Running head: Black_ Undergraduate Single Mothers 1

Undergraduate Single Mothers

Ciara Black
EDL 751
November 14, 2011
Black_ Undergraduate Single Mothers 2


Undergraduate Single Mothers
Single mothers have been viewed in previous literature as incapable of achieving success
because many of these mothers are minorities with low socio-economic status and limited
education. There has not been a significant relationship between single-mothers and successful
educational outcomes. Yet we do know that some mothers commit to their education and reach
their academic goals. The purpose of this study is to shed light on how single-mothers graduate
and what roles colleges and universities play in that journey to success.
Review of literature
One of the challenges that undergraduate single mothers present to colleges and
universities is that they have demonstrated their desire for obtaining an education but how does
the role of being both mother and student shape their ability to graduate and ultimately gain the
stability that they desire for themselves and their children? This study will attempt to present
information to provide possible explanations as to how these aims are achieved.
As described in the Polakow, Butler, Deprez & Kahn (2004) article, the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) establishes
strict, relatively brief time limits for participation in postsecondary education activities, leaving
many poor single mothers essentially shut out of four-year colleges (as cited in Duquaine-
Watson 2007, p. 230). In addition the Center for Women Policy Studies (2002) states that most
states permit participation in postsecondary education of 24 months (as cited in Duquaine-
Watson, 2007, p. 231). This does not allow these mothers to begin and complete a bachelors
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degree. Since 1996, colleges and universities have seen dramatic declines in enrollment among
welfare recipients (Pastore 1999 as cited in Adair 2001, p. 225).
In addition to these government regulations, other barriers are being placed between
single mothers and their earning of a two or four year degree. This information is significant
because data indicates that single mothers want to attend college and view college as economic
investment (Duquaine-Watson 2007, p. 232). However college climates are not addressing their
diverse needs from those of other marginalized students who are of varying racial background,
sexual orientation or age. In the Duquaine-Watson study, 13 single mothers were interviewed
based on their experiences at community colleges over the course of two years. This study
illustrated both the subtle and explicit ways in which they are treated differently and
marginalized as single mothers (Duquaine-Watson 2007, p. 236). Implications from this study
include that it is imperative that community colleges devote additional resources to better
understand the experiences of single mother students (Duquaine-Watson 2007, p. 236) and
acknowledge their presence on campus (Duquaine-Watson 2007, p. 237).
As stated in the Zhan & Pandey article (2004) single-parent families have become
increasingly common and the U.S Bureau of the Census (2001) states that single-parent family
are more likely than two-parent families to live in poverty (as cited in Zhan & Pandley 2004, p.
661). This information appears to be true because single mothers have additional needs such as
childcare, medical and transportation that the traditional student may not require. These students
like their peers pursue a postsecondary education in order to gain stability in their lives as it
relates to income, job security, housing and benefits for themselves and their children. There is a
relationship between years of education and the amount of income a person earns. The ability to
provide for their children is a mothers first priority. The Zhan & Pandley article also takes a
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look at single fathers and in comparison to single mothers, single fathers were more educated and
are obtaining more four-year degrees. This article provides a different perspective and allowed
for comparison between two marginalized student populations. This article used data from the
1993 Panel Study of Income Dynamics which is an ongoing national study (Zhan & Pandey
2004). The data was analyzed by using ANOVA and logistic regression analysis which helped
the researcher to conclude that single mothers tended to have younger children, were less likely
to be White and were more likely to never be married than single father (Zhan & Pandey 2004,
p.665). In addition, the ANOVA analysis found that single parents with postsecondary
education, especially those with 4-year college degrees had significantly higher labor income and
house values and were less likely to live in poverty than those with a high school degree or less
than a high school degree (Zhan & Pandey 2004, p. 667). The regression analysis showed
significance between gender and education indicating that men who are raising children on their
own earn more money than women who are raising children on their own when they are at the
same educational level. These findings illustrate the importance of education for both single
parents and their children because it has economic implications for these families.
Sapiro (1999) defines the feminization of poverty as the increasing tendency for poor
populations in the United States to be composed of women (as cited in Tiamiyu & Mitchell
2001, p.48). This is significant to the overall topic because postsecondary education and colleges
can play a vital role in reversing the feminization of poverty (Tiamiyu & Mitchell, 2001, p. 52).
It has also been found that support which enables continued education will contribute to the
later self-sufficiency of unmarried mothers (Sandfort & Hill 1996, p. 314). Adair states college
education is the key ingredient in poor womens struggle to survive (Adair 2001, p. 304).
Gaining an education for a single mother is not an achievement that she earns only for herself,
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rather for her children and their childrens children. It creates a legacy of valuing education and
improving a family for generations to come.
Some single mothers verbalized that the support of faculty was critical to their academic
success. In the Van Stone, Nelson & Niemann article (1994) it states participants indicated that
having positive interactions with faculty was critical to their academic success. Developing a
professional and or personal relationship, "feeling understood, being encouraged, and/or
receiving feedback and information regarding their work from faculty was important to
