The Invisible Village: An Exploration of Undergraduate Student Mothers’ Experiences

This study explored the experiences of mothers in college using a qualitative design. Results showed that a lack of financial resources was the chief barrier for student mothers in their educational pursuits while social/emotional support was the most important contributor to student mothers’ success in college. Participants relied heavily on student loans to cover costs of childcare or family to help watch their children. Role conflict experienced by student mothers has implications on family and college retention. Implications of this study included the adaptation and revisions of policies at the state and federal levels in addition to implications at the university level. Limitations of the study included a lack of racial and ethnic diversity and only including student mothers currently enrolled in college. Several recommendations for future research are described.     

The experiences of African immigrant mothers living in the United Kingdom with a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder: an interpretive phenomenological analysis

Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to investigate the experiences of six African immigrant mothers living in the United Kingdom with a child diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The mothers took part in one-off, semi-structured interviews. Four themes were identified: caring for a child we did not expect, the pain of stigma and rejection, frameworks of meaning, and negotiating conflicting cultural beliefs. Many aspects of the mothers’ experiences appear related to their position as immigrants from cultures with contrasting belief systems regarding child development and disability. Conflicts between African cultural beliefs and a western, medical understanding of ASD appeared to create a feeling of cognitive dissonance for the mothers. The strategies used to negotiate this appear to map onto Berry’s acculturation strategies, suggesting that the experience of having a child with ASD impacts upon the acculturation process. Implications for clinical practice and policy are discussed.     

Out of the Closet and into the Classroom: A Survey of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Educators' Classroom Strategies and Experiences in Colleges and Universities

Higher education has made great progress in creating open classroom and organizational environments for diverse populations. However, little research has been published on the experiences of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGB) in college and university classrooms. The primary purpose of this study is to identify the strategies used by LGB educators to incorporate LGB issues, concerns, and experiences into college and university classrooms. To provide a context for these efforts, the secondary purpose of this study is to examine educators' experiences as LGBs in the classroom and within higher education in general. Toward these ends, the study presents the results of a survey that examined specific classroom strategies used by LGB educators and administrators and their experiences in the classroom and within departments in college and university settings. The survey revealed that LGBs are actively working to enhance classroom environments through a variety of empowerment strategies; they also encounter positive experiences within the classroom and within academic organizations as a whole.     

Understanding the Lives of Mothers after Incarceration: Moving Beyond Socially Constructed Definitions of Motherhood

In the wake of mass incarceration, an increasing number of women are going through the penal system. A fair number of these women are mothers, yet the intersection of motherhood and prison may contradict conceptions of femininity and challenge traditional views of appropriate mothering. The contradiction between notions of criminality and femininity contributes to stigmatized perceptions of formerly incarcerated mothers, which drastically shapes their ability to reintegrate into society post‐incarceration. While reentry efforts tackle gender differences through the implementation of gender‐responsive programs that cater to women's needs, failure to adequately account for unique maternal experiences may hinder attempts to address obstacles faced by mothers in particular, such as regaining child custody and paying for day care. This article argues for special attention to the post‐incarceration experiences of mothers without imposing socially constructed definitions of motherhood like having custody and living with children, which may not coincide with the realities mothers face after imprisonment. Ideas are also discussed for the inclusive consideration of formerly incarcerated mothers and their post‐incarceration experiences.     

‘If you put pressure on yourself to produce then that's your responsibility’: Mothers’ experiences of maternity leave and flexible work in the neoliberal university

Women remain underrepresented in senior positions within universities and report barriers to career progression. Drawing on the concepts of Foucault and Bourdieu, with an emphasis on technologies of the self, this article aims to understand mothers’ academic career experiences. Interviews were conducted with 35 non‐STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) academics in Scotland and Australia, to reveal the gender dimensions of parents’ academic careers, in neoliberal university contexts. The data suggest that there are tensions between organizational policies, such as maternity leave and flexible work, and the contemporary demands of academic labour. New managerial discourses which individualize and make use of moral systems are particularly effectual in driving women to take up marketized research activity and compromise leave entitlements.     

Work-family attitudes and career interruptions due to childbirth

This paper examines the impact of attitudes on gender roles, work and the family on the duration of career-interruptions due to childbirth. Using latent class analysis, three different classes of mothers are identified based on their attitudes: home-oriented, adaptive and career-oriented mothers. Controlling for observable individual and family characteristics as well as the institutional and economic environment, it is shown that home-oriented mothers have more children and take longer leaves for each child than adaptive mothers, who themselves take longer leaves than career-oriented mothers. The difference is more marked among mothers who have been working the last quarter before giving birth: while 80 % of the career-oriented mothers return to work after 6 months, only 70 % of home-oriented mothers do so. Pre-motherhood and pre-labor-market attitudes of mothers are used in the determination of classes to avoid reverse causation of motherhood and work experiences on attitudes. These results cast doubts on the effectiveness of one-size-fits-all-policies and make the case for flexible policies that allow for different combinations of wages and maternity-leaves.     

MATERNAL GRANDMOTHERS AS CHILD CARE PROVIDERS FOR RURAL,LOW-INCOME MOTHERS

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of forty-two rural, low-income mothers who utilized their own mothers for routine child care. A life course perspective was used to explore mothers’ perceptions of their child care arrangement and the influence of the adult daughter–older mother relational context. Results focus on the benefits and weaknesses of child care provided by grandmothers and the influence of the relationship between participants and their mothers on this care arrangement. The analysis has implications for research, support programming, and public policy.     

Repositioning mothers: mothers,disabled children and disability studies

In this article we set out to review the ways in which mothers of disabled children have been portrayed within disability studies and the more broader academic literature. We argue that within disability studies mothers of disabled children occupy a liminal position because they are often not disabled and yet they can experience forms of disablism. Their experiences can differ markedly from the experiences of mothers of non‐disabled children and yet the consequences and outcomes of these experiences, such as developing a ‘special competence’ is largely overlooked. Mothers can work to effect change on behalf of their children and, in some cases, for disabled people more generally, however, this role of activist mother is largely undervalued. The review of literature presented here leads us to conclude that further research needs to be undertaken exploring and highlighting the ways in which mothers of disabled children negotiate, manage and approach their daily lives, operating within what are described by feminist scholars as oppressive mothering ideologies and disabling environments.     

My child is not my carer: mothers with physical disabilities and the well-being of children

This article describes a qualitative study on the experiences of mothers with physical disabilities. Two focus groups were held for mothers with young children and mothers of older children. Eight mothers also participated in in-depth interviews. All have a physical impairment, most are wheelchair users. This article focuses on (a) participants' attempts to ensure the physical and psychological well-being of their children; (b) their child-rearing philosophies and practices; and (c) the overall nature of the parent-child relationship. A range of parenting practices, experiences and relationships was reported. The variability of experiences notwithstanding, participants' life stories demonstrate a strong commitment to children, actions to ensure their care and well-being, and attempts to shield them from any burden related to the maternal disability. Whilst challenges and barriers were candidly reported, by and large, