This is my dissertation defense presentation. I successfully defended my dissertation in May 2013.

1. THE LIVED
EXPERIENCES OF
BLACK WOMEN
FACULTY IN THE
INSTRUCTIONAL
TECHNOLOGY
PROFESSORIATE
Dissertation Defense Presentation
Valora M. Richardson
May 6, 2013 11:00 am

2. SIGNIFICANCE & BACKGROUND
 Highlights an underrepresented group in the
Instructional Technology Academy
 Can inform Black women who are
contemplating this career path
 Fills a gap in the literature
 Helps programs seeking to recruit and retain
Black women faculty and students
 Personal desire to perform community minded
research
OF THE STUDY

3. GUIDING QUESTIONS
 How do Black women in the Instructional Technology
professoriate describe their experiences in becoming
faculty in the field of Instructional Technology?
 How do Black women in the Instructional Technology
professoriate describe their experiences as faculty in
the field?
 How do Black women in the Instructional Technology
professoriate make meaning out of their experiences
as faculty in the field?

4. THEORETICAL LENS: WOMANISM
Womanism recognizes that the experiences of Black women are
worthy of scholarly investigation and that “everyday Black women
are capable of generating, interpreting and validating knowledge
about themselves and others.” (Phillips & McCaskill, 1995,
p.1009)
Hudson-Weems (1990) Typology of Womanist Characteristics
• Adaptable
• Ambitious
• Family Centered
• Flexible Role Player
• Genuine in
Sisterhood
• In Concert with
Males
• Male Compatible
• Mothering and
Nurturing
• Respected and
Recognized
• Respectful of Elders
• Self-Definer
• Self-Namer
• Spiritual
• Strength
• Whole and Authentic

5. LITERATURE REVIEW
Faculty Work Expectations
• Rising workloads (Murry,
2008)
• Work-life integration
(Eddy, 2008)
• Perverseness of the
promotion and tenure
process (Hardre’ and
Cox, 2009)
Black Faculty in the Academy
• Access and success in the
academy (Allen, Epps,
Guillory, Suh, & Bonous-
Hammarth, 2000)
• Adverse academic
environments (Stanley,
2006)
• Challenges of being the
numerical
minority(McGowan, 2000)
• Stress (Thompson & Dey,
1998)

6. LITERATURE REVIEW
Women in the Academy
• Stress (Hart & Cress, 2008)
• Perceived differences in work
between males and females (Doyle
& Hind, 1998, Stout, Staiger &
Jennings (2007)
• Dual roles as professor and
parents (Ward & Wolf-Wendel
2004)
Black Women in the Faculty
• Feelings of isolation (2008; Phelps,
1995; Turner, 2002),
• Having to prove themselves as a
woman and as Black (Alexander &
Moore, 2008; Harlow, 2003),
• Being challenged more than others
by their students (Harlow, 2003;
Turner, 2002)
• Being assigned additional
responsibilities for race and gender
issues (Alexander & Moore, 2008;
Phelps, 1995; Turner, 2002)

7. PARTICIPANTS
Participant Demographic Data
Annette Marsha Rachel
Age Early 50s Mid 30s Mid 40s
Years in Position 4 4 12+
Rank Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Associate Professor
Tenured? No No Yes
Location of
University Northeast South Midwest
Student
Population 20,782 11,578 24,343
Public or Private
Institution Private Public Public
Percentage of
Non-White
42.6 29.5 11.3
Students

8. LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS
Delimitations Limitations
• Sampling Method
• Findings will not be
generalizable
• Diverse participant
environments

9. METHODOLOGY AND INTEGRATED
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Phenomenology – lived experiences
Seidman’s Three-Interview Series Model
Life History
Interview
(RQ#1 : Becoming)
Current
Experience
Interview
(RQ#2: Being)
Meaning Making
Interview
( RQ#3: Making
Meaning)

10. PHASE ONE : INDIVIDUAL DATA COLLECTION
AND ANALYSIS
Conducted interview
Verified and read transcripts
Conducted preliminary coding and created followup questions for next interview
Repeated process, if needed
Collapsed and merged codes for individual themes
Developed individual description

11. PHASE TWO: COMPOSITE ANALYSIS
1 • Read transcript text again
2
• Coded using the completed codebook
3
• Collapsed and merged codes for composite themes
4
• Wrote composite description

12. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND
Ethical Considerations
 Consent form
 Password Protected Data
Trustworthiness
 Epoch
 member checking
 peer debriefing
 journaling
TRUSTWORTHINESS

13. ANNETTE
“Okay ladies and gentlemen, let me get the 800 lb gorilla out of this room before we
start, and that gorilla is, ‘You’re old. Why are you here?’
Self-Namer, Self-Definer, Ambitious, Adaptable
Respected and Recognized
Becoming
• Grew up in 1950’s
• Obtained PhD in Political Science
• Worked in Industry
• Wanted to be healthy for retirement
Being
• Had nothing negative to say
• Project Management and ID
favorite courses to teach
• Did not feel any racial/gender
tension
Making Meaning
• Unique “real world” experience
• Did not feel the necessity of
researching underserved
populations.

14. MARSHA
“Remember why you are where you are. Why is it that you’re in the place that you
are? Strive for excellence in everything you do. Realize who you are as an individual
and then what you can accomplish with God,
and then everything else falls in line. “
Becoming
•Born and raised in the South
• Went to integrated schools
•Recalled racial conflict growing up
•University was court ordered to
increase the number of Black faculty.
Being
•Set her own boundaries
•“Not Becoming What I See”
• Expectations of people changed
Spiritual , Family – Centered, Strength, Self-Definer ,
Authentic, Ambitious and Adaptable
Making Meaning
•Her past helps her deal with issues
that she faces today.
•.Her faith helps her realize that she
is not in this for her own satisfaction.
•She knows that she is in the position
to help people

15. RACHEL
The best use of your time and energy is really on concentrating on establishing who
you are as a scholar.
Self-Definer, Ambitious, Spritual
Respected and Recognized
Becoming
•Grew up in the MidWest
• She had some very unique opportunities in
graduate school
• Very positive mentor relationship in graduate
school
Being
• Director of STEM program, Tenured
• Confident in who she was and in her position
• Understood the competitive environment of
Academia.
• Attuned to race and gender issues on her
campus
Making Meaning
• Understanding the system
• Personal Connection to research agenda
• Faith
.

16. EMERGENT THEMES
RQ#1
Becoming
• High parental academic expectations
• Attendance at integrated schools
RQ#2
Being
• Self-Advocacy and Boundary Setting
• The Personal Nature of Research
RQ#3
Making
Meaning
• I’m not here for myself
• My faith keeps me grounded

17. The study confirmed:
Faculty in the Academy
DISCUSSION
• Work-life integration (Eddy, 2008)
• Perverseness of the promotion and tenure process (Hardre’ and Cox, 2009)
Black Faculty in the Academy
• Adverse academic environments (Stanley, 2006)
Women in the Academy
• Perceived differences in work between males and females (Doyle & Hind, 1998, Stout, Staiger &
Jennings (2007)
Black Women in the Academy
• Feelings of isolation (2002)
• Having to prove themselves as a woman and as Black (Alexander & Moore, 2008; Harlow, 2003)
• 2002)
• Being assigned additional responsibilities for race and gender issues (Alexander & Moore, 2008;
Phelps, 1995; Turner, 2002)

18. The study did not confirm:
Faculty in the Academy
DISCUSSION
• Rising workloads (Murry, 2008)
Black Faculty in the Academy
• Access and success in the academy (Allen, Epps, Guillory, Suh, & Bonous-Hammarth,
2000)
• Stress (Thompson & Dey, 1998)
Women in the Academy
• Dual roles as professor and parents (Ward & Wolf-Wendel 2004)
Black Women in the Academy
• Feelings of isolation (2002)
• Having to prove themselves as a woman and as Black (Alexander & Moore, 2008;
Harlow, 2003)

19. Self-
Definition
Self -Empowerment/Ambition
Faith/Strength

20. IMPLICATIONS
 What does this mean for Black Women?
 Know your source of inner strength
 Be committed to your research agenda even though it may be unpopular
 Concentrate on being a scholar and knowledge producer
 Be open to have mentors that may not share the same ethnic/cultural ec
experiences.
 What does this mean for Instructional Technology programs seeking to
recruit and retain Black Women faculty?
 Provide a welcoming environment for those who are in doctoral programs
 Recognize and respect the research interests – have an understanding of the
personal connection to their research agendas.

21. FUTURE RESEARCH
 What is the importance of parental expectations in Black
women’s pursuit of graduate degrees in Instructional
Technology? in general?
 How do Black women manage the personal connection
to research in IT? in general?
 Are the results of this study similar to other minorities in
Instructional Technology? Other women in Instructional
Technology?

22. QUESTIONS AND
COMMENTS