College Students as Parents

Abstract

Higher education demographics compose a continuously evolving area of study. At one time, the trend was toward greater numbers of non-traditional students, meaning those returning to college later in life than the customary period of late teens and early twenties. More recently, researchers have noted increasing numbers of college students who are raising children while attending school. This situation presents a unique set of challenges, which many institutions are beginning to consider as they design support services to help their students succeed.

Overview

Higher education, for better or worse, has become big business. Institutions from community colleges to undergraduate and graduate universities are increasingly coming into competition with one another as they seek to attract and retain students. Part of these efforts involve learning as much as possible about contemporary college students—their perspectives, needs, expectations, and so forth. This information gives colleges and universities an edge as they try to attract and keep more students. One group that has been identified through these efforts consists of college students who are raising children of their own while pursuing their studies. The traditional expectation of many higher education institutions, which goes back several decades, is that students are young (18–22), single, childless, and going to school full time rather than balancing work and school. This is the "traditional" student against which students are compared, and for whom many services were originally designed. College students who are parents differ considerably from this model, and as a result they have needs that the traditional model does not serve. Colleges and universities have therefore begun studying this group to find out what factors make their journey most difficult, and what types of support would be most beneficial (van Rhijn & Lero, 2014).

A number of insights about parents attending college have emerged. To begin with, the group is quite large; looking at all types of institutions, more than one out of every four students is caring for at least one dependent child. Most parents in college are single, meaning that they must bear the full burden of childrearing for at least part of the time (in the case of those with shared custody). Parents in college are much more likely to be female than male, because of the tendency for young children to receive most of their care from the mother. There is considerable variation in the rates of college student childrearing across ethnic groups. African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans have the highest rates of single mothers in college, while Whites and Asian Americans have the lowest rates. Thus, the increased burden of raising children while attending college is one that disproportionately affects women of color (Nichols, Biederman & Gringle, 2017).

The difficulties of childrearing as a college student are many. Expenses are greater than they are for students who are single and childless, because there are more people being fed, clothed, and sheltered. These expenses often mean that the parenting student must work full- or part-time in addition to attending classes, which causes more stress and takes away time from childcare and studying. Time is perhaps the most valuable commodity for the parenting student. Unlike a traditional student, who can use time not spent in class to study, a parenting student often must devote some of the hours outside class to working and caring for children.

These stressors take their toll. Parenting students have lower retention rates, meaning they are much less likely than non-parents to finish an undergraduate degree within six years of starting. Parenting students also carry much higher levels of student debt than their childless peers, due to the greater expenses they face, and are more likely to have lower incomes after graduating. It is common for them to have an expected family contribution of zero (Henry, Mitcham & Henry, 2013).

Further Insights

Traditionally, sociologists have studied the phenomenon of the work-family conflict, in which adults find themselves struggling to meet the needs imposed by two distinct spheres of life: work and family. Both demand time and attention, and there are few if any activities that fulfill both sets of demands at the same time. This means that a person must divide time between the two realms, giving rise to conflict as the needs of each interfere with the other from time to time. At present, the work-family conflict remains a major source of difficulty, but it has been joined by the college-family conflict, in which a person attending college must balance family and academic commitments. College-family conflicts are particularly difficult to manage when young children are involved, because the greater care they require allows for less flexibility on the part of the student parent. Some student parents are even confronted by a combination of all three factors: work, family, and college (Wilson & Cox, 2011).

Colleges and universities are struggling to meet the needs of student parents, yet there remain areas seriously in need of attention. The foremost of these concerns the availability of childcare for students who need it in order to be able to attend their classes. Across all sectors of the economy, affordable, high quality childcare for children too young to attend school, as well as after school care for those who do attend, is a major concern. Many people who are employed full time find it difficult or impossible to locate childcare that is available when they need it and at a price they can pay. It is not uncommon for parents to find that it makes more financial sense for one parent to stay at home with the children, because even if that parent were to work full time, the cost of childcare can exceed the amount that would be earned by the labor that makes the childcare necessary. This is particularly true in the case of college students, who must often work part time and at low wages. To assist with this, many colleges and universities offer free or subsidized childcare at their own facilities.

