Voices of resident female undergraduate students at a women's college: Where do i fit?

• Main Author: Walsh, Christina
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2014
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adult Basic Education; Adult Learning; Adult Students; College Students; Data Analysis; Educational Environment; Educational sociology; Higher education; Learning Theories; Undergraduate Students; Womens studies
• ISBN: 9781321303223; 132130322X

This research examines the lived experiences of adult female undergraduates enrolled full-time and living on campus at a liberal arts women's college. The majority of adults aged 25 and older enrolled in higher education are women. While most adult students attend college part-time, commute, are employed, and have family obligations, some adult students attend full-time and live on campus among traditional age students. The participants in this study came to their college student lives with past experiences that impacted how they understood and perceived their college experience. Using the Listening Guide, a voice-centered analysis method, I conducted in-depth, semi structured interviews with six adult female undergraduates who lived on campus at an elite women's college. I explored how these women understood their life trajectory, how they came to decide to pursue their college degree, why they chose a liberal arts women's college, how they adapted to living on a traditional college campus, and how they perceived the impact of the experience. My findings suggest that (1) they used different voices to communicate their narratives that indicated a desire to control how their story was told and received (2) their life experiences profoundly influenced when and why they came to college later in life (3) their identities as adults and as undergraduate students were developed through a prolonged process of negotiating their new campus environment (4) despite occasional doubt, they were motivated to achieve and surpass the expectations and limits of their pre-student lives and (5) their emotional lives played a part in how they perceived their abilities, social interactions, and academic achievement. Future researchers could explore the long-term impact of participants having studied for a bachelor's degree while living on campus, as their understanding of that experience may well change with time. Higher education practitioners could explore ways in which their institutions can create a supportive residential experience for adult women while being mindful that they bring extensive life experience that contribute to their academic, personal, and social lives.