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A narrative inquiry of four female first-year, first-generation student perspectives of the university experience

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dc.contributor.authorGengler-Dunn, Deborah, author
dc.contributor.authorBanning, James, advisor
dc.contributor.authorGriffin, Cindy, advisor
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-13T19:53:48Z
dc.date.available2024-03-13T19:53:48Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.description.abstractThis narrative qualitative study explored the experiences of four first-generation female college students during their first year at Colorado State University. Guiding research questions addressed various influences impacting on this first year as a first-generation student, including social, familial, campus environmental issues, and perceptions of self and expectations. While the characteristic of being a first-generation student female overlapped with other characteristics such as race or socio-economics, the essence of this gender specific study sought to give voice to first-generation, first-year, female-dedicated accounts of the college experience. While shared themes were explored and while these proved useful in displaying index streams of some frequent female experiences, the academically mandated process of reducing individual participant experience into generalized themes appeared antithetical to the researcher's felt sense of directing a study toward the individual and the distinct voice and experience of each woman participant. Using a feminist theoretical lens to secure the ecology of the female experience, the researcher interpreted the experiences of these women and shared recommendations toward female leadership strategies. Although evocative insight emerged due to this marginalized group (females) striking out into unfamiliar academic territory for both themselves and their families, a telling wisdom came from what these women expected. While themes of Self-Expectation/Agency, The Familiar, Involvement, Challenges, and Other-Expectation surfaced, the dual expectations of Self and Other provoked a curious antagonistic binary wherein the first courted dynamic self-agency and the latter bred an acquired avoidance/acquiescence. As a result, the researcher questioned an existing perception of responsive gender equality in the college environment and challenged educators toward vital conversations regarding how equal-in-premise and equal-in-lived-reality present themselves for women on a college campus. The researcher also advanced the Fens Behavior Model, an oppositional resistance/avoidance of perceived negative female imaging utilized to defend and/or preserve a positive personal declaration of the female self. It is the researcher's belief that while the instinctive story these women tell themselves is one of personal strength and leadership, the grand narrative they seemingly, sensibly must acknowledge as regards gender may demonstrate a counter-productive adulteration.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifierETDF_Gengler-Dunn_2007_3299793.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/237749
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.rights.licensePer the terms of a contractual agreement, all use of this item is limited to the non-commercial use of Colorado State University and its authorized users.
dc.subjectcollege
dc.subjectfemale
dc.subjectfirst-generation
dc.subjectfirst-generation students
dc.subjectfirst-year
dc.subjectfirst-year students
dc.subjectnarrative
dc.subjectstudent
dc.subjectuniversity
dc.subjectwomen students
dc.subjectwomen's studies
dc.subjecthigher education
dc.titleA narrative inquiry of four female first-year, first-generation student perspectives of the university experience
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEducation
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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