--- breaking the silence ---Toward a Theory of Women's Doctoral Persistence
© Roberta-Anne Kerlin, 1997
CHAPTER 4
THE DOCTORAL EXPERIENCE: WOMEN'S UNDERSTANDINGS
IntroductionThe purpose of this study has been, first, to understand the nature of women's doctoral experiences and the meanings they attach to their experiences and, second, to extend our knowledge about the ways in which the meanings women attach to their doctoral experiences can enhance our understanding of women's doctoral persistence.
This chapter provides a comparative analysis of the meanings women attached to the various stages of their doctoral experiences. A demographic portrait of the study participants is presented, followed by individual background portraits of the seven women. The next three sections of the chapter examine: (1) the women's preconceptions of the doctoral experience, including their motivations for pursuing the doctorate, career/degree aspirations, factors that influenced their choice of institution/program, and finally, the admission process itself; (2) the meaning women attach to various stages of their progress, including course work, candidacy, the dissertation phase and the final defense, as well as advisor and committee relations; (3) lastly, this chapter examines women's perceptions of the post-degree experience. The final section in the chapter examines more general reflections the women had about their experiences that were not tied to specific stages of degree progress.
 |