Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users, please click the view more button below to purchase a copy of this dissertation from Proquest.
(Some titles may also be available free of charge in our Open Access Dissertation Collection, so please check there first.)
Working class women in a women's studies course from a community college: Awakening hearts and minds
Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the perceptions of a small group of working class women students of non-traditional age (25+) who completed a women's studies course at a community college. The study described the women's experience at a community college and with the content and teaching practices of the course, Women in Literature I. The study describes these students' sense of themselves as women and their emerging sense of feminism. The study examined how the students saw the course relating to their lives as women. The study explored how a working class family background, values and lifestyle influenced her sense of self as a woman. The study explored her connections between her lived experiences with her family life and the course. The study described how she reflected upon her experiences with her family and how she viewed their influence on her sense of self as a woman and on her sense of feminism. The dissertation was explorative and descriptive in nature. The primary research methodology was indepth interviews. The study used a purposeful sample of ten students from three sections of one literature course. In addition to the taped and transcribed interviews, an interviewer's journal and content review of course materials were also used. The findings suggest that working class women succeed in their attempt at college as adults when a significant role model takes an active interest early in their re-entry to school. The findings also support the importance of special adult programs for non-traditional aged students. Additionally, working class women readily described the conflicts that existed for them in returning to school, especially when schooling had been unsuccessful in the past. Information about the course suggested that women gained an increased understanding of history and its impact on women's lives. This historical perspective served as a base for understanding feminism. Additionally, reading about women's lives assisted participants in better understanding their own lives. The course gave them an increased appreciation of the context of their mothers' lives. Finally, the course readings also provided insights about the conditions of black women's lives.
Subject Area
Community colleges|Womens studies|Higher education
Recommended Citation
Wiley, Anne Marie, "Working class women in a women's studies course from a community college: Awakening hearts and minds" (1993). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9316724.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9316724