Higher education helps single mothers become effective role models

ABSTRACT

Single mothers living in poverty face numerous challenges raising their children. Their environs, limited free time, and difficulties negotiating daily life are obstacles that programmes attempt to circumvent by helping their children break free from the cycle of poverty. These issues are discussed in literature on the importance of increasing social and economic mobility through improved access to higher education. This research examined, from their children's perspective, the significance of an academic programme designed to achieve that goal for single mothers coping with poverty in the Northern Israel periphery. In-depth interviews with their children revealed distinct characteristics of the mothers' modelling fostered by their new identity as college students. Mother-child collaboration was created based upon common learning tasks. From the children's descriptions emerge values and activities they identified as meaningful in their mothers' lives, improving her situation and defining her as successful. Older children described a new dialogue characterising their relationship. The dialogue, based on mutual admiration, drew upon topics from the mother's academic world and stimulation of personal and social activism. These findings contribute a theoretical aspect to the definition of modelling – learning from the other – and elucidate influences of higher education on single mothers from their children's perspective.

KEYWORDS:

• Modelling
• single mothers
• cycle of poverty
• higher education
• self-efficacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Zeev Greenberg, Phd, Human Geographer, head of the Human resources department at Tel-Hai College. Main topics of study include economic and social development, entrepreneurship and the influences of economic changes on rural communities, migration of new residents and building a sense of belonging to the community. Dr. Greenberg took part in higher education management and promotion his entire academic life and was the founder of a program to promote academic studies among single mothers in multiple academic institutes across Israel.

Dr. Vered Shenaar-Golan, Phd, had served as a consultant to social services departments on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs: The National Program for Children and Youth at Risk. Vered is a Project Researcher for Israel in The International Wellbeing Group.