Female College Students Who Are Parents: Motivation Clarified by the Ages of Their Children

Abstract

The ages of student-parents' children are a defining factor for clarifying enrollment and persistence in the attainment of college degrees. A secondary factor for women's academic persistence (women with older children) is the dominance and control of males. The participants in this study were diverse, including student-parents most prominent in research who are single mothers living in poverty—both traditional and non-traditional aged—and those not found in existing literature: married students, those not living in poverty, and one grandparent raising her grandchildren. The findings suggest a need for further definition to understand who student-parents are and their motivations to persist toward degree attainment on two-year campuses.

Notes

*Sasha, raising grandchildren: male age 6 and female age 2 (outlier).

**Anna, eight-year-old son is special needs, developmentally age 3.

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