An Insight into the Challenges Faced by Academic Women with Pre-school Age Children in Academic Life

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the challenges academic women, especially those who were mothers of pre-school age children, went through. The main guiding question of this study was "How do academic mothers with pre-school age children survive in the academia from pregnancy through all the various stages of parenting and motherhood?". This study employed qualitative case study research design. The study was conducted in a faculty of a state university in Turkey. 6 academic women participated in this study based on the selection criteria. Data was collected through open-ended, semi-structured interviews and analysed through thematic analysis. The findings indicated that though academic women in the study valued the experience of being mothers, they were overwhelmed by the workload; lacked administrative support; and suffered from a never-ending struggle to balance between their academic duties and parental responsibilities.