And the Search Goes On.........

The Curious Researcher has good ideas. Whoda thought! HaHa. No really, it did help me to think. I was wondering, "Am I really finding anything about women returning to school?" Then in reading CR it said to make a list of assumptions or beliefs about your topic. So I started listing things that I know from scanning my articles.
I discovered many motivations for women's return to education.Such as Finances, Independence, Security, Death, Loss of Job, Self improvement, Empty Nest Syndrome, Role modeling.
What women gain in going back to school is Self respect, peer respect, self reliance, Confidence to name a few things.

I Seem to have the best luck in the ERIC database. I come up with some good articles. One I was able to find was;
"Educational Experiences and Transitions of reentry college women."
This article is focused on the obstacles women face when reentering college and what kinds of support do they have.
Many of the articles I am finding are 10 to 20 years old or older. I often wonder if our issues are the same as the have been over the last 10 to 40 years. I don't think they are the same, but it seems a lot of the research dates way back and is used over and over.

When searching just Google, there are a lot of dead ends. There are many websites trying to persuade women to go to their colleges. There are also a lot of websites promoting financial aid. After wading through those, next come websites for women's colleges and how to meet women in college or women's sports colleges.
I have found that I need to stick to databases.
I keep reading that women out number men in college, but I did a little survey on state colleges and universities and discovered that they are pretty equal. I wonder if it is just in community colleges that women out number men more? That could be another question for my essay.

The search terms that have given me the most success are:
Nontraditional and Students and Female.
Nontraditional learners
Women's education
Reentry and students and women
Nontraditional is a term that has been given to reentry students that are older and interrupted their formal education.

I have gone to the library a few times and it is difficult to find books on my subject. I hope to find a book soon. If anyone has any suggestions I am open to anything.
I am hoping to have a little survey on my topic. I was going to email the survey to all the women in my class. I think I will email them out so you can have your own private response if you chose to respond.

Shannon

One more thing I wish for is to have more time to completely read all of my articles!!!!!!

The question! And How to Search!

Thank you to Gail!
The Question:
When women return to college after the age of 40, what are their goals and motivations for returning, and how does it change their lives?

I have been looking in many databases to find information. The best database so far has been Eric. I start with Eric and then it moves into EBSCO. I like this one.
I am not having much luck with Gale Virtual Library or ProQuest.
Summit has given some good ideas and I have requested information from it.
Terms that I have found to give me some help:
reentry and students and females
"reentry Students" and females
nontraditional and students
nontraditional and higher education
women* and education
adult and education and women
nontraditional learners
social mobility
I am finding a lot of dated material, but I think that women are going back to school for the same reasons now as they did 15 - 20 years ago.
I am finding that there are a of men going back in their 30's. I have found that one of the big motivators for reentry to school is and has been to set a model for children.
Shannon

Narrowing my Thoughts

In my last post I discussed researching the Fleur de lis. It is an interesting subject, but I just was not feeling it.
Today I went to the Cannell Library and was able to get some much needed help there. I give great Thanks to Suzie and Susan L. for their encouragement to stay focused. They really helped me get through my struggle. Joan Carey was wonderful in helping me refine my searches in the databases. I strongly encourage anyone who can to go to the library. It is an amazing resource!
I decided to go with, "Women and their reentry to education."

What I Already Know.
Here are some reasons why....
Security
Same job for more pay
Self improvement
Self esteem
To be a role model
Activity after retirement
Independence
Lifestyle change
Divorce
Widowed

Possible Questions about My Topic:

What is the major motivator for getting and education?
Are women going back just to earn more money?
What is the socioeconomic impact of women going back to school?
Who is likely to return to school?
What is the average age of the nontraditional student?
What are they studying?
Why are women out numbering men in college?
How do they pay for their education?
Are they getting an AA Degree or a Bachelors Degree?
Are they working full time and going to school full time?
Are they successful?
What do women enjoy most about returning?
What are the major obstacles when reentering education?
If married, how does the woman's education affect the relationship?
How does a woman's life change when she returns to school?
Who supports her decision to go to school?
Is she supported?

Pondering a Topic

I have spent more time researching and looking at the Fleur de lis. I think what I like about it is that is looks to me like something that has class and style. It is simple and when you look at it drawn s certain way one can see how it looks like an Iris. That is one of the many things that is said about the Fleur de lis.
i have thought I would look into the symbolism of the Fleur or maybe the history of it. The Fleur de lis has been around for a very long time.

I am not able to get to the library, so I searched online through the Cannell Library to begin with. That did not produce any viable resources for me. I only found one item and that was base on Crusaders.
I searched Proquest. Using terms like Fleur de lis and history, Fleur de lis, Symbols and Fleur de lis. It did not produce much for me there
Gale Virtual Library showed to have some results, using the previous terms, but it mostly gave articles on things to do with sports. It is the Symbol of the New Orleans Saints. It is also a symbol for Louisiana and Louisiana State University (Go Tigers).
Next I used Summit Search.Summit is a good resource. I found a fair amount of book here. Some books were resouirce books from other libraries and those cannot leave their buildings. I used the same terms I had used earlier. They seemed to produce more ideas in summit. I will use summit for what ever it is that I decide is my topic.

Here are a few things I learned about the Fleur de lis.
The Minoan Civilization (2000 BC) was the creator of the Fleur de lis.
Some say that the Fleur is a representation of the lily, but is a representation of the Iris.
King Louis VII adopted it into his coat of arms.
In the 1500"s it was established as a christian symbol.
It has been thought to be a symbol of purity.

With all the research I have done on the Fleur de lis, I am not sure it this is going to be my research topic.

I spent more time in the Women's Studies book, Women's Voices/ Feminist Visions and have come up with another Idea.
Women in College, Who Are they?
Women Who begin their college career after the children are raised.
What motivates a woman to start or go back to college?
Where are women going to college?
Where are mature women going to college?
History of women in education?
These are just some thoughts.
I have MORE research to dooooo. Yikes!

Research Topic

Since I knew I was going to be taking English 102 I have been thinking about a topic that interests me. I keep coming back to this one thing, but I do not see how I can relate it to the Women's Study Class. I am interested in the history of the
Fleur de lis. I have always liked that symbol. I have them all over my house. If I EVER got a tattoo, that is what I would get. I am intrigued by it. It has been in movies forever. It is recognized all over the world. I just like it and so do millions of others, such as the residents of Louisiana. If I could figure out how to post it on my Blog it would be here.
I have started researching the history of the Fleur de lis and it is a hard one to find. I am not have much luck. I think that this may be too narrow of a subject. I am not giving up yet. I also still need to discuss this idea with Gail and Ann.

This is just a starter blog. I am working on my official blog for the assignment. More to come.