Single parent student live experiences
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Single Parent Student Live Experiences
Challenges Faced by Single Parent Students
Balancing Roles and Responsibilities
Single parent students often face significant challenges in balancing their roles as both parents and students. The constant juggling of responsibilities can lead to feelings of stress and isolation. For instance, single-parent students in community colleges reported experiencing a "constant balancing act" where they had to manage teaching, homework, learning, and parenting simultaneously, often at the expense of their social lives. Similarly, single mothers in nursing programs reported chronic tiredness and overwhelming worries, although they found their university experience to be health-promoting and self-esteem boosting.
Organizational Barriers and Negative Climates
Single-parent undergraduates often encounter organizational barriers and negative climates within educational institutions. These barriers can adversely affect their collegiate experience and retention rates. Research using feminist-informed focus groups highlighted the need for institutional changes to better support single-parent students. Additionally, the lack of tailored support services and parent-friendly activities further exacerbates their challenges.
Financial Constraints and Societal Perceptions
Financial constraints are a common issue for single-parent students, often leading to additional stress and difficulties in managing their academic and parental responsibilities. Societal perceptions and stigmas associated with single parenthood can also negatively impact their educational experiences. Interviews with secondary school students from single-parent households revealed challenges such as lack of parental guidance, financial constraints, and societal perceptions, which affected their academic performance and overall well-being.
Coping Mechanisms and Support Systems
Institutional Support and Recommendations
To improve the experiences of single-parent students, several recommendations have been proposed. Universities should collect data on student parents to provide tailored support services. Collaborations with Student Unions to ensure parent-friendly activities and the introduction of accessible, flexible, and discounted childcare on campus are also crucial. Implementing student-parent homework support groups and family-friendly social activities can help alleviate some of the stress and isolation experienced by single-parent students.
Personal Coping Strategies
Single-parent students employ various personal coping strategies to manage their dual roles. These include talking to someone, listening to music, expressive writing, becoming more independent, and feeling grateful. Additionally, the support from extended family members, such as parents, plays a significant role in helping single-parent students cope with their responsibilities at home and school.
Impact on Children from Single-Parent Households
Academic Performance and Behavioral Tendencies
Children from single-parent households often face academic and behavioral challenges. Studies have shown that these children tend to perform academically lower than their peers from two-parent families. They may also exhibit more submissive or aggressive behaviors and are less assertive. The educational performance of children from single-parent families is further affected by the school's share of single-parent families, with higher shares leading to poorer performance.
Long-Term Effects
The long-term effects of growing up in a single-parent household include lower educational attainment and higher unemployment rates in late adolescence and early adulthood. These children are also more likely to bear children outside of marriage. The lack of parental supervision and support, coupled with socioeconomic disadvantages, contributes to these outcomes.
Conclusion
Single-parent students face a myriad of challenges that impact their academic and personal lives. Balancing the dual roles of parent and student, dealing with financial constraints, and navigating societal perceptions are significant hurdles. However, with institutional support, tailored services, and personal coping strategies, these students can better manage their responsibilities and improve their educational experiences. Addressing the needs of single-parent students not only benefits them but also positively impacts their children's academic and behavioral outcomes.
Sources and full results
Most relevant research papers on this topic
‘It has been an uphill battle from the get go’: The experiences of single parents studying at university in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
Going At It Alone: Single-Mother Undergraduate's Experiences
Community College Single-Parent Students’ Angst: Inequities Balancing Roles as Parent and Student
Students From Single-Parent Households: Their Issues & Challenges
Managing family life while studying: Single mothers’ lived experience of being students in a nursing program
Stories of Single Student-Mothers and Their Coping at Home and at School
Behavioral tendencies of single parent students
Single parent students: Obstacles and opportunities
Growing up with a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps
Single-parent family forms and children’s educational performance in a comparative perspective: effects of school’s share of single-parent families
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