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Academic Life and Motherhood: Variations by Institutional Type

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Abstract

This paper explores the interface between work and family at different types of institutions from the perspective of women faculty who are on the tenure track and who are mothers of young children. Such a perspective provides insight into institutional variation on academic life in general, and for new faculty as mothers in particular. A macro view of the findings points to two major concerns: time (and lack thereof) and its impact on the “ideal worker” norms that shape what it means to be a good mother and good professor at different institutional types; and, the idea of “choice” as an illusion.

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  1. Department of Teaching and Leadership, University of Kansas, 1122 West Campus Road, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, United States

    Lisa Ellen Wolf-Wendel & Kelly Ward

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  1. Lisa Ellen Wolf-Wendel
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  2. Kelly Ward
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Correspondence to Lisa Ellen Wolf-Wendel.

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Wolf-Wendel, L.E., Ward, K. Academic Life and Motherhood: Variations by Institutional Type. High Educ 52, 487–521 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-005-0364-4

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