Colleges receive students from various backgrounds under different situations. The rise of single-student parents in colleges presents an opportunity to learn about the experiences of such students and compare them with other regular nonparent learners. An estimated 26 percent of all undergraduate students, or 4.8 million, are raising dependent children (Noll et al. 1). Women are disproportionately likely to be balancing college and parenthood, many without the support of a spouse or partner. Women make up 71 percent of all student parents, and roughly 2 million students, or 43 percent of the total student-parent population, are single mothers (Noll et al. 12). Single-student fathers comprise 11 percent of the student-parent population (Noll et al. 9). A review of some of the available literature, for instance, a study by Wekullo (334), indicates that single-parent students received more social support from friends, parents, government, and non-governmental organizations. The study portrays that single-parent students face fewer challenges while at college. Though student single parents enjoy support from various programs compared to traditional ones, they have challenges in unmet needs, time demands, and emotional support, among other challenges.
Mainstream college institutional models of academic experience may be indifferent to the needs of a diverse society in which cultural strands of experience are unique, such as those represented by single-parent students. These students concurrently serve as heads of households with dependent children. Further, single-student mothers may be unable to compete academically with those who are fully resourced, minus the additional responsibilities of fulfilling parenting roles and working full-time.
Student single parents often face significant financial challenges that can impede their college completion. These students not only have to survive with one income but also split it between caring for their children and themselves and caring for their academic and financial needs. According to the report, an estimated 89% of single mothers in college have low incomes; 63% live at or below 100% of the federal poverty level ( Gault. 1). A large majority of single mothers cannot contribute to college costs: 81% report an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $0 to twice the share of married mothers (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 4). According to a report by Noll et al. (7), single student parents are nearly 50 percent more likely than independent nonparents to have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $0: 61 percent compared with 41 percent, respectively. The disparity in EFC can be seen across the United States: in every region, more than half of undergraduate students with dependent children have no money to contribute to college. The Southeast region stands out, with nearly 65% of parents with a $0 EFC (Noll et al. 9). This situation indicates that they have no income from their families to cover college-related expenses.
The unmet need is the amount a student must pay out-of-pocket to cover college expenses after family contributions, grants, and need-based aid are considered. Single mothers in college face costs that non-parenting students do not have. Childcare, for example, can pose a significant financial challenge for all student parents, especially for single student mothers. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (22) reports that even after accounting for all financial aid, scholarships, family support, and income from employment, student parents have a median of $4,400 in unmet financial need, nearly $2,000 more than students without children (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2). Single mother students are in even deeper financial straits, with $5,500 unmet financial needs. According to research from Goldrick-Rab et al. (16), 68 percent of students with children reported experiencing housing insecurity in the past year, and 17 percent reported homelessness. An estimated 53% of single student mother’s half reported food insecurity (Institute for Women’s Policy Research (3). These factors show the challenges single-parent students have to undergo to attend college.
Dependent care takes up many single students’ mothers’ times, which can compromise their academic success. Single-student mothers may need to be absent more frequently due to sick children and the inability to attend traditional day classes. The absence is because they need to work to support dependents, while evening study time may be consumed with feeding families, assisting with homework, and readying children for bed.
These factors significantly complicate matriculation issues and lead to the attrition of single-mother students in higher educational endeavors. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (4), more than 60 percent of single-student mothers report spending at least 30 hours per week caring for children. Balancing coursework with parenting can make persisting in college difficult. An estimated 43% of women at two-year colleges who live with dependents say that they are likely or very likely to drop out of school due to their dependent care obligations (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 5). Many single mothers work in addition to attending school and caring for children. Working while pursuing higher education can negatively affect college outcomes, including grade point average, persistence, time to degree, and degree attainment.
Single mothers in college have to work odd jobs and do it for long hours to pay their fees. As a result, they have little time to spend with their children. A majority may feel inadequate as mothers for not spending enough time with their children and not being able to give their children a better lifestyle, especially for those whose income does not allow them the luxuries of life. All these factors create a sense of inadequacy and cause high stress levels.
In addition to structural barriers faced by single-parent female students in which unique costs are faced, the academic skills of underprepared single mothers exhibit vital deficits. This situation leaves the students unable to compete at the college level, particularly in essential reading, writing, and mathematics areas. Backgrounds deficient in traditional learning media and limited higher education, coupled with significant obligations to family and community, may impede the academic progress of parenting single-mother students. For many single-parent student mothers, sources of support are scarce. According to a study by Rubamande and Mukadi (22), single-parent students faced financial adversity, lack of socialization, deficiency of guidance and counseling, and insufficient emotional support, which led to poor performance and dropping out of college. Additionally, program parameters like full course loads, which result in four-year program completion and limited absence allowance, may need to be more balanced with the added variables of parenthood and work responsibilities.
Another challenge facing single-parent students is substantial time demands. According to Noll et al. (7), Compounding the financial challenges, students with children grapple with significant demands on their time. In addition to time spent in class and studying, most student parents juggle paid work and substantial time caring for children. Student parents often work while in school to make ends meet. Coupled with the time needed to meet family obligations, the demands of working while in college can further limit student parents’ time to focus on coursework, spend time with their children, sleep, or have time to themselves. A survey by Vyskocil (97) found that regarding workloads commensurate with pursuing higher educational degrees, 11 respondents worked 10-20 hours per week, while seven worked 20-40 hours per week. As workloads impact success at all levels of the educational enterprise, the presence or absence of support can significantly impact a single-parent student mother’s workload. The absence of adequate financial aid or support from co-parents can result in the necessity of full-time external employment. Additionally, the time demands of jobs can compete with the time demands needed to parent and perform as a student.
Different arguments have been brought forward regarding how single-parent students find life attending college. Based on the available literature, there is little evidence showing that single-parent students find life easier in college. Though some evidence exists that different government programs, among other non-governmental interventions, tend to cater to this group specifically, it is still inadequate. The level of Expected Family Contribution for single-parent students still needs to be higher, indicating the persistence of funding problems. Additionally, the fact that single-parent students have to keep up with substantial time claims to meet the demands of college, family, and jobs indicates the challenging situations single-parent students must undergo to fulfill their academic aspirations. Therefore, based on the available evidence, it is prudent to rule that it is challenging for single-parent students to attend college.
Works Cited
Gault, Barbara. “Investing in Single Mothers’ Higher Education: Costs and Benefits to Individuals, Families, and Society.” Education Resources Information Center, Education Resources Information Center, 2018, Web.
Goldrick-Rab, Sara, et al. “Parenting While in College: Basic Needs Insecurity Among Students with Children.” The Hope Centre, The Hope Centre, 2020, Web.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). “Education Resources Information Center.” Student Parents in the COVID-19 Pandemic, ERIC, 2020, Web.
Noll, Elizabeth, et al. “College Students with Children National and Regional Profiles.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2017, Web.
Rubamande, Neema, and Marcel Mukadi. “Challenges Single Parented Students Face on Education Attainment in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania.” American Journal of Education and Information Technology, Science Publishing Group, Web. Web.
Vyskocil, Gina. “Challenges Needs and Experiences of Single Parent Student Mothers in Higher Education.” CSUSB ScholarWorks, California State University, 2018, Web.
We Kullo, Caroline Sabina. “International Undergraduate Student Engagement: Implications for Higher Education Administrators.” Journal of International Students, vol. 9, no. 1, 2019, pp. 320–337., Web.