Institutions of higher education are under pressure to enroll, retain, and graduate competent students today more than ever. Although the number of single mothers attending college continues to increase each year, the graduation rates of single mothers do not. These low graduation rates indicate that special attention should be given to the needs…

Many studies on higher education access have focused on challenges faced by the civilian population. Indeed, there are many obstacles that people face when seeking to enter certificate- and degree-granting programs, including affordability, inequitable admission standards, and family and work demands on their time. Veterans, however, have access…

The problem this study addressed is that undergraduate, female, single parent students are less likely than other groups of women to complete college. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore perceived challenges of persistence to degree completion of undergraduate, female, single parent students in a Southern state, at a…

Student affairs professionals tend to face unrealistic workplace demands. Finding time for personal responsibilities while juggling the demands of a job that often requires a 24/7 commitment is more of a goal than an achievement. Compared with their married, cohabitating, or childless counterparts, single mothers struggle more significantly with…

The number of Black suburbs has expanded since the 1960s, however, research on gender and how Black women contribute to their formation is understudied. Grounded in an intersectional framework, this article places women at the center of the analysis of Black suburban life. Using a multisite ethnography conducted during the Great Recession, I make…

As part of its broader Student Parent Success Initiative, Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) conducted original research focusing specifically on Black single mother students. This report summarizes findings from 25 interviews IWPR conducted with Black single mother community college students, consisting of both students who were…

This study examined whether racial identity attitudes, resilience, microaggressions experienced in one's academic program, and coping skills predicted academic resilience for African American/Black, single-parent mothers pursuing doctoral degrees. A mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data, was used in this study to…

Single-parent students are predominantly female, identified as a marginalized group, and a growing population on community college campuses which poignantly suggests an opportunity for change. Single-parent students (n = 12) described angst as they balanced their roles and responsibilities between single-parent and student. Meg stated,…

Earning a college degree is a major pathway to economic mobility. Although Black women enter college at higher rates than white, Hispanic, and Black men (for example, in 2020, Black women enrolled in college at a 40% rate, compared to 37% for White men, 31% for Black men, and 30% for Hispanic men) they still face barriers to degree completion,…

Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, this paper explores the forms of cultural capital single Black mothers use to advocate for their children with autism in special education settings. Using a modified grounded theory approach interviews were coded for several domains of non-dominant cultural capital found in the literature, including…

We integrate literature on gender and adolescent friendships to examine the association between adolescent dating violence victimization (ADVV) and relationship dissolution. In particular, we test whether ADVV increases the hazard of relationship dissolution among adolescent romances, and whether a number of friendship dynamics alter the…

The role of spirituality in families is an important factor in family resilience. Currently, however, no quantitative instruments exist that adequately assess this phenomenon. This study introduced the adapted Spiritual Perspective Scale-Family Version (SPS-FV) and explored its psychometric qualities among 574 majority ethnic minority individuals…

The purpose of this study was to explore working single mothers' work-life balance in order to better understand how employers can assist them. Role theory, role conflict theory, and spillover theory were utilized to examine how working single mothers experience work-life balance and how they perceive it. In this study, the researcher sought to…

Within neoliberal postfeminism young women are depicted as powerful, unconstrained and ready to work for success. However, research reveals a far more complicated picture than this straightforward ode to success. We explore the intersection of racialised, classed and gendered ideals of successful femininity from the perspective of Maori…

While qualitative researchers increasingly accept online video interviews as a reliable method, many maintain concerns about rapport and data quality. Drawing on two separate interview projects conducted in private in-person settings, public in-person settings, and privately via Skype, we compare interview contexts with regard to rapport,…