A Single Student Mother's Lifeworld: Tragic Choices in the Absence of Affordable and Quality Child Care

• In Event: Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Social Class, Community, and Family

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the lifeworld of one low-income single student mother to present and understand how her individual experiences as a student and a mother at the micro level are impacted by policies regarding childcare and financial support at the macro level. Utilizing the capabilities approach as a framework, findings suggest, that low-income student mothers’ capabilities’ development and functionings and those of their children, are closely related with the availability of affordable and high quality childcare. The absence thereof often leads to what Nussbaum calls “tragic choices” - in this student’s case the need to fulfill her work and study requirements at the expense of leaving her child in an unsafe afterschool program.

Author

• Katja Robinson, Eastern Michigan University