Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Conflict Analysis & Resolution

Department

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Conflict Resolution Studies

First Advisor

Cheryl Duckworth

Second Advisor

Robin Cooper

Third Advisor

Guy Holliday

Keywords

Educational sociology, Gender studies

Abstract

The male to female gender gap in higher education continues to average around 40% to 60%. This is a significant societal statistic that will continue to define generations to come and influence the demographics of the workforce and social roles. This Conflict Resolution study strove to find an answer to what are the societal influences impacting male enrollment in a community college in southwest Florida and to explore the role of conflict in prospective male students’ decision-making related to higher education. This question was broken down into sub-areas involving gender roles and society. The study was conducted using a grounded theory approach with an intensive interviewing style. From a larger group of potential interviewees, 17 volunteer participants were selected. The selected participants were enrolled at a southwest Florida community college. As with a grounded theory study, initial coding was used to study fragments of data. This was followed by the second phase of focused coding. During the focused coding phase, the most significant and/or frequent codes were used to sift through and analyze large amounts of data. Memo writing was used to help informally track and chart the important records and data findings thus far in the research process. This study will help high school and college administrators better understand how young males can be better prepared to make a decision to go to college or how to skillfully identify another path to a meaningful life after high school without the conflict of societal views.

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