A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents
IntroductionStudent parents, both undergraduate and graduate, face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children, and they are a population often neglected or forgotten by higher education administration. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1256454/full |
| _version_ | 1797218049362755584 |
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| author | Khadeejah T. Franklin Alexa J. Saval Anne M. Cafer Dana N. Reinemann Dana N. Reinemann |
| author_facet | Khadeejah T. Franklin Alexa J. Saval Anne M. Cafer Dana N. Reinemann Dana N. Reinemann |
| author_sort | Khadeejah T. Franklin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionStudent parents, both undergraduate and graduate, face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children, and they are a population often neglected or forgotten by higher education administration. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face through the implementation of virtual schooling, increased daycare costs and closings, staying home with sick children, and a lack of local support system, among others. Further, many student parents are graduate students who are performing research that requires physical campus space and equipment to fulfill their educational requirements, and their research progress come to a halt when the country locked down.MethodsThis study explored the struggles student parents faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what issues the pandemic exacerbated, and what new problems have since arisen. Participants completed surveys assessing the consequences of being a student parent during the pandemic, coping resources available to them, the effect of being a student parent during the pandemic on their mental health, and demographic information.ResultsPrevalent themes include substantial declines in mental health, feelings of inadequacy in regards to both their parenting and academic abilities compared to their non-student parent peers, and a striking lack of resources or acknowledgement from their institution.DiscussionThe survey results are framed within the social-ecological model to better understand the systemic implications of student parent conditions. Finally, we formulate a set of recommendations to higher education administrations to inform them about the unique struggles student parents face and suggest strategies for mitigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:11:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-74e68633c25d4469806617b88d294fe2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-284X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:11:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-74e68633c25d4469806617b88d294fe22024-04-08T12:03:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2024-04-01910.3389/feduc.2024.12564541256454A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parentsKhadeejah T. Franklin0Alexa J. Saval1Anne M. Cafer2Dana N. Reinemann3Dana N. Reinemann4Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, United StatesGeneral Engineering Program, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, United StatesCenter for Population Studies, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, United StatesDepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, United StatesIntroductionStudent parents, both undergraduate and graduate, face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children, and they are a population often neglected or forgotten by higher education administration. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face through the implementation of virtual schooling, increased daycare costs and closings, staying home with sick children, and a lack of local support system, among others. Further, many student parents are graduate students who are performing research that requires physical campus space and equipment to fulfill their educational requirements, and their research progress come to a halt when the country locked down.MethodsThis study explored the struggles student parents faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what issues the pandemic exacerbated, and what new problems have since arisen. Participants completed surveys assessing the consequences of being a student parent during the pandemic, coping resources available to them, the effect of being a student parent during the pandemic on their mental health, and demographic information.ResultsPrevalent themes include substantial declines in mental health, feelings of inadequacy in regards to both their parenting and academic abilities compared to their non-student parent peers, and a striking lack of resources or acknowledgement from their institution.DiscussionThe survey results are framed within the social-ecological model to better understand the systemic implications of student parent conditions. Finally, we formulate a set of recommendations to higher education administrations to inform them about the unique struggles student parents face and suggest strategies for mitigation.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1256454/fullstudent parentsCOVID-19 pandemicmental healthcoping resourceshigher education |
| spellingShingle | Khadeejah T. Franklin Alexa J. Saval Anne M. Cafer Dana N. Reinemann Dana N. Reinemann A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents Frontiers in Education student parents COVID-19 pandemic mental health coping resources higher education |
| title | A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents |
| title_full | A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents |
| title_fullStr | A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents |
| title_full_unstemmed | A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents |
| title_short | A retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents |
| title_sort | retrospective analysis of the perceived impact of the covid 19 pandemic on systemic barriers to success for university student parents |
| topic | student parents COVID-19 pandemic mental health coping resources higher education |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1256454/full |
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