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Lone Parent Students’ Motivations for and Hopes of Higher Education Engagement

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Widening Participation in Higher Education

Part of the book series: Issues in Higher Education ((IHIGHER))

Abstract

Lone parents are a key educationally excluded group targeted by widening participating (WP) agendas. Yet it has been argued that the distinct needs of students with parental responsibilities have been largely ignored by WP strategies, despite evidence that the group is increasing and facing a range of issues (Moreau, 2011). This chapter explores the motivations and aspirations of lone mothers studying at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Lone fathers have been omitted from the discussion due to low response rates in the research on which this chapter draws. Nevertheless, the rich longitudinal narratives provided by those lone fathers who participated suggested that in many key respects, lone parent status transcends gendered experiences, with lone mothers and lone fathers describing a broad commonality of higher education (HE) motivations, priorities and challenges.

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Authors
  1. Tamsin Hinton-Smith
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sussex, UK

    Tamsin Hinton-Smith

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© 2012 Tamsin Hinton-Smith

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Hinton-Smith, T. (2012). Lone Parent Students’ Motivations for and Hopes of Higher Education Engagement. In: Hinton-Smith, T. (eds) Widening Participation in Higher Education. Issues in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137283412_7

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