All About Relationships: The Influences that Facilitate the Development of a Sense of Calling Among Undergraduate Women Raised and Educated in Appalachia
Department
Director, Literacy Leaps Program
Presentation Location
Clark Memorial Library, Room 204 (Flohr Lecture Hall)
Presentation Start Date and Time
7-3-2024 12:00 PM
Presentation End Date and Time
7-3-2024 1:00 PM
Brief Abstract
Skeptics of the current state of higher education have typically questioned its purpose by citing inflated costs, the perceived diminished value of the college degree, limited access to education and knowledge acquisition in preparation for an ever-changing world, and consumerist ideologies. Despite the ongoing litany of concerns and criticism directed toward higher education, undergraduate education has remained a vital experience for emerging adults to contemplate big questions about meaning and life purpose. However, the barriers and contexts faced by marginalized college students, including women raised and educated in Appalachia, may limit or hinder their opportunity to explore a sense of calling during college. This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study focused on young women raised and educated in Appalachia to understand the influences that facilitate students’ development of a sense of calling during their undergraduate education. The researcher collected data through 13 semistructured interviews at three higher education institutions in Appalachia. Participants were undergraduate women in their junior or senior year who participated in vocation exploration experiences or programming at their institution. Emerging categories and themes reveal that influences such as faculty mentoring, familial relationships, formative experiences, life circumstances, supportive environments, and guided purpose exploration were notable for developing a sense of calling. Understanding these influences, particularly in relation to other student characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status, first-generation status, and gender), may be particularly instructive for higher education leaders and educators who understand the importance of instilling a sense of purpose and calling in the lives of women college students, and perhaps particularly for first-generation students raised in distinctive regional contexts such as Appalachia.
Keywords: calling, vocation, higher education, Appalachia, women
Recommended Citation
Monihen, Lindsay K., "All About Relationships: The Influences that Facilitate the Development of a Sense of Calling Among Undergraduate Women Raised and Educated in Appalachia" (2024). Faculty Research and Teaching Expo. 1.
https://digitalcommons.shawnee.edu/ffa/Faculty_Presentations_2024/March_7_2024/1
All About Relationships: The Influences that Facilitate the Development of a Sense of Calling Among Undergraduate Women Raised and Educated in Appalachia
Clark Memorial Library, Room 204 (Flohr Lecture Hall)
Skeptics of the current state of higher education have typically questioned its purpose by citing inflated costs, the perceived diminished value of the college degree, limited access to education and knowledge acquisition in preparation for an ever-changing world, and consumerist ideologies. Despite the ongoing litany of concerns and criticism directed toward higher education, undergraduate education has remained a vital experience for emerging adults to contemplate big questions about meaning and life purpose. However, the barriers and contexts faced by marginalized college students, including women raised and educated in Appalachia, may limit or hinder their opportunity to explore a sense of calling during college. This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study focused on young women raised and educated in Appalachia to understand the influences that facilitate students’ development of a sense of calling during their undergraduate education. The researcher collected data through 13 semistructured interviews at three higher education institutions in Appalachia. Participants were undergraduate women in their junior or senior year who participated in vocation exploration experiences or programming at their institution. Emerging categories and themes reveal that influences such as faculty mentoring, familial relationships, formative experiences, life circumstances, supportive environments, and guided purpose exploration were notable for developing a sense of calling. Understanding these influences, particularly in relation to other student characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status, first-generation status, and gender), may be particularly instructive for higher education leaders and educators who understand the importance of instilling a sense of purpose and calling in the lives of women college students, and perhaps particularly for first-generation students raised in distinctive regional contexts such as Appalachia.
Keywords: calling, vocation, higher education, Appalachia, women