Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of first-generation college women who went on to become college faculty. Memory elicitation and semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data collection procedures. Baxter Magoldas (2001) theory of self-authorship was used as a framework for understanding the lived experiences of the participants. The results are presented as individual narratives of the participants journeys. The findings share the themes and subthemes across participants described journeys. Five primary themes were identified: (a) women understood their first-generation status through their other identities, (b) first-generation women searched for belonging in higher Education throughout their journey, (c) a sense of randomness occurred during first-generation womens journeys through the academy, (d) barriers faced as well as positive experiences as students informed first-generation womens practice as faculty, and (e) natural disposition was important to first-generation women success. The landscape of higher Education is ever-changing. The discussion explores what first-generation women bring to the landscape and how self-authorship might help to interrupt the social reproduction of the norms of the academy.
Recommended Citation
Kartz, Rachel L., "Authoring Their Journey: The Experiences Of First-Generation College Women Who Became Faculty" (2020). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1567.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/1567