The Coordination Of Multiple Roles By Female Graduate Students From Three Different Cultures

Abstract

This research studied the coordination of multiple roles by female graduate students who are mothers. Zika (2006) reported that working women in the developed world contribute 40 to 50 percent of the gross national product at the same time that they continue to be responsible for most of the household and childcare responsibilities in the home. Some researchers have suggested that having multiple roles can be deleterious, while others have suggested benefits. Because women from around the world today are participating in multiple roles, the present study investigated, using a qualitative research method, how three female graduate students from different cultures who are also wives and mothers coordinated and viewed the various roles in their lives. Data were collected through an interview format and examined using narrative analysis techniques. Despite being raised in three different cultures, common themes in the interview responses emerged and included the importance of the motherhood role, women's ongoing family and household responsibilities, feelings of stress, the usefulness of spousal and social support, and parents as role models. The three women participating viewed their caregiver roles, especially the role of mother, as primary, and at the same time voluntarily chose to expand their identities and the number of roles they needed to coordinate by working professionally and academically outside of the home. Although there was a consensus regarding positive benefits as a result of having multiple roles, evidence for both role conflict and role expansion theories was evident in the women's responses.

Date of Award	2008
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Linda Leal (Supervisor)