s alcohol expectancy. Findings in study 2 provided 7-subscales (α > 0.7) for the instrument’s reliability and validity. Additionally, there were significant differences in alcohol expectancy by genders. Implications related to expectancy theory …

Mind The Gap: How Law Professors, Academic Support Professionals, And Students Can Fill In The Formative Assessment Gap, Heather Zuber-Harshman

Heather Zuber-Harshman

This article serves to accomplish three things. First, to provide students with feedback tools that will help them achieve academic success and improve the quality of their law school experience. Students who do not receive feedback or receive inadequate feedback should use the provided forms to proactively and creatively find ways to obtain feedback. They should never be afraid or too proud to ask others for assistance with generating this feedback.

Second, to encourage professors and Academic Support professionals who believe students should receive adequate feedback to take steps towards providing the feedback.

Third, to provide Academic Support professionals with …

Removing A Barrier To Widen The Door To Recovery: Working Alliance Development With African American Women Substance Abusers, Telsie A. Davis

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Two groups of therapist characteristics were explored as predictors of working alliance (WA) with African American women substance abusers (n = 102). This study tested the hypotheses that Population Sensitive Therapist Characteristics (PSTCs; i.e. multicultural competence [MC], egalitarianism [EG], and empowerment [EM]) would explain an additional and significant amount of the variance in WA beyond that explained by general therapist characteristics (GTCs; i.e. empathy, regard, and genuineness); and that GTCs partially mediate the effect of each individual PSTC on WA. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that PSTCs explained an additional 12% of the variance in WA, after controlling for GTCs. …

Career Advancement: Ten Negotiation Strategies For Women In Higher Education, K. Betts

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Women in the United States (US) are a vital part of the workforce and the economy. They represent 50.7 percent of the population and 49.8 percent of payroll employment in the US workforce. Women also outpace men in the number of college degrees conferred annually. However, women hold fewer board seats and executive level positions than men in American corporations and higher education institutions. Additionally, census data indicates that women earn approximately 77 cents on every dollar earned by men. Although the “glass ceiling” is getting lower, it is essential that women develop successful negotiation strategies for career advancement. This …

The Career Experiences Of African American Female Engineers, Delores Rice

Adult Education Research Conference

African American women are significantly underrepresented in engineering workplace organizations. However, the primary focus, in the field, is on the STEM pipeline in K-12 and undergraduate education. If the engineering community does not address contributing factors in workplace organizations, then the overall goal of increasing the underrepresented populations in the engineering field will not be met. As a result, this study examines the career experiences of African American female engineers to understand the challenges, which impact their development. Implications for research and practice are given to support this population and other underrepresented groups in STEM.

Transformative Learning With Women: A Critical Review Proposing Linkages For The Personal And Political Spheres*, Catherine J. Irving, Leona M. English

Adult Education Research Conference

Theoretical developments in the field of transformative learning have progressed significantly over the past two decades, yet little attention has been paid to women’s experiences of transformative learning and to the issues of race, class and gender in this learning. We explore the apparent hesitation at both the personal and political ends of the transformative learning spectrum, and help to create alliances and strengthen the theory.

From The Border To The Boardroom: The Journey To The Community College Presidency For Mexican-American Women, Yesenia Noreeka Avalos

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative cross-case analysis study is to examine the professional pathways of female Mexican-American community college presidents. The Hispanic/Latino population has grown immensely in the United States since 2000. The demographic profile for community colleges has evolved to reflect the population changes within the country. Community colleges grew tremendously during the 1960s and 1970s and now thirty to forty years later these institutions are searching for new executive level leaders. Looking to the future, there is an opportunity for the face of community college leadership to change.

Similarly to other women, Latinas are moving into education leadership …

Financial Literacy And Women: Overcoming The Barriers, Melissa A. Donohue

Open Access Dissertations

Women are facing increasing financial responsibility, while at the same time, the consumer financial world is evolving at an extraordinary pace. These trends make a imperative that we better understand the evolving nature of gender-based inequities across our current socio-economic systems and intentionally examine those areas that are most essential in accelerating the narrowing of these gaps. The results of the study indicate that the assumption can on longer be made that women simply need better financial knowledge in order to reach a certain level of financial behavior, without increased access to capital. This study shows that the re-examination of …