Self-Reflection during Transition to College: A Qualitative Understanding of Women Becoming West Point Cadets
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kimberly Turner Helms (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Bert Goldman
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore identity and self-reflection during the transition to college. The stories of six women entering the United States Military Academy at West Point were collected on three different occasions: prior to entrance, during the first week of classes, and at the end of the first semester. Scaffolded upon the literary genre of the bildungsroman, the "novel of formation" (Hirsch, 1979, p. 293), these stories of women's development and meaning making converged into five motifs: family legacy, carrying, a plebeian existence, self and other, and reflection. Their choice of vocabulary and other features of language additionally signaled their stance within this particular educational milieu. The narratives suggest that these students most value relationships; that transition to college begins prior to entrance and extends beyond the first semester; and that the quality of reflection depends on epistemological perspective.
Self-Reflection during Transition to College: A Qualitative Understanding of Women Becoming West Point Cadets
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Created on 5/1/2008
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2008
- Keywords
- College students, Women, Identity, Reflection, Transitions, US Military Academy-West Point
- Subjects
- Women college students
- Identity (Psychology)
- Bildungsroman
- College freshmen
- Self-perception in women.