participants' academic performance (Van Stone, Nelson & Niemann 1994, p. 578).
Mothers in this study received services from the universitys Single Parent Project. This
project is a university-based program that provides single-mother students who receive public
assistance with direct services (academic screening, assistance with resources, mentoring, and
professional internships), support services (social activities, support groups, interest groups, and
a drop-in center), and special programming (orientation to campus life, enrichment activities for
families, workshops and classes supporting academic excellence, and advocacy) (Van Stone,
Nelson & Niemann 1994, p. 574).
Other university services were evaluated by the participants from the Single Parent
Project. When asked about how they felt about the other types of university services offered
participants stated that the university's traditional auxiliary services (for example, food service)
and activities were not adequately geared or designed to accommodate families. For example, the
dining services did not offer child-rated meals, and other activities like dances and meetings
were not designed or friendly to women who needed to bring their children with them (Van
Stone, Nelson & Niemann 1994, p. 578). These reflections show how the needs of undergraduate
single mothers vary distinctly from their peers. Adair (2001) continues that notion by stating that
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by creating pathways of entry and support for low-income single mothers in our institutions,
we begin to work toward assuring that education remains a fair and equitable process that affords
all students the opportunity to transform their lives, abilities, values and their places in the
world (Adair 2001, p. 220). Creating pathways is the purpose of higher education and given the
obstacles that single mothers face from outside entities, the college environment should be a
welcoming and supportive one.
Research Question
The research question that I would like to explore is if there is a difference in the ability
of undergraduate single mothers to graduate with a two or four-year degree within at least six
years of their start of college and institutional support in the form of daycare facilities, on
campus housing and evening course offerings they receive. This research will be a comparative
study of those institutions that offer these supports to single mothers and those that do not. The
goal of this research is to determine whether students that fit this demographic graduate at higher
rates with more support.
For the purposes of this study undergraduate single mothers are defined as mothers who
are currently enrolled at two and four-year public and private institutions and also receive some
type of government assistance for themselves and their dependent(s). This would be in the form
of food, cash, medical assistance and or Title XX benefits.
Hypotheses
The null hypothesis is there is no difference in the graduation rate of undergraduate single
mothers who receive institutional support and those who do not receive that support. The
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alternative hypothesis states that there is a difference in the graduation rates of undergraduate
single mothers who receive institutional support and those who do not.
Method
The statistical tool that will be used in the study will be the t-test for independent sample
with a p-level of 0.05 because this study is comparative in nature. This study is comparing the
graduation rates of undergraduate single-mothers who receive institutional support and those
who do not. These groups are mutually exclusive and will only be tested once.
Participants
The participants will be undergraduate single mothers between the ages of 17-35 years
old currently attending two and four-year public and private institutions in the Miami Valley and
are approaching graduation in the next one to two quarters. I am ignoring the race of these
students as this information is not essential to the research question.
Institutions were selected from the Southwestern Ohio Council of Higher Education
(SOCHE). SOCHE is a consortium dedicated to advancing higher education through active
collaboration, resource and knowledge sharing, and effective professional development
programs (SOCHE, 2011). I chose the schools that were SOCHE members because the majority
of these institutions are located in the Miami Valley. In order to choose among the SOCHE
members I decided to choose schools based on their enrollment size. Public four year schools
that have enrollment of 20,000 students or fewer and private four year schools that have
enrollment of 5,000 or fewer. For the two year schools, their enrollment sizes are 5,000 students
or greater. The schools that will be selected for my study include Central State University which
is a four year public school with an enrollment of about 2,200; Wright State University which is
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a four year public school whose enrollment is about 19, 600 students. For the four year private
institutions I chose the University of Dayton whose enrollment is about 7,000 students and
Urbana University whose enrollment is about 1,500. I chose Sinclair Community College which
has an enrollment size of 22,000 with both fulltime and part-time students and Clark State
Community College with an enrollment of about 5,000 students.
Sampling
The sample of students will come from the six colleges and universities selected based on
their sizes. This will be convenience sampling because those participating are choosing to
participate themselves and were not selected by the researcher.
Instrument
The instrument to be used will be a survey created by this researcher. This survey is
composed of 12 questions. The survey can be viewed in the appendix section of this paper.
Procedure
Surveys will be administered at the beginning of winter quarter. The participants will be
solicited by flyers posted on various locations across the selected private and public two and four
year institutions in the Miami Valley. The participants will be rewarded with a family style
dinner for them and their child or children as a reward for their participation. This dinner will be
hosted at a neutral location in the Miami Valley area and sponsored by this researcher.
Ethical Concerns
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The ethical concerns of this study include protecting the identities of the participants and
gaining permission from each of the institutions to post the flyers at different locations on
campus to recruit participants.
Discussion

