--- breaking the silence ---Toward a Theory of Women's Doctoral Persistence
© Roberta-Anne Kerlin, 1997
A Demographic Portrait of the Study Participants
A demographic portrait of the seven women who volunteered to participate in this study is presented in Tables 16, 17 and 18. At the start of the study in December, 1994, the women ranged in age from 28 (Tracy) to 50 (Helen). Maggie, Zoe and Helen were married with children. Both Zoe and Helen had children in high school and/or college and Maggie had a pre-schooler. Of the three women with children, only Zoe has completed her doctorate.
Tracy, Denise, Camila and Sarah were not married at the start of the study. Both Denise and Camila had partners throughout the duration of the study and Camila married in the spring of 1996. Sarah had been divorced twice prior to beginning doctoral studies and was partnered up until six weeks prior to her final defense. Tracy was involved in two different relationships during the course of this study.
Sarah and Helen completed undergraduate degrees in 1979 and 1967 respectively. The remaining five women completed their undergraduate degrees between 1982 and 1988 (inclusive) (see Table 17). All the women began their master's degrees between 1984 and 1989; all but Denise completed those degrees between 1986 and 1991.
The women in this study entered doctoral programs in U.S. universities between 1988 and 1992, inclusive (Table 18) and at the start of this study in December, 1994, all the women had, at minimum, attained candidacy. Two women, Sarah and Zoe, had completed their doctorates within the previous four months (Table 18). Camila completed her degree during the study and Denise completed her doctorate in the spring of 1996. At the close of the primary phase of data collection in December 1995(1), Tracy, Maggie and Helen were continuing work on their dissertations. The broad fields of study in which the women in this study conducted their research included the arts, humanities and education.
(1) The data collection period ran from December, 1994 through December, 1995.
Because I maintained contact with the women in this study beyond this period,
I was able to include some information about the women's progress, notably,
Denise, who defended and graduated shortly after the data collection period
had concluded.
Table 16
Demographic Portrait of the Study Participants
Demographics Tracy Camila Denise Maggie Sarah Zoe Helen Date of Birth 11/1966 12/1962 11/1960 02/1960 07/1958 07/1953 04/1945 Current Age 29 33 35 36 38 43 51 HS Diploma 1985 1980 1979 1978 1976 1971 1963 Marriage single single single 1985 single 1971 1965 Age at Marriage -- -- -- 25 -- 18 20 Children 0 0 0 1993-f 0 1972-m
1974-f
1977-m
1978-m1973-m
1977-mDeaths during PhD 1992
mother-- 1994
grmother1995
father-- 1991
father1993
father
Table 17
Undergraduate Education of the Study Participants
Undergraduate Tracy Camila Denise Maggie Sarah Zoe Helen AA Degree -- -- 78-80 [1] -- -- -- -- BA Major French History/
PECommuni-
cationPerf Arts/
PsychPsych/
Pre-lawPsych/Soc English BA Start-Finish 85-88 81
85 - 88 [2]81 - 83 78 - 82 75 - 79
[3]82 - 87 63 - 67 BA Start Age 19 23 21 18 17 29 18 BA Finish Age 22 26 23 22 21 34 22 Reg'd Yrs to BA 3 7 5 4 4 5 4
>Denise began an Associate of Arts degree in 1978 while still in high school. She completed the two-year AA degree in 1980. >Camila entered the University of Buenos Aires and took five years of History but did not graduate because she did not take three final exams. In 1985 she entered Phys. Ed and in 1988 received teacher certification. >In 1975, Sarah left high school following her junior year to attend university.
Table 18
Graduate Education of the Study Participants
Graduate Tracy Camila Denise Maggie Sarah Zoe Helen Yrs between
BA-MA1 3 2 2 4 2 22 MA Major French Education Theology Performing
ArtsMBA Sociology English MA Start-Finish 89 - 91 91 - 93 85 - (1) 84 - 86 83 - 86 89 - 90 85 - 87 MA Start Age 23 29 25 24 25 36 40 MA Finish Age 25 31 [1] 26 28 37 42 MA Months
FT / PT23 / 0 21 / 0 22 / 0 20 / 0 0 / 37 24 / 0 0 / 32 Reg'd Yrs to MA 2 2 [1] 2 2.5
[2]2 2 Yrs between
MA-PhD1 0 -- 2 3 1 5 PhD Field French Lit Education American
StudiesPerforming
ArtsEd.
Admin.Sociology English PhD Start Age 26 31
[3]31 28 31 38 47 PhD Start-Finish 92 - 97 91 - 95 [3] 91 - 96 88 - 89 - 94 91 - 94 92 - Yrs BA finish
To PhD start4 3 8 6 15 4 25 PhD Months
FT / PT51... / 0 30 / 0 52 / 4 20/73... 12/48 48/0 9/39... Months
MA to PhD74... 51 82 133... 97 72 80...
Denise completed all coursework toward her MA but did not complete the thesis. In the spring and summer of 1983, Sarah took several prerequisite courses. She began her MBA degree in the fall of 1983. Camila was enrolled in a combined MA/Ph.D. program.
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