A Mixed Methods Study of Student Parents' Postsecondary Persistence

• In Event: Financial Wellness, Support Networks, and Community Wealth: Providing Access, Persistence, and Equity for College Students

Abstract

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study included a pilot survey (N = 132) followed by the quantitative descriptive research phase utilizing a researcher-constructed survey (N = 139), and concluded with the qualitative phase, which used the survey results to construct a semi-structured protocol for the phenomenological inquiry phase. The participants for the interviews (n = 28) derived from a purposeful stratified sample from the quantitative phase. Quantitative results included descriptive statistics about student parent demographics and characteristics that mixed with instrumentation for qualitative, which resulted in phenomenological findings of nine unique themes. Open-ended survey results centered on supports, achievement, balance, and resources. The theoretical faming was a fusion of Self-Determination Theory and Bakhtin’s self-authoring. It uniquely adds to the literature.

Authors

• Emily J. Summers, Texas State University

• Danielle McEwen, Texas State University

• Stephen Oluwaseyi Maku, Texas State University

• Elahe Mahmoudi, Texas State University

• Renee Perez, Texas State University

• Di Fontenot, Texas State University

• Brad Frailicks, Texas State University