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Single mothers’ experience of community college education : a critical incidents study

University of British Columbia

Single-mother families represent a large and growing segment of the population and are the poorest of all family types. There is a demonstrated link between educational attainment and employment and income, yet single mothers are also, as a group, the lowest-educated of all family heads. Little published research exists on the needs and issues of single-mother students. The purpose of this descriptive and exploratory study was to discover and categorize the types of incidents that facilitate and hinder single mother students in their progress through a two-year college program. Ten single-mother students were interviewed using the critical incidents technique. Two-hundred-and-fifty two incidents were identified and categorized into three major and nine minor categories. The first major category was Intrapersonal, containing two minor categories, Coping Strategies and Academic Issues. Interpersonal, the next major category, subsumed five minor categories: Instructors; Children; Friends and Family Members; Other Students and Ex-Husbands. The third major category, Situational, contained two minor categories, College Administration and Policies and Government Services and Programs. Tentative implications for future research, counselling practice and social policy are discussed.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-02-09

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4335

Counselling Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace