Mothering Contexts Study

Welcome! Thanks for checking out my blog and the mothering contexts study. I will have the on-line survey up and running this weekend for MOTHER'S DAY (a little past my May 4th 2009 initial launch date!).

Please try again to access the survey. For now, please feel free to navigate through my blog, the old posts and find out a little more about me and my work.

The study is intended to hear mothers' voices and provide narratives of women's lives as mothers. I will pay particular attention to the ideas, understandings and discourses they draw on to explain their mothering, the behaviours and practices they engage in with their children and outside of their children's lives, and the wider societal and cultural context of mothering. It is my hope that this research would be appealing to all mothers, especially those of us who are questioning how our mothering role is and is not related to other aspects of our multi-dimensional lives.

Research Objective
My objective is to examine the experience of mothering in the various contexts of women’s lives. Stated different, this research explores the situated nature of mothering and the ways in which mothering contexts influence maternal identities and maternal practices. The following questions will guide my research: What does motherhood look like in North America today? What are women’s experiences of mothering? What interactions characterize motherhood? What unique identities do mothers develop? What "cultural scripts" and wider understandings do women use to make sense of their mothering practices? How are mother(ing) experiences connected to the particular context (structural/relational) that women find themselves; that is, mothers living poverty, immigrant mothers, stay-at-home mothers, non-custodial mothers, lesbian mothers, young mothers, mothers with careers etc. and the list goes on!

What are the differences in our experience of motherhood?
What are the similarities in our experiences of motherhood?

WHAT CONNECTS US AS MOTHERS?

If you are interested in taking part in an in-person interview, please contact me through the comment function on this post and we can discuss a mutually agreeable plan.

Thanks very much for your assistance, support and involvement.

Sincerely,
Dr. Mama (aka Joanne)