Completing doctoral dissertations is difficult work and may be harder for distance students physically separated from institutional and collegial supports. Inability to complete independent research contributes to doctoral student attrition. Factors impacting completion include institutional factors, student characteristics, and supervisory arrangements (Manathunga, 2005). This paper shares proactive strategies used by a Midwestern university in the United States to support distance doctoral students. Strategies and technology tools are described that (a) cultivate a shared culture of responsibility and commitment, (b) increase effective communication between researchers, and (c) grow departmental and institutional services and technologies for faculty and students. This paper suggests the use of a specific framework to help students develop a shared culture of responsibility. This framework encourages students to discuss their social network, as well as teaches students how to manage their split life by using a tool which evaluates a student's readiness for the dissertation process and maps out where dissertation skills and knowledge are developed throughout the program. Strategies for effective communication include availability, effective feedback, trust, and humor. Services and technologies provided to build capacity include the use of online and library resources, campus-wide use of research software, writing and research services, and department supports and processes to promote student research. These mechanisms for accountability, mentoring, training, and trust increase the likelihood of success.
The purpose of this study was to explore how women in administrative positions in Christian higher education integrate their professional and personal lives. Six women in leadership positions in small, faith-based liberal arts colleges were interviewed. Levinson's (1996) concept of gender-splitting was used as a lens to analyze the data. The women in this study have experienced a number of influences that moderate strict notions of gender-splitting: coming from nontraditional homes with working mothers, husbands who provide substantial support with domestic duties, strong personal motivation to achieve, and mentors who provided support and guidance. The women spoke freely of their work as a 'calling' and used their faith in God when meeting a variety of challenges. While gender-splitting was a prevailing influence in the lives of the women in this study there was substantial evidence to show that they were resilient and flexible enough to create pathways to negotiate the commitment to family and the commitment to work in order to manage a successful career in higher education.As women join the workforce in increasing numbers, the challenges they face in maintaining both the home and their careers are coming into focus. Managerial and professional women were 17% of employed women during the 1980s. By 2010, the percentage of women in management, professional, and related
The primary purpose of this study was to examine how adult learners used a WebCT bulletin board space to construct knowledge. Cognitive psychologists are clear that active involvement with other people is necessary for learning. Yet, what stimulates the discussion online? How does simple “posting” or “argument” develop into “deep reflection?” How does this online learning environment provide for significant and sustained interactions? What is it about a WebCT bulletin board space that facilitates adult learning? In this analysis, metaphors and questions of possibilities were the “tools” that connected reflection, dialogue and self‐direction to create new understandings. The space itself provided unique opportunities for self‐directed learning and reflective dialogue.
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