Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Graduate Retention: An Investigation Of Factors Relating To Older Female Graduate Students, Linda Serra Hagedorn

Linda Serra Hagedorn

While admissions at the undergraduate level are experiencing a surge of students over 30 years of age, the pool of traditionally aged students is declining. These phenomena indicate that older (over age 30) students will also be enrolling in graduate programs in increasing numbers. This paper addresses the issue of retention as it pertains to older female graduate students. Data are examined from a fall 1991 survey and its 1992 followup at a large Midwestern research university. The study evaluated such potential obstacles to female graduation as concern family issues, relationships with faculty and fellow students, difficulty of the coursework, …

The Paradox Of Ideology, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

A standard problem with the objectivity of social scientific theory in particular is that it is either self-referential, in which case it seems to undermine itself as ideology, or self-excepting, which seem pragmatically self-refuting. Using the example of Marx and his theory of ideology, I show how self-referential theories that include themselves in their scope of explanation can be objective. Ideology may be roughly defined as belief distorted by class interest. I show how Marx thought that natural science was informed by class interest but not therefore necessarily ideology. Capitalists have an interest in understanding the natural world (to a …

Female Doctoral Students: How Age Differentiates Institutional Choice, Retention Enhancement, And Scholarly Accomplishments, Linda Serra Hagedorn, Susan K. Doyle

Linda Serra Hagedorn

This study, conducted at an urban research university, attempted to identify those conditions valuable in recruiting and subsequently retaining older (over 35 years of age) female doctoral students. The study used data from a Spring 1991 survey of all graduate students which solicited information about experiences, accomplishments, and growth attributable to the graduate experience. Seventy-nine percent of female doctoral students participated in the survey. Sample size for statistical tests varied from 257 to 309. The analysis compared the responses of women under 35 to those of women 35 and over in institutional choice, retention enhancement, and professional accomplishments. Findings indicated …

Industrial Restructuring And Women's Homework In Appalachia: Lessons From West Virginia, Ann M. Oberhauser

Ann Oberhauser