Abstract
This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences, challenges, and complicated life of 12 mothers who are pursuing their collegiate degree in a state university while rearing and taking care of their children. Participants met the inclusion criteria of a student mother, which includes (1) a bonafide student of a tertiary state institution; (2) a biological mother; (3) residing with her child/children; and (4) willingness to participate in the inquiry. Three major themes emerged in the participants’ lived experiences, which include (1) hustles and bustles of student mothers’ life; (2) driving factors of student mothers; and (3) coping mechanisms of two-faced mothers. The findings revealed that the participants faced adversities and struggles as a mother and as students and remained more steadfast and more resilient in fulfilling their dreams to finish their collegiate degree and receive a university diploma. The lived experiences of the student mothers have established implications to policies in the university, which involves the creation of daycare centers inside the campus for the children of student mothers as well as the conduct of psychosocial debriefing and stress reduction programs by the Gender and Development (GAD) office for the student mothers.
Highlights
Being a student mother is not a walk in the park
This study identified the meaning of the lived experiences of student mothers
The research sought to give explanations and answers to the following essential questions: 1) How will you describe your lived experiences as a student mother in a state university? and 2) What have you learned from these lived experiences?
Summary
Being a student mother is not a walk in the park. Pursuing one’s education while fulfilling her duties as a mother is an arduous task.Child rearing is treated as a full-time job and may be very taxing on female university students if pregnancy is unforeseen (Cabaguing, 2017). Being a student mother is not a walk in the park. Pursuing one’s education while fulfilling her duties as a mother is an arduous task. Child rearing is treated as a full-time job and may be very taxing on female university students if pregnancy is unforeseen (Cabaguing, 2017). Being a mother at the same time, a student demands a gargantuan amount of time. It is not easy as you try to exhibit two faces – being a mother and being a student. Finishing a degree is critical to a young woman’s life because the time of studying a woman spends would impact her life's future (Brown & Amankwaa, 2007; Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001)
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