Date of Award

1-1-2012

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Education Theory and Practice

Program

Curriculum and Instruction

Content Description

1 online resource (x, 326 pages) : PDF file, illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Vick Kouba

Committee Members

Judith Langer, Kristen Wilcox

Keywords

non-traditional student, portraiture, SCCT, self-efficacy, STEM, women, Women graduate students, Women college students, Women in science, Women in technology, Women in engineering, Adult students, Self-efficacy

Subject Categories

Education

Abstract

Numerous studies have addressed science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and their relation to education and gender ranging from elementary school pedagogy to career choices for traditional-aged college students. Little research has addressed nontraditional female students returning to the university to in the STEM fields. This study used the portraiture methodology and the idea of being an educational connoisseur (Eisner, 1998; Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997) to explore the lived experiences of five nontraditional female students returning to the university to study a STEM major. The study is situated in an interpretivist paradigm, using interviews, journal writing, art work, and observations of online classroom interactions for data collection and analysis to gain a deeper understanding of how the lived experiences of the five women in the study influenced their goals, interests, and outcome expectations related to studying STEM fields.

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