dc.contributor.author	Weimann, Teresa Ann
dc.coverage.spatial	United States	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2021-06-16T20:31:30Z
dc.date.available	2021-06-16T20:31:30Z
dc.date.issued	2019-12
dc.identifier.other	1BF1F69F-9435-9A87-4B3B-F1EAAF73E644	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10428/4798
dc.description.abstract	The lack of females in elected leadership roles trickles down to colleges and universities’ student governance (American Student Government Association, 2016). As a way of understanding the experiences of these female student leaders specifically at public research institutions in the Southeast, I used a narrative inquiry approach focusing on how these women define and make meaning of their experiences as female student government association presidents. These two research questions served as the foundation to understanding their experiences: (1) What are the experiences of these female student leaders prior to being elected to serve as their student government association president at their public research institution in the Southeast? and (2) What are the experiences of female college student leaders who serve as student government association presidents at public research institutions in the Southeast? Seven participants who met the requirements of being female and serving as student government president at public institutions in the Southeast were interviewed. The data collected through the in-depth semi-structured three interview series process (Seidman, 2006) was formed into individual narratives focusing on context and meaningmaking for each participant. Five significant themes emerged from the data analysis process: (1) precollege experiences, (2) pre-president experiences, (3) the “chilly climate,” (4) combatting the “chilly climate,” and (5) their identity and presidency. Implications for student affairs professionals include recruiting women early for student government involvement, helping women develop strong relationships with mentors and breakdown. Keywords: leadership, women, female, narrative inquiry, government	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 1 -- Statement of the Problem 2 -- Conceptual Framework 3 -- Critical Theory 4 -- Feminist Theory 5 -- Womanism 7 -- Intersectionality 7 -- Purpose 8 -- Research Design 8 -- Research Questions 9 -- Data Collection 9 -- Significance of Study 10 -- Delimitations 11 -- Limitations 12 -- Definitions of Terms 12 -- Organization of Study 14 -- Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 15 -- Meaning Making and Student Development 15 -- Gender and Leadership 17 -- A History of Women’s Political Participation in the U.S. 21 -- Challenges Females Face When Running for Political Office 23 -- Government Elections 25 -- Women Running for President 28 -- College Student Leaders and Gender Differences 30 -- Student Government History and Impact 32 -- Student Learning in Student Government 34 -- Students of Color in Student Government 35 -- Female Students’ Participation in Student Government 37 -- The Benefits and Challenges. 38 -- Summary of Literature 40 -- Chapter III: METHODOLOGY 43 -- Research Design 43 -- Setting 44 -- Southeast 44 -- Research Institutions 45 -- Participants 46 -- Sampling and Selection Procedures 46 -- Data Collection 47 -- Approval to Conduct the Study 48 -- Consent to Participate 48 -- Interviews 49 -- Interview Questions 50 -- Data and Document Analysis 51 -- Analysis of Data 51 -- Data Analysis Instruments 55 -- Validity and Trustworthiness 55 -- Member-Checking 57 -- Triangulation 58 -- Researcher Interviewer 58 -- Chapter IV: RESULTS 61 -- Esther: “Success is Just Seeing it Through” 62 -- Madison: “Firm but Flexible” 68 -- Sarah: “Don’t Put Limits on Yourself” 74 -- Grace: “I Am Worthy” 82 -- Olivia: “It Doesn’t Make You Weak” 88 -- Chloe: “Doing Things for the Right Purpose” 94 -- Hanna: “My Existence to the Space is Already Resistant” 101 -- Summary 108 -- Chapter V: FINDINGS 110 -- Introduction 110 -- Pre-College Experiences 112 -- Non-Positional Experiences 113 -- Positional Experiences 114 -- The Impact of their Pre-College Experiences 115 -- Developing Initial Drive 115 -- Defining Leadership 116 -- Gaining Confidence 117 -- Pre-Presidency Experiences 118 -- Defining Purpose 120 -- Responsibility to Run 121 -- The “Chilly Climate” 122 -- Organizational Culture 123 -- Inherent Bias 124 -- Elections and Transitions 126 -- Combatting the “Chilly Climate” 128 -- Finding a Supportive Community 128 -- Defining Success 131 -- Their Identity and Presidency 133 -- Navigating Feelings 134 -- Finding Their Voice 135 -- Struggling with Self-Efficacy 138 -- Navigating the Pressure 141 -- Overall Experiences on a Spectrum 143 -- Summary 144 -- Chapter VI: DISCUSSION 147 -- Summary of Study 148 -- Restatement of the Problem and Research Question 150 -- Summary of Methods 151 -- Findings 152 -- Student Leaders Pre-College and Pre-Presidency Experiences 152 -- The Effects of the Student Government Environment 156 -- Combatting the Chilly Climate 159 -- The Influence of Gender and Race 161 -- Discussion and Implications for Practice 164 -- Implications for Student Affairs Professionals 165 -- Implications for Future Research 169 -- Conclusion 172 -- REFERENCES 174 -- APPENDIX A: List of Institutions 187 -- APPENDIX B: Institutional Review Board Approval 189 -- APPENDIX C: Consent Form 191 -- APPENDIX D: Letter of Cooperation 194 -- APPENDIX E: Consent Script 196 -- APPENDIX F: Research Question Matrix 204 -- APPENDIX G: Six-Part Labovian Model Example: "Hanna 205 -- APPENDIX H: Thematic Chart Example: Interview One 207	en_US
dc.format.extent	1 electronic document, 222 pages. 1764629 bytes.	en_US
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.	en_US
dc.subject	College student government	en_US
dc.subject	Dissertations, Academic--United States	en_US
dc.subject	Leadership	en_US
dc.subject	Women	en_US
dc.subject	Southern States	en_US
dc.subject	Universities and colleges	en_US
dc.title	The Experiences of Female Student Government Association Presidents at Public Research Institutions in the Southeast: A Narrative Inquiry Approach	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology of the Dewar College of Education	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Kull, Karla
dc.description.committee	Workman, Jamie L.
dc.description.committee	Hartsell, Taralynn
dc.description.degree	Ed.D.	en_US
dc.description.major	Educational Leadership	en_US