Abstract
Communities frequently treated as ‘have-nots’ in higher education are a window into the condition of postsecondary education access, exclusion, inequities, and outcomes. This reality is no more evident than with the college-going trajectories of low-income single mothers of color. Evoking the possibilities of narrative inquiry in general, and life history method in particular, the author explores the college-going ecology, decisions, and trajectory of a 35-year-old low-income Filipina single mother. Through this empirical undertaking, particular attention is paid to the challenges present within the informant’s context of information, time, and opportunity—the three dimensions of the Iloh Model of College-Going Decisions and Trajectories. Findings of this narrative include prolonged and disjointed experiences; poor navigational structures and asymmetries of information; and institutional constraints, barriers, and disregard. In addition to insights that reflect decision-making challenges and buyer’s remorse of minoritized students; this study situates new directions for addressing concerning contexts of time, information, and opportunity for single mothers pursuing college.
Highlights
Understanding of the potential and perils of higher education requires expansive attention to the variety of prospective and current students in its ecosystem
This study explores the following research question: What factors contribute to the college-going decisions and pathways of low-income single mothers of color? How do the dimensions of time, information, and opportunity impact this question?
Particular notice was paid to the context of opportunity, time, and information
Summary
Understanding of the potential and perils of higher education requires expansive attention to the variety of prospective and current students in its ecosystem. One such group that has been historically excluded and misunderstood are low-income single mothers of color. Just 8 percent of single mothers who begin college will have acquired either a bachelor’s or associate’s degree within a duration of six years [1,2]. This issue becomes even more paramount when we consider race and income representation. Beyond battling racist and classist social stigmas, low-income single mothers of color who aspire to securing degree attainment are minimized in higher education, their presence and trajectories warrant far more thought
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