A Narrative Inquiry to Explore Lived Experiences of Women Pursuing PhDs in South Africa
The journey experienced by women in higher education spans across the areas of teaching, research and leadership. As academics and scholars within these areas, women professionals find few opportunities to share what and how they have navigated this space. Adding in the complexity and challenges of...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Research and Postgraduate Support Directorate
2024-02-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uct.ac.za/new_dut/index.php/ajims/article/view/1427 |
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| Summary: | The journey experienced by women in higher education spans across the areas of teaching, research and leadership. As academics and scholars within these areas, women professionals find few opportunities to share what and how they have navigated this space. Adding in the complexity and challenges of pursuing a PhD to the existing burden placed on women in a gender-segregated environment can be taboo. In this paper, a novel methodology of Narrative Inquiry of reflective writing is used to explore the stories that may be difficult to articulate. We explore the experiences of women as they discover their leadership competencies and academic identities, and the support, motivation and successes they harnessed to complete their PhD. The collaborative sharing of these poetic pieces highlights new ways to actively engage outside of the existing closed communities. While we know that no two lived experiences are the same, this study will draw on the diversity of the experiences as a unifying and enabling narrative for other women on this path.
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| ISSN: | 2663-4597 2663-4589 |