Complexities of culture : understanding the identity of female veterans transitioning from military to college.

Female veterans;Engagement;Identity;Narrative inquiry

Natesha L. Smith

University:University of Louisville

Department:Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

关键词: Female veterans;    Engagement;    Identity;    Narrative inquiry;   

Others  :  https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2352&context=etd

美国|英语

来源: The Universite of Louisville's Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

Through an exploration of identity and enculturation experiences, this narrativeinquiry dissertation investigated how female veteran students make meaning of theirexperiences and renegotiate their understandings of identity after transitioning from themilitary into the higher education environment. Eighteen female veteran studentsparticipated in data collection efforts, which included two interviews, discussion ofmilitary artifacts, and journaling. Five of the eighteen individual narratives are presentedat length in the study to illustrate the diversity found amongst the study population.Findings for the five were synthesized into individual narratives and poeticrepresentations of identity. Emerging across the stories of the eighteen participants are shared narratives of renegotiating identity, regaining control, social justice advocacy, and engagement. Theyare presented and described by using detailed excerpts from the participants' journals andinterview transcripts. The discussion of renegotiated identity describes the process bywhich the female veteran students have started to recreate understandings of their identityafter exiting from the dominant role of active duty service-member. Framing the shared narratives in a discussion of regaining control and social justice advocacy, provides a wayto understand the need of the students to reclaim their sense of ownership over theirunderstandings of self and continued experiences. The shared narrative of engagementexplores the commitment of female veterans to higher education. This dissertation is divided into six chapters. Chapters One and Two highlight the significance of my personal narrative to the subject of this study and situate the narratives of female veterans in current literature respectively. Chapter Three discusses the rationale for approaching the female veteran students' experiences and understandings of identity through a narrative inquiry lens; which provides an opportunity to look beyond the dominant discourse of veteran students to consider the voice of the silenced femaleveteran. Chapter Four focuses on the individual narratives and acknowledges the femaleveteran students' reflections on the perceived differences and changes to identityexperienced after transitioning from military to college life. Chapter Five fully discussesthe shared narratives of identity, regaining control, becoming social justice advocates, andengagement. Implications for both the military and higher education communities arediscussed in Chapter Six.