Issues of trust affect women doctoral students.

Women are nearly half of all doctoral students and more than two thirds of those in education, but they're fewer than 40% of teaching faculty. How can departments build a better bridge for women doctoral recipients to cross into faculty jobs? Research presented at the Women in Educational Leadership conference in Lincoln NE in September suggested part of the answer lies in issues of trust.

Trust means willingness to rely on someone else in risky situations. To be a graduate student is to be vulnerable; career planning and job interviews mean further vulnerability. How does trust affect the graduate school experience?

Researchers were Dr. Dana Christman, assistant professor at New Mexico State University; Rebecca Beach, doctoral student at the University of Missouri; and Debra Blanke, independent scholar in Oklahoma City OK. They interviewed five women doctoral students in education at three large public universities.

"Grace," "Tess," "Sheila," "Julia" and "Alice," ages 31 to 52, were single, married, separated, widowed and divorced. Four had children; two called themselves Hispanic or Latina, three Anglo or white.

All had master's degrees and averaged more than 15 years professional experience in education. They'd presented at conferences, chaired or served on committees, done leadership training and won an average of 5.6 awards for service in their fields. Entering doctoral study was to step both forward and potentially backward, to being treated like a novice.

Climate of trust

Certain conditions are prerequisites for trust: cooperation, expertise, timeliness, congeniality, openness, tact, sincerity and integrity. Professors' strength in these areas affected how much their students came to trust them.