A Study of Interactive Experiences of Couples Working in the Same Schools: A Dyadic Perspective

• Main Authors: Li,Fang-Chi, 李方淇
• Other Authors: Chao, Shu-Chu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/r9t69k

碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 輔導與諮商學系 === 106 === This study is a qualitative research conducted through narrative analysis. By studying the interactive experiences of married couples who work in the same schools from a dyadic perspective, we discuss 1) their interaction patterns, 2) how working in the same school affects their relationships, and 3) their experiences working together from a gender perspective. The participants of this study are three married couples who have worked in the same schools for seven to eighteen years as certified teachers. Their ages range from thirty-five to forty-seven years old and all three couples have children. Each couple went through a semi-structured interview where both spouses participated in a two to three hours couple interview, and then a two to three hour individual interview. From the interviews conducted in the study, we have found these outcomes. 1. The couples’ interaction patterns changed when one of the spouses accepted a different position. In general, the wives had more marital power over the husbands before the position change. However, the husbands gained more marital power after the change of position. 2. Between intimate relationship in the private sphere and professional development in the public sphere, the couples found it difficult to define their roles and identify role boundaries. 1) The wives were more likely to face the dilemma of preserving intimacy with their spouses or having autonomy at work, and tended to sacrifice opportunities to professionally and socially improve. Also, the liquidity of the sacrifice behavior had a great impact on how the spouses interacted with each other, and further created a circular interaction process. 2) Gendered division of labor deeply influenced the couples in the public sphere where the husbands prioritized their jobs and the wives prioritized their husbands’ jobs. 3) Because of the diffuse work-family boundaries, the emotional permeability between the spouses was greater. The husbands were more likely to be influenced by negative emotions of their spouses than the wives. 3. Couples working in the same schools influenced their marriages positively and negatively at the level of individual and the level of relationship. Positive impacts at the level of individual included the willingness of sharing resources with spouses, the protectiveness of the husbands, and husbands prioritizing wives’ work. Negative impacts at the individual level were that the wives encountered social relationship issues, had higher role expectation of the husbands, and lost personal autonomy. Also, the husbands did not prioritize their spouses’ needs. At the level of relationship, supportive factors encompassed the transparency and stability of relationship, higher cohesiveness, increased intimacy, and frequent communication. The unsupportive factors at the relationship level were negative emotional permeability and monotonous conversation topics. All the supportive and unsupportive factors were interrelated and influential to one another. 　The results found in this study will provide resources and suggestions for future research and practice in the field of marriage and family therapy.