The literature supports a need for more support for these particular students. However,
the data from the research I propose has not been gathered to confirm the relationship.

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References
Adair, V.C. (2001). Poverty and the (broken) promise of higher education. Harvard Educational
Review, 71(2), 217-239.
Goldrick-Rab, S. & Sorensen K. (2010). Unmarried parents in college. The Future of Children,
20(2), 179-203.
Sandfort, J.R. & Hill, M.S. (1996). Assisting young, unmarried mothers to become self-
sufficient: the effects of different types of early economic support. Journal of Marriage
and Family, 58, 311-326.

Southwestern Ohio Council of Higher Education (2011). Retrieved from:
http://www.soche.org/about

Tiamiyu, M & Mitchell, S. (2001). Welfare reform: Can higher education reduce the
feminization of poverty? The Urban Review, 33(1), 47-56.
Van Stone, N., Nelson, J.R. & Niemann, J. (1994). Poor single-mother college students' views on
the effect of some primary sociological and psychological belief factors on their
academic success. Journal of Higher Education, 65(5), 571-584.

Watson-Duquaine, J.M. (2007). Pretty darned cold: single mother students and the community
college climate in post-welfare reform America. Equity & Excellence in Education, (40),
229-240.
Zhan, M. & Pandey, S. (2004). Postsecondary education and economic well-being of single
mothers and single fathers. Journal of Marriage & Family. (66), 661-673.











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Appendix A
Collegiate Single Mothers Survey
1). What type of institution do you attend?
a). two year public
b). four year public
c). four year private

2). What made you chose the university you currently attend?

3). What is your current enrollment status?
a). part-time degree-seeking
b). full-time degree-seeking

4). How many children do you currently parent?
a). 1 child
b). 2 children
c). 3 or more children
d). I am currently pregnant with my first child

5). Do you currently receive support by your partner, spouse or father of your child?
a). Yes
b). No

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6). Have you applied for and currently receive TANF or any other type of government
assistance?

7). Where do you currently reside?
a). with parents or family
b). in your own apartment
c). in on campus housing
d). other, please specify

8). Describe the type of support you currently receive from your college or university.

9). Do you feel that these supports meet all of your needs? Why or why not?

10). Describe the types of relationships you have with faculty and university personnel. Is this a
positive or negative relationship?

11). What types of suggestions do you have for the college or university that you attend in order
to address the needs of other undergraduate single mothers and their children?

12). Please indicate your level of satisfaction with the institution you chose to attend based on
your experience as a single mother with: 1-least satisfied, 2-neutral or 3-moderately satisfied or
4-extremely satisfied.
1- Least satisfied
2- Neutral
3- Moderately satisfied
4- Extremely satisfied