Lone parents and Higher - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Lone parents and Higher Education“I feel like I've got a finger in the University, whereas everybody else has got their whole body in it”.

Reema Muneer, Dr Lucy Spowart and Mel JoynerSlide2

University of PlymouthSlide3

7- 8% of Full Time students in HE and as many as 40% in Further Education Colleges are student parentsWomen, mature, BMELone parents are a significant minority65% of lone parents respondents had thought about leaving their course

(NUS, 2009)

BackgroundSlide4

Mature students and student parents similar - academically motivated - limited geographical mobility, - at risk of financial hardship (Edwards,1993; Reay, 2003

, Yorke, 2004)

Greedy institutions (Coser,1974; Hinton-Smith, 2008)Parental responsibilities make student parents’ experiences unique (

Reay, 2003) Not all student parents are mature students

BackgroundSlide5

To explore the experiences and aspirations of single parentsSpecifically focusing on issues relating to motivation, transition, study and support

Research AimSlide6

The macro-social level policies and cultures at a national levelThe meso

-social level institutional levelThe

micro-social level how individuals construct and position themselves

their social world.(Crompton 1999, Moreau & Kerner, 2012)

Institutional approach Universal/ care-blind, Targeted, Mainstreamed (Moreau, 2016)

MethodologySlide7

Stage 1: Literature & Policy Review

Stage 2: Focus groups with students to establish key themes of relevance.

Stage 3: Online questionnaire (n=119)Stage 4: Semi-structured interviews (n=8)

Research design and methodsSlide8

93% of the single parents who responded were mature students

All, except three, were studying full time.

All, except three, were home/EU students.16% students with additional support

needs33% in paid work during their programme43% commuted more than 20 miles to university

113 F , 6 M

Lone parents at PUSlide9

Lone parents at PU

Percentage of students Slide10

Employability focussedBetter quality life, getting off benefits

Second chance to realise ambition

Reconstruct perception of self, role model to their children“making a difference”

MotivationSlide11

I don’t think I would have done it [gone to uni] before ….I just want

to better my life really for our future and financially be able to afford to live …because I

don’t really want to be on benefits for the rest of my life and hopefully, you know,

he will follow in my footsteps and go to University when he’s older. (Education Studies)

MotivationSlide12

I am intelligent and love academia. It's been unbelievably difficult time management and finance wise, but I don't give up easily. There have been a few close calls where I may have had to quit and I'm in a lot of debt but I'm

planning for it to be better in the long run. (survey respondent)

MotivationSlide13

ChallengesChildcareFinancesTime Stress, guilt

ChallengesSlide14

I’ve got some really great mates and they’ll always be mates as a result of university, so that’s been a bonus, and have made some really good relationships with the lecturers as a result of me being a mature student, and it’s just great, I

just love coming into uni, I spend a lot of time in the library, I just have a real thirst for university and for learning more, and the

chances are I’ll probably stay on and do a postgrad. (Sociology)

Sense of belongingSlide15

So I can literally, compared to everybody else, I feel like I've got a finger in the University, whereas everybody else has got their whole body in it. (Adult

Nursing)the University does offer a lot,

but it's almost like you have to have blinkers on, because you can't take any of those opportunities up, so it's kind of a bit like, well, it's better not to know about them, if you know what I mean, so kind of like try to limit yourself a bit more. (Adult Nursing)

Sense of belongingSlide16

I knew within the first term that I got here that I would never get the marks that my friends got, I would never be able to put the extra time in, I would never be able to be top of my class, I'd never be able to achieve what I wanted to achieve, because I understood pretty quickly that, where they can sort of go home and have tea and start work and then have a break, I really can't do

that. (Adult Nursing)

Sense of belongingSlide17

Teaching and learning

How often

do the following aspects pose a challenge to you?

Percentage of students Slide18

To what extent do placements pose a challenge to you ?

Percentage of students Slide19

So I must live in that area, so this means my daughter will be home alone and I track her on the internet… (International student)

They made it clear from the interview on what to expect so I knew what I was letting myself in for.

(survey respondent)

PlacementsSlide20

Mainstreaming approach Normalising single parents Identify student parents, single parents

Campus culture

Websites/pamphlets representative of student body SU

‘Family friendly’ event and spaces, Campus fairs Activities for children especially when organising academic/professional

events outside normal university hours Review policies around children on campus

What next ?Slide21

2. Increasing and strengthening points of support Personal tutorsfirst year I

really, really struggled. Well I went to the exams and I did them normally, and because of the fibro side of it my memory just went completely and I came out of the second exam and I was pretty much in tears and I went straight up to [name] and

I said to if it’s going to be like this I’m not going to be able to do it, I’ll have to quit

(Law)Single parent network, SU representativeYou know, something where there's some kind of

small community or meeting once a month for single parents or something, to talk about how they manage, really, how they're managing to get around things, whether it be childcare and sharing that information or just their routines, you know, but an opportunity to sit down with people and offload that anxiety. (

Social Work)Mature student mentoring scheme

What next ?Slide22

3. Teaching and LearningPlenty of warning – targeted information before coming to university about course timetable, placements, childcare options etc.

Flexibility in provision Reading weeks that tie in with school half-terms

Well-spaced out assessments and avoiding assignment deadlines after school holidays

Dedicated study days

What next ?Slide23

1. What is your institution’s/ department’s approach to supporting single parents ? (care-blind, targeted, mainstreamed)2. What are some more ways we as a sector can make higher education more inclusive and family-friendly ?

DiscussionSlide24

Coser, L. (1974) Greedy institutions. (New York, Free Press).Crompton, R., ed. (1999) Restructuring Gender Relations and Employment: The

Decline of the Male Breadwinner. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Edwards, R. (1993) Mature women students: Separating or connecting family and education. London, Taylor & Francis.

Hinton-Smith, T (2009) Lone parents as HE students: a qualitative email study. (doctoral thesis). University of Sussex.

Hinton‐Smith, T. (2016). Negotiating the risk of debt‐financed higher education: The experience of lone parent students. British Educational Research Journal, 42(2), 207-222.Moreau, M. P., & Kerner

, C. (2012) Supporting student parents in higher education: A policy perspective. London: Nuffield Foundation. Moreau, M. P. (2016) Regulating the student body/ies: University policies and student parents. British Educational Research Journal. 42(5) 906-925.

NUS (2009) Meet the parents: The experience of students with children in further and higher education. London, National Union of Students.Reay, D (2003) A risky business? Mature working-class women students and access to higher education

, Gender & Education, 15(3), 301–317.

References