The number of such childcare options is decreasing, however, despite the growing need for them. Fewer and fewer community colleges make childcare available to their students, even though community colleges tend to have the most student parents of any type of college or university. Even at institutions that do have childcare centers to offer, these centers typically have long waiting lists because there are far more children in need of care than there are openings. In some cases, these waiting lists come with an ironic twist, as institutional policy may require a student to be enrolled in order to be placed on the childcare waiting list, even though it may not be possible for a student to attend without first securing childcare (Beeler, 2016).

Issues

Childcare. An indirect consequence of declines in support for student parents can be seen by analyzing the numbers of women who pursue careers in the STEM fields (science, technology, mathematics). Historically, males have been more encouraged than females to enter these fields. This has caused many educators to make special efforts to increase the numbers of girls and women exposed to these subjects and to assist them in entering careers in these areas. At the same time, the challenges of student parents, as noted above, tend to fall disproportionately on women, who for cultural and societal reasons are more likely to be a child's primary caregiver. Therefore, colleges and universities that fail to adequately address the needs of student parents see lower levels of enrollment in STEM classes by women, thus exacerbating the very problem that educators, career counselors, and recruiters are working to correct (Peterson, 2016).

Given the many difficulties faced by student parents, it is natural to wonder what factors motivate them to attempt to complete their studies while raising their children. Research has shown that the most common motivational factor reported by student parents is related to the very children whose needs make higher education so challenging. Student parents are more likely than those who are similarly situated, but childless, to pursue higher education. This is because higher education has long been seen as the most reliable path to attaining higher levels of income, greater job satisfaction and security, and better prospects for the future. This makes higher education an obvious choice for parents, then, because their primary concern is providing a safe and enriching environment in which their children may develop (Brooks, 2013).

Coping Strategies. The types of coping strategies used by student parents to manage their competing responsibilities vary considerably. Many student parents report that one of the skills they most rely upon is the ability to prioritize the demands placed upon them effectively and realistically. Failing to do so means succumbing to stressors, as one feels that every single task on one's plate is an emergency that must be given top priority, whether it is paying bills, attending parent-teacher conferences, or studying for an exam. Prioritizing allows one to adopt a more practical view of competing demands, discerning what is truly important for the long term from what appears important in the moment (Keyes, 2017).

An equally valuable skill is the ability to tolerate imperfection. Student parents are people who are willing to work harder than most in order to have a better life for themselves and their children, so they tend to have expectations and standards of performance for themselves that are higher than average. This can become problematic even in the best of times, but may quickly become impossible to sustain when balancing parenting, school, work, and other obligations. Many student parents report that there came a time in their academic career when they had to adopt as their goal the production of work that was "good enough" rather than perfect. Doing this freed them from the tendency to relentlessly criticize themselves to the point of paralysis, and instead concentrate on doing their best under the circumstances.

A closely related skill that student parents frequently describe is learning to seek out assistance and, when necessary, ask for it or even demand it. This approach sounds simple yet is challenging in practice. Assistance can take many forms, from asking a professor for an extension on the due date of an assignment to requesting help with childcare from family members or university services.

Some gaps in services and supports that student parents encounter are due to known shortages of time, money, or other resources, but others exist simply because no one at the college or university is aware of the need for them. Change naturally takes time, but many student parents report their surprise at the willingness of their institutions to develop new programs to assist those in need. For example, after learning from student parents about the difficulties they experience in applying for various forms of financial assistance, some institutions have created student benefit centers, staffed by employees who can help student parents learn about services that are available to them, and help them apply to receive this aid (Lovell, 2014).

Conflicting Commitments. Recent research has focused more closely on the specific mechanics of student parents' difficulties, as well as on the psychological strategies they use to resolve them. Researchers note that for those balancing work, family, and school, it is often the case that one of these areas is more problematic than the others. For instance, it might be that one's family and work life is stable and supportive, yet one has a very demanding professor. Or, school and home might be on track while work is challenging because of the need to take time off to study or care for children.

Curiously, it appears that a student parent tends to suffer different types of consequences, depending on which area is causing conflict. When there is conflict between work and school, the student parent tends to experience anxiety about being able to remain employed. On the other hand, when family and school are in conflict, the most common result is depression, as the student sees no way to accomplish all that needs to be done (Estes, 2011). Understanding how the mind and body respond to different types and different sources of stress is important for those tasked with designing services to better treat the symptoms of stress induced by role conflict, and to design programs that can prevent the worst of the conflicts from arising in the first place. This is vital, because student parents often possess qualities that are highly desirable in the workplace and in society in general. Supporting their education, therefore, is something that benefits everyone.

