Abstract:
Utilizing a case studies approach, 72 in-depth interviews were conducted to explore the conflict between the pursuit of graduate education and the traditional role expectations for women in three distinct cultures. Examining the experience of graduate students in Jamaica, India and Canada, the research explores the perceived stresses incurred by female graduate students, while trying to maintain a balance between gender and academic role requirements, looking both at the effect on self-concept and in terms of the effect on a woman’s relationship to others (partner and/or children). Study results included the use of active coping strategies by the women. In terms of cultural influences, Caribbean and East Asian female students were more likely to compartmentalize the different aspects of their lives, while North American female students reported ‘spillover’ from one role to another.
