Role transition of reentry women

Colleges and universities are reporting increasing numbers of married women who are pursuing a delayed education. Sociological research related to the transition of reentry women into the student role is limited. Very little is known about the effects of the woman's additional role on her marriage and family life. This study is an exploration of the role transition of reentry women with particular attention to the factors associated with the presence or absence of role strain resulting from role accumulation.

Through a combination of theoretical and snowball sampling, twenty-six women enrolled at Clayton Junior College in Morrow, Georgia, were selected for inclusion in the study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews.

Four categories of transition experiences were identified based on the subjects' perception of their husbands' response to the wife's student role. Central to the ease with which the role transition was achieved was the reported agreement between spouses concerning the woman's role as wife and mother. The women for whom role strain was minimal revealed more modern views concerning their family roles. The transition by these women was facilitated by the attitudinal and behavioral support from their husbands. The women who revealed more modern role orientations but perceived their husbands as remaining more traditional were found to have experienced greater difficulty in adjusting to the student role.