Terms & Concepts

Educational Attainment: Educational attainment is a description of the highest level of education a person has completed, whether this is high school, undergraduate, or graduate school. The average educational attainment of different demographic groups is sometimes compared in order to measure access to opportunity.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC): For students receiving financial aid, the EFC is the portion of their educational costs they are responsible for paying "out of pocket" rather than with financial aid. For many student parents, their EFC is zero because they are entirely reliant upon financial aid.

First Generation College Student: A student who is part of the first generation of his or her family to attend college. Student parents are more likely to be first generation college students, meaning that they face the additional hurdle of not having a family member who has been to college to guide them, offer advice, let them know what to expect, and so forth.

For-Profit College: A college or university that is operated by a business in the hope of generating income, rather than by a nonprofit organization. For-profit colleges often charge higher tuition and have lower admission requirements than nonprofit colleges, and student parents are more likely to attend for-profit institutions.

Non-traditional Student: A student who differs in some way from the customary expectation of a person in their late teens to early twenties, without children or employment. Most non-traditional students are older and are employed.

Retention: Retention is a measure of the percentage of students who remain enrolled at a college or university, rather than dropping out or being dismissed. Student parents often have lower rates of retention due to the many challenges they face while pursuing an education.

Bibliography

Beeler, S. (2016). Undergraduate single mothers' experiences in postsecondary education. New Directions for Higher Education, 2016(176), 69–80. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=119974976&site=ehost-live

Brooks, R. (2013). Negotiating time and space for study: Student-parents and familial relationships. Sociology, 47(3), 443–459.

Estes, D. K. (2011). Managing the student-parent dilemma: Mothers and fathers in higher education. Symbolic Interaction, 34(2), 198–219.

Henry, W. J., Mitcham, M. A., & Henry, L. M. (2013). Conflict resolution strategies adopted from parenting coordination: Assisting high-conflict coparenting students. Journal of College Counseling, 16(2), 176–190. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=88823958&site=ehost-live

Keyes, K. (2017). Welcoming spaces: Supporting parenting students at the academic library. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 43(4), 319–328. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=124935967&site=ehost-live

Lovell, E. D. (2014). College students who are parents need equitable services for retention. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 16(2), 187–202. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=99113612&site=ehost-live

Nichols, T. R., Biederman, D. J., & Gringle, M. R. (2017). Organizational culture and university responses to parenting students: A case study. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 54(1), 69–81. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=121469709&site=ehost-live

Peterson, S. (2016). Community college student-parents: Priorities for persistence. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 40(5), 370-384.

van Rhijn, T. M., & Lero, D. S. (2014). The influence of self-efficacy beliefs for student parents attending university. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(4), 541–555. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=96920509&site=ehost-live

Wilson, K. B., & Cox, E. M. (2011). No kids allowed: Transforming community colleges to support mothering. NASPA Journal about Women in Higher Education, 4(2), 218–241.

Suggested Reading

Blum, M. (2004). "But I have a bigger future than I thought": The failure and success of the student parent MFIP program. Women's Studies Quarterly, 32(1/2), 163–178. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=14181666&site=ehost-live

Brown, V., & Nichols, T. R. (2013). Pregnant and parenting students on campus: Policy and program implications for a growing population. Educational Policy, 27(3), 499–-530. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=86919767&site=ehost-live

Fadale, L. M., & Winter, G. M. (1991). Campus-based child care and the academic success of student-parents. Community/Junior College Quarterly of Research and Practice, 15(2), 115–23.

Kulp, A. M. (2016). The effects of parenthood during graduate school on PhD recipients' paths to the professoriate: A focus on motherhood. New Directions for Higher Education, 2016(176), 81–95. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=119974975&site=ehost-live

Lovell, E. D. (2014). Female college students who are parents: Motivation clarified by the ages of their children. Community College Journal of Research & Practice, 38(4), 370–374.

van Rhijn, T. M., Quosai, T. S., & Lero, D. S. (2011). A profile of undergraduate student parents in Canada. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 41(3), 59–80. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=71876083&site=ehost-live