ERIC Number: ED641645
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 215
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-7621-9742-7
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Experiences of Low-Income Student-Parents at a Community College during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
Marlena Yvonne Jarboe
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Old Dominion University
Twenty-two percent of United States undergraduate students are parents (Cruse, et al., 2020). Referred to as student-parents, they are most likely to have low-incomes and attend community colleges (Cruse, et al., 2019; Gault et al., 2014). They tend to reduce their course loads and drop out of college due to work-life balance challenges even though they typically have better grade point averages than their non-parent peers (Cruse et al., 2019; Manze, et al., 2021; Peterson, 2016). The problem to be addressed was how community college instructors, leaders, and legislators can support low-income student-parents' persistence toward a postsecondary credential. There is a gap in the research about how the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic is impacting this large student population. Before the Pandemic, low-income student-parents already had financial insecurities with food, housing, and childcare (Baker-Smith et al., 2020). Now there are many more obstacles with school closures, lay-offs, and lack of childcare (Cruse et al., 2020). This qualitative, phenomenological study focuses on the phenomenon of student-parents' experiences at a community college during Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. Using reflective lifeworld research guided by van Manen's (2016) hermeneutic phenomenology thematic analysis (Vagle, 2018), I discovered four themes: (1) "Student-Parents Postsecondary Credential Completion Often Interrupted"; (2) "Student-Parents Need Mental Health Support"; and (3) "Student-Parents Need More Financial Support and Education"; and (4) "Instructor Interaction, Support Services, and Course Delivery Methods are Essential to Student-Parents' Postsecondary Persistence." Recommendations include how community college leaders can help increase persistence through a family friendly campus, childcare options, mental health support, flexible class schedules, and additional support services. Suggestions for legislators include reducing barriers to obtain and maintain social services funding assistance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Low Income Students, Parents, Community College Students, COVID-19, Pandemics, Academic Persistence, Student Experience, Student Role, Parent Role
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A