To date, very little research attention (particularly within academia) has been given to investigate how military spouse students are pursing their education. In addition to the Military Spouse Education Survey, the RAND Corporation (published in 2004) reported that milspouse students place a high emphasis on education and training. A report by the National Military Family Association (published in 2007) demonstrated that the two most common obstacles for milspouse students are service member deployments and frequent relocations. While these studies are informative and start to address some of the issues milspouse students face, I want to delve in deeper.
I recently teamed up with a group of social science and higher education researchers at North Carolina State University to develop an online survey for current military spouse students. The goal of this survey is to investigate three questions:
- What careers and majors are military spouses pursuing and/or desire, and why?
- What types of institutions and learning environments do military spouse students use and/or find most useful?
- What resources do military spouse students use and/or desire to help support their education?
While these questions seem simple, I think addressing them will be a good way to start a dialogue with the military, as well as colleges and universities, on the best ways to assist milspouse students.
So let’s get down to business. What I’m asking is that, if you are a military spouse currently enrolled in school, you consider taking my survey (survey can be accessed at bit.ly/1sRNkeT). It’s completely voluntary and you can choose to not answer questions if you so desire. No identifiable information will be collected or reported and the survey will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete. The survey is based on the Army (because that is what I know), but it is applicable to all service branches. If you are a Marine, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard spouse and feel that an answer doesn’t apply to your branch, feel free to select “other” and include the specific program/resource/etc. This of course applies to Army spouses, as well.
This survey has been approved through the North Carolina State University Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is an ethics committee that oversees research performed on human subjects to ensure that study participants are treated fairly and that their privacy is protected. If you have specific questions or concerns about the survey, feel free to contact me via email at [email protected].
I truly hope that the findings from this survey can advance the discussion on ways to improve how military spouse students obtain their education and training. I greatly appreciate your help, participation and feedback.
Current military spouse students who want to participate in this survey, please click on this link.
Dr. Laura Ott is an educator, biomedical and education researcher, and Army wife currently stationed at Fort Bragg. She holds a B.S. in microbiology from Michigan State University (Go Spartans!) and a PhD in immunology from NC State University. For the past three years, she has been a Teaching Associate in the Biotechnology Program, teaching molecular biology courses and conducting educational research. She is extremely passionate about assisting military spouses in obtaining their educational and career goals. In her free time, she enjoys pretending to be a celebrity chef in her kitchen and spending time with her husband, daughter, and two pups.
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