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MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Tela Bayamna Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Director Lisa Weems Reader Denise Taliaferro Baszile Reader Thomas Poetter Graduate School Representative Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis ABSTRACT POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF TOGOLESE IMMIGRANT WOMEN AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT by Tela Bayamna Educational researchers are beginning to investigate the lived experiences of African immigrants in the United States. Very few studies documenting the experiences of West African immigrant women are available. Thus, existing literature on West African immigrants is not representative of all immigrants from this part of Africa. By exploring Togolese immigrant women’s migration and educational experiences in the United States, this study expands that literature. Using narrative inquiry methodology and feminist theories of gender identity and intersectionality, I explore the experiences of five Togolese immigrant women who recently pursued post-secondary education in colleges and universities in the United States. The study highlights the strategies Togolese immigrant women create and employ to navigate the patriarchal terrain in U.S. society as African women, as well as the educational system as Black women. This project offers insight to educators interested in improving the educational experiences for diverse students in their colleges and universities. The findings of this study offer guidance to African female immigrants and specifically Togolese female immigrants on how to navigate gender expectations about education and family in the United States. Given that Togolese immigrant women are not well represented in immigration literature, this study gives voice and visibility to an underexplored population. Keywords: Family, gender identity, patriarchy, gender roles, intersectionality, post- secondary education, Togolese immigrant women, African immigrant women POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF TOGOLESE IMMIGRANT WOMEN AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Educational Leadership by Tela Bayamna Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2017 Dissertation Director: Lisa Weems © Tela Bayamna 2017 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature…...……………………………………………….. 3 Chapter 3: Theoretical Frameworks.....………………………………………………… 16 Chapter 4: Methodology….………………….……………………………………….… 31 Chapter 5: Data Presentation and Analysis…..…………………………..…………….. 37 Chapter 6: Discussion..…….…………………………………………………………… 71 References……………………………………………………………………………… 82 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………... 89 iii Dedication To my mother, Kpagnida Bafaya, and my father, Siakou Bayamna, who guided and supported me to achieve the best in my life. The dedication goes specifically to my late father who did not live to see this day. iv Acknowledgments I express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Lisa Weems, for her patience, her encouragement, her flexibility, and her support. She helped me manage effectively the various barriers I encountered during my research and during the writing of the dissertation. I thank my dissertation committee: Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile, Dr. Thomas Poetter, Dr. Gwendolyn Etter- Lewis for their insightful comments, for their time, and for refining my editing skills and revising my work to minor details. I also want to thank Dr. Kelly Waldrop who helped editing. I am grateful to Dr. Kathleen Knight Abowitz, the chair of the Educational Leadership Department, who in many ways supported me and contributed to make this dream come true. I am also grateful to Dr. Kate Rousmaniere for her helpful comments and her insightful critiques, which guided my reflection. I thank Cindie Ulreich, the department’s administrative assistant, for being available whenever I needed any help. I acknowledge Dr. Mary Jane Berman, who always encouraged me with positive remarks on my work. I thank my brothers and sisters for their prayers and support. I also want to thank my husband Georges and my sons, Bill and Christopher, for supporting and bearing with me throughout this journey. v Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Purpose of the Study My interest in this topic is the result of my experience with gender expectations regarding education and family in Togo and in the United States as a graduate student and a working mother raising a family. Education, and specifically postsecondary education, is considered an essential component of sustainable development in Africa (Assie-Lumumba, 2007; Teferra & Altbachl, 2004). Women are recognized as key actors in the process of human development in Africa because of their responsibility for nurturing, upbringing, socialization, and education of their children (Browne & Barrett, 1991). However, social norms and values regarding gender expectations and identity impact educational outcomes. Tuwor and Sossou (2008) conducted a study on gender discrimination and education in West Africa and argue that, “girls in Togo are 20% less likely than boys to be enrolled in primary school, 25% less likely to reach high school and more than 50% less likely to enter University” (p. 370). Little research addresses the underrepresentation of women in post-secondary education in Africa and particularly in my nation of Togo. Research on female education in Africa includes issues such as female enrollment, retention, and participation in education and identifies socio-economic factors as the main factors that hinder female participation in schooling (Asimeng-Boaheme, 2006; Hyde, 1997; Leaper, Farkas, & Brown, 2012; Tuwor & Sossou, 2008). Research findings on African immigrant women experiences and specifically Togolese immigrant women experiences in the United States have received limited attention. Dion and Dion (2011) suggest that, “Studying the contribution of gender to immigrants’ experiences in the receiving society offers insights about the challenges confronting immigrant families” (p. 511). My curiosity with regards to the struggles of Togolese immigrant women in the United States led to this study. I wonder how Togolese immigrant women challenge gender discrimination. I ask myself what mechanisms or strategies Togolese immigrant women use to engage in oppositional action in their families. I wonder “what secrets, what practical advice and hard-earned wisdom, they might have shared with [me]. Wondering how like or unlike them [I am], how much our lives differ” (Bell-Scott & Johnson-Bailey, 1998, p. xv). I wonder what 1 experiences are common to Togolese immigrant women and what unexamined barriers may be inhibiting their participation in education in the United States and preventing them from enjoying their immigration. The purpose of this study was to understand how Togolese immigrant women make meaning of their experiences as gendered immigrants in the United States. The following research question guided my study: How do Togolese immigrant women negotiate gender expectations about education, culture, and family in the United States? 1.2 Significance of the Study Docquier, Lowell, and Marfouk (2009) suggest that women are poorly represented in immigration scholarship, and their invisibility is due to the fact that they “have long been viewed as dependents, moving as wives, mothers, or daughters of male migrants” (p. 297). Arthur (2009) also suggests another reason that explains the invisibility of women in immigration scholarship. In the view of Arthur (2009), African women are often invisible due to “being overshadowed by their male counterparts and immigrants from Latin America and Asia” (p. 2). This study is significant for a number of reasons. First, the experiences of Togolese immigrant women in the United States have not been studied. Thus, my research gives voice and visibility to an underexplored population. Second, it is important to explore the experiences of Togolese immigrant women to understand how they experience gender expectations about education, culture, and family and how those expectations affect them individually, their education, and, implicitly, their place in society. Third, no attention has been paid to whether Togolese women’s educations “remain secondary to their primary roles as wives, and under what structural conditions such changes take place” (Purkayastha, 2005, p. 181). Finally, with this study, I add to a larger body of knowledge about African female immigrants in the United States. This dissertation is organized into six chapters. The review of the literature in Chapter Two focuses on the background of gender politics in West Africa, education in Togo, im/migration, and international students in higher education. Chapter Three focuses on my theoretical framework of intersectional feminist theories. Chapter Four discusses the methodological approach used and makes an argument for the relevance of my method of inquiry. Chapter Five provides an interpretation of a brief life story of the participants. Chapter Six discusses the finding of the interviews in relation to the research topic. 2 Chapter Two: Review of the Literature 2.1 Gender Politics in West Africa The challenges that education faces in the 21st century in Africa include the low representation of women in more advanced levels of education, such as secondary education and higher education. For example, according to Daddieh (2007),

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