Influence of Student Motherhood on Academic Performance in Public Universities in Western Kenya

Abstract

The challenges of balancing multiple roles of motherhood and learning greatly impact student mothers’ academic success. Having student motherhood obligations on top of their academic responsibilities make undergraduate student mothers unique. This uniqueness affects their ability to compete academically with others. The study used the role conflict theory and adopted a mixed-method research design. It adopted a stratified and simple random sampling technique. The researcher derived the desired sample size using the Krejcie and Morgan sample size formulae. Data for the research was collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions, document analysis, and interview schedules. Data was analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics. The analysis of the study findings revealed that motherhood influences learning in many ways. Student mothers face challenges such as the inability to balance studies and mothering, childcare difficulties, maternal stress, anxiety, time management, and tiredness. These challenges influence the learning of student mothers, negatively affecting their overall academic achievement. The study recommends the need for a special accommodation facility for student mothers at the university to enable them to study more smoothly. Further research can be carried out on the university management’s perception of undergraduate parenthood