ERIC Number: ED646760
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 198
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-8375-1698-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Resilience Personified: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study Exploring Strategies Black Women Senior-Level Student Affairs Administrators Use to Succeed in Higher Education
Sacha R. Wilson
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Drexel University
Despite the recent increase in messaging on the importance of improving diversity and inclusion efforts within higher education, Black women working in administrative roles continue to be the most misjudged, undervalued, and underrepresented group of individuals on college campuses across the country. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological research study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women senior-level administrators to understand the strategies they have used to successfully navigate their internalized imposter feelings while persisting within oppressive cultures in student affairs divisions at PWIs. With the conceptual framework being guided by the principle tenets of Intersectionality and Black Feminist Thought, this research sought to explore the following questions: 1. How has the cultural factors within student affairs divisions at predominantly White institutions impacted the career trajectory of Black women senior-level administrators? 2. How do Black women working as a senior-level administrator within student affairs divisions at a predominantly White institution describe their experiences? 3. What strategies have Black women senior-level administrators within student affairs divisions at predominantly White institutions leveraged to advance in their careers, despite experiencing feelings of being imposters? Data was collected from eight transcribed interviews, information from resumes and curriculum vitae collected from the participants, and notes from the researcher's journal. Five main themes emerged from the data analysis process and are as follows: 1) student affairs culture, 2) the plight of the Black women experience, 3) Am I enough? 4) persist despite the diss, and 5) get yours sis. The findings of this research study may be used to provide Black women who are entering the field or those who have been in the field for quite some time with practical strategies to employ to advance in their careers and combat some of the stressors of student affairs culture. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: African Americans, Females, Administrators, Student Personnel Workers, Cultural Influences, Predominantly White Institutions, Career Development, Administrator Attitudes, African American Attitudes, Resilience (Psychology), Adjustment (to Environment), Higher Education
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A