Miller Karyn E, Riley Jacqueline
Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX USA.
Innov High Educ. 2022;47(3):471-492. doi: 10.1007/s10755-021-09586-2. Epub 2021 Nov 25.
Extensive research suggests that ideal worker and mothering expectations have long constrained academic mothers' personal and professional choices. This article explores how academic mothers experienced their dual roles amid the unprecedented shift in the work-life landscape due to COVID-19. Content analysis of questionnaire data (n = 141) suggests that academic mothers experienced significant bidirectional work-life conflict well into the fall of 2020. Increased home demands, such as caring for young children and remote schooling, interfered with their perceived capacity to meet ideal academic norms, including a singular focus on work, productivity standards, and their ability to signal job competency and commitment. Likewise, work demands reduced their perceived ability to meet ideal mothering norms, such as providing a nurturing presence and focusing on their children's achievement. Academic fathers experienced increased demands on their time but primarily described intra-role conflict within the work domain. Despite a pandemic landscape, ideal academic and mothering norms remained persistent and unchanged. The article concludes with implications for policy and practice in higher education.
大量研究表明，理想员工和母亲角色的期望长期以来一直限制着高校女学者的个人和职业选择。本文探讨了在新冠疫情导致工作与生活格局发生前所未有的转变之际，高校女学者如何体验她们的双重角色。对问卷调查数据（n = 141）的内容分析表明，直到2020年秋季，高校女学者都经历了严重的双向工作与生活冲突。家庭需求的增加，如照顾幼儿和远程教学，干扰了她们认为自己满足理想学术规范的能力，包括对工作的单一专注、生产力标准，以及她们展示工作能力和敬业精神的能力。同样，工作需求也降低了她们认为自己满足理想母亲角色规范的能力，比如给予悉心陪伴和关注孩子的成就。高校男学者的时间需求有所增加，但主要描述的是工作领域内的角色内冲突。尽管处于疫情环境下，理想的学术和母亲角色规范依然持续存在且未改变。文章最后探讨了对高等教育政策和实践的启示。
