Date
12-19-2023
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Heather Strafaccia
Keywords
human capital, human capital development, family life education, leadership development, graduate school students
Disciplines
Education | Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Ngulefac, Francis, "Exploring the Lived Experiences of Graduate School Students on Developing Human Capital through Family Life Education and Leadership Development" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5090.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5090
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of graduate school students on developing human capital through family life education and leadership development in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. The theory that informed this study is the human capital theory, which postulates that human beings can improve upon their productive capacity by pursuing further education and acquiring more work-related skills and experience. Thus, this study explored the lived experiences of graduate school students in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area concerning this theory. I recruited 12 graduate school students living in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area in an accredited graduate school program in the United States. The data was collected through individual and focused-group interviews. A third approach of data collection used was journaling to triangulate the data. The interviews were audio-recorded, manually transcribed, and electronically stored in a laptop computer with a personal protective password. The transcribed data was then coded, and relevant themes and subthemes were developed. The findings from this study indicated that human capital development inevitably leads to a successful and more fulfilled life; family life education and leadership development enable individuals to become more successful in their families and careers; time, energy, and money are major investments in the pursuit of human capital development; the lack of money, the lack of adequate time, and the lack of personal motivation are major limitations that graduate school students face as they pursue human capital development; and that family members, the church community, and college professors are key support systems for graduate school students as they pursue human capital development.
