Date of Award
12-12-2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
David Holman
Committee Members
Daniel O'Meara; Joseph Nichols; Steve Bounds
Call Number
LD 251 .A566d 2017 S26
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to increase the contextual knowledge of the impact of student loan debt on educators by examining their experiences of student loan debt during repayment, the perception of indebtedness, the altered meaning of education, and essence of student loan debt. Semi-structured, 30-60 minute, in-depth interviews were utilized to collect data with the study employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyze the experience of repaying student loan debt. The criterion sample consisted of educators employed within full-time instruction of students at primary, secondary, or post-secondary institutions with over $30,000 in student loan debt who had actively repaid student loan debt. The study found the experience of repaying student loan debt to be marked with four exclusive yet mutually dependent dimensions of the burden of debt: financial, psychological, social, and familial. The perception of indebtedness is stained with participants holding overly negative perceptions of debt when discussing the burden of debt; however, two essential themes serve to justify the consequences of debt: debt necessity and intrinsic motivation. Despite a measure of regret for educational and occupational choice, the meaning of the participants’ education did not change due to the burden of debt; rather, the participants remained pleased with their education because of the investment in self student loan debt provided. Two of the more intriguing findings of the study included the phenomenon of debt acceptance, a defense mechanism to alleviate the burden of debt; and the emergence of the importance of the burden of payment rather than aggregate debt totals. Contrary to previous research, the experience of student loan debt is not determined by the total amount owed; rather, the monthly payment amount determines the impact of student loan debt on the everyday experience of life after graduation. The study concludes the experience of student loan debt is impactful upon educators, however, the necessity of debt, intrinsic motivation, and investment in self justify the consequences of repaying student loan debt.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Sanders, Heath Ryan, "Student Loan Debt: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of the Impact of Indebtedness on the Lived Experience of Educators" (2017). Student Theses and Dissertations. 553.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/553
