TY - JOUR
T1 - ”It has been an uphill battle from the get go”
T2 - The experiences of single parents studying at university in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Trotter, Lucy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023/5/17
Y1 - 2023/5/17
N2 - Single-parent families represent a significant proportion of all UK families, but literature suggests that they face challenges in accessing, participating in, and completing Higher Education (HE). This article draws on data obtained from three months of mixed-methods research in 2021 with single-parent students to explore the meanings of being a single parent studying at university in the UK in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so it considers the personal demands that the pandemic placed on single-parent students, and the avenues of support available for single-parent students in the context of the UK HE system. These issues are then analysed within a theoretical framework to argue that single-parent students occupied a simultaneous position of agency and mastery in the context of HE. The article concludes with three key recommendations for change: (1) Universities should collect data on student parents and use this data to enable tailored support via student support services; (2) Universities should work with Student Unions to ensure parent-friendly freshers activities and ongoing social/support groups for student parents; and (3) Universities should make concrete changes to campus space, including the introduction of accessible, flexible, discounted childcare on campus, parent and baby rooms, and baby-changing facilities. These three changes would significantly improve the experiences of single-parent students studying at university in the UK.
AB - Single-parent families represent a significant proportion of all UK families, but literature suggests that they face challenges in accessing, participating in, and completing Higher Education (HE). This article draws on data obtained from three months of mixed-methods research in 2021 with single-parent students to explore the meanings of being a single parent studying at university in the UK in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so it considers the personal demands that the pandemic placed on single-parent students, and the avenues of support available for single-parent students in the context of the UK HE system. These issues are then analysed within a theoretical framework to argue that single-parent students occupied a simultaneous position of agency and mastery in the context of HE. The article concludes with three key recommendations for change: (1) Universities should collect data on student parents and use this data to enable tailored support via student support services; (2) Universities should work with Student Unions to ensure parent-friendly freshers activities and ongoing social/support groups for student parents; and (3) Universities should make concrete changes to campus space, including the introduction of accessible, flexible, discounted childcare on campus, parent and baby rooms, and baby-changing facilities. These three changes would significantly improve the experiences of single-parent students studying at university in the UK.
KW - COVID-19
KW - higher education
KW - inclusion
KW - lone parents
KW - Single parents
KW - students
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159583807&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/0309877X.2023.2212240
DO - 10.1080/0309877X.2023.2212240
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85159583807
SN - 0309-877X
JO - Journal of Further and Higher Education
JF - Journal of Further and Higher Education
ER -