Abstract:
As more married women are acquiring graduate level higher education degrees,
perceptions and marital roles shift requiring that spouses make changes in their own
careers and take on more egalitarian roles in households in order to support their spouses’
pursuits. There is inconclusive evidence in the literature on the impact that higher
education experiences have on asymmetrical, marital relationships. Despite this evolving
trend, evidence of the non-student spousal experience is unknown. The men experience
transformational learning through this educational journey as well, but that experience
has also not been explored deeply. Through phenomenological and interpretive
epistemological methods, the interview team gathered the experiences of six, Midwestern
husbands of female doctoral graduates to understand their meaning making and coping
processes during their wives’ doctoral degrees. Findings suggested that husbands
experience a labyrinth of their own and their wives’ emotions and must problem solve
throughout the duration of the doctoral process. Husbands’ transformational experiences
divulge problem solving skills, empathy, communication, independence, and an
understanding of their wives’ personality all while making meaning with innate
“masculine ways of knowing,” which was necessary in circumnavigating their wives and
the doctoral process. This evidence confirms the need for spousal awareness,
availability, involvement, and supportive navigation in order to increase doctoral
persistence and support professional women. Furthermore, this study provides new
insights into ways men experience transformational learning.
