Expectations Versus Reality: Understanding Women STEM Doctoral Students' Perceptions and Experiences on Doctoral Mentoring Relationships

Marah C. Lambert; Lisa Merriweather; Cathy Howell; Dilara Yaya Bryson; Edith Gnanadass

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Graduate Studies Division (GSD) Technical Session 7: Graduate Student Experiences
Tagged Division: Graduate Studies Division (GSD)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47387

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Paper Authors

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Marah C. Lambert University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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Marah Lambert is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation program. She taught middle school math for five years. She has her Master's degree from the University of Kentucky in Research Methods in Education and her Bachelor's degree from Queens University of Charlotte in Mathematics.

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Lisa Merriweather University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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Lisa R. Merriweather is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She received her PhD in Adult Education with a graduate certificate in Qualitative Inquiry from the University of Georgia in 2004. Her research focuses on issue

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Cathy Howell University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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Dr. Cathy D. Howell is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health and Masterâ€™s degree in Health Education at East Carolina

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Dilara Yaya Bryson University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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Edith Gnanadass The University of Memphis

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Edith Gnanadass has a Ph.D. in Lifelong Learning and Adult Education with a minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are at the intersection of race and learning in adult education, DesiCrit (theorizing the racialized experiences of South Asian Americans using Critical Race Theory), Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a framework to analyze learning, and qualitative research. She is currently working on the following research projects: Environmental racism, Racialized experience of South Asian Americans, and Mothering during the pandemic. Her selected publications include “Learning to teach about race: The racialized experience of a South Asian American feminist educator” in Adult Learning, “New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education” in New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, and a chapter entitled “Gender still matters in distance education” in the Handbook of Distance of Education. She is the co-editor of Adult Education Quarterly and guest editor of the upcoming Being Black in the U.S. themed issue of Dialogues in Social Justice: An Adult Education Journal.

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Abstract

Mentoring has been found to support students’ success in the STEM field. However, research has also found that women doctoral students differ from men in terms of their career goals and challenges (Cidlinská, 2019; Miller & Wai, 2015). For example, Cidlinská (2019) found there were differences in their overall career path and attitudes within the two fields (natural and technical sciences—STEM—and the social sciences and humanities—SSH), thus providing a rationale that women in STEM may have unique challenges. STEM doctoral students had less “gender sensitivity”, meaning “they (STEM mentees) tended to be less sensitive towards gender aspects of formal research career criteria” than their SSH counterparts (p. 378). By recognizing that there are differences in the priorities and respective goals between men and women, there is a need to examine how women’s mentorship experiences may differ and be influenced by these gendered characteristics. The purpose of this research study is to better understand the mentoring experiences of women Ph.D. students in STEM by answering the following research questions: (a) How do women students perceive their mentoring experience within a Ph.D. STEM program? (b) How does gender influence the mentoring experience of women in STEM?

This research was drawn from a larger multiple embedded case study that sought to understand the nature and quality of STEM doctoral mentorships, and this subgroup analysis is focused on women’s mentoring experiences. These participating institutions were all located in the Southeastern part of the United States. In total, there were 15 focus group sessions (including 65 STEM doctoral students–39 women). The transcripts were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Upon completion of the preliminary data analysis for the first round of transcripts, four preliminary themes emerged: (a) Mentor as a supporter, (b) Emotional hardships, (c) Mentor responsivity, and (d) Long-term expectations.

By examining the focus group transcripts, there seemed to be a few structural components contributing to the identified themes. First, the participants noted the STEM field competitiveness alongside the faculty feeling pressure of publications. Faculty turnover was another factor seen to be contributing to the responsive issues or the lack of sustainability within the mentorship. Faculty were mentioned to leave universities with little to no notice, and this contributed to the challenges of meeting with mentors face-to-face or simply getting a response. Through these challenges, there was tension in the mentee-mentor relationship (instead of a positive and supportive relationship). Highlighting these lived experiences helps us understand how STEM departments can effectively support women doctoral students through mentoring.

Citation
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Lambert, M. C., & Merriweather, L., & Howell, C., & Yaya Bryson, D., & Gnanadass, E. (2024, June), Expectations Versus Reality: Understanding Women STEM Doctoral Students' Perceptions and Experiences on Doctoral Mentoring Relationships Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47387

TY - CPAPER
AB - Mentoring has been found to support students’ success in the STEM field. However, research has also found that women doctoral students differ from men in terms of their career goals and challenges (Cidlinská, 2019; Miller &amp;amp; Wai, 2015). For example, Cidlinská (2019) found there were differences in their overall career path and attitudes within the two fields (natural and technical sciences—STEM—and the social sciences and humanities—SSH), thus providing a rationale that women in STEM may have unique challenges. STEM doctoral students had less “gender sensitivity”, meaning “they (STEM mentees) tended to be less sensitive towards gender aspects of formal research career criteria” than their SSH counterparts (p. 378). By recognizing that there are differences in the priorities and respective goals between men and women, there is a need to examine how women’s mentorship experiences may differ and be influenced by these gendered characteristics. The purpose of this research study is to better understand the mentoring experiences of women Ph.D. students in STEM by answering the following research questions: (a) How do women students perceive their mentoring experience within a Ph.D. STEM program? (b) How does gender influence the mentoring experience of women in STEM?

This research was drawn from a larger multiple embedded case study that sought to understand the nature and quality of STEM doctoral mentorships, and this subgroup analysis is focused on women’s mentoring experiences. These participating institutions were all located in the Southeastern part of the United States. In total, there were 15 focus group sessions (including 65 STEM doctoral students–39 women). The transcripts were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Upon completion of the preliminary data analysis for the first round of transcripts, four preliminary themes emerged: (a) Mentor as a supporter, (b) Emotional hardships, (c) Mentor responsivity, and (d) Long-term expectations.

By examining the focus group transcripts, there seemed to be a few structural components contributing to the identified themes. First, the participants noted the STEM field competitiveness alongside the faculty feeling pressure of publications. Faculty turnover was another factor seen to be contributing to the responsive issues or the lack of sustainability within the mentorship. Faculty were mentioned to leave universities with little to no notice, and this contributed to the challenges of meeting with mentors face-to-face or simply getting a response. Through these challenges, there was tension in the mentee-mentor relationship (instead of a positive and supportive relationship). Highlighting these lived experiences helps us understand how STEM departments can effectively support women doctoral students through mentoring.
AU - Marah C. Lambert
AU - Lisa Merriweather
AU - Cathy Howell
AU - Dilara Yaya Bryson
AU - Edith Gnanadass
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Expectations Versus Reality: Understanding Women STEM Doctoral Students' Perceptions and Experiences on Doctoral Mentoring Relationships
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47387
ER -