Student Parents in the Shadows: Child Care and the Struggle to Succeed in Postsecondary Education

• In Event: 33.079 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 33.079-15 - Race, Ethnicity, and Emerging Identities

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to explore the unmet child care needs of student parents at a public university in Michigan, with a particular focus on low-income student parents. A campus-wide survey, focus groups and individual interviews were conducted, highlighting the voices of student parents. Findings pointed to the many barriers and challenges related to affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care as student parents struggled to succeed academically. High academic and personal costs were widespread, with little institutional recognition of, or support for, the distinctive struggles and aspirations of student parents. Recommendations address the role of higher education institutions in supporting student parents with wrap-around services, family resource centers, and universal need-based child care scholarships.

Authors

• Valerie Polakow, Eastern Michigan University

• Katja Robinson, Eastern Michigan University

• Marjorie Ziefert, Eastern Michigan University