‘It’s an adjustment’: The experiences of stay-at-home mothers in graduate teacher education programs
It is important that teacher education programs be aware of their students’ lives and experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. This is especially true in the case of students who are also stay-at-home mothers who are trying to balance the demands of their personal and professional lives and to adjust to the differing expectations for each. This study was designed to explore the experiences of 10 stay-at-home mothers who decided to return to school to become teachers. Results indicate that the students felt that motherhood helped them to be more tolerant and understanding, but that it was often difficult to balance their dual roles of mother and student. Implications for graduate teacher education programs and recommendations for future research are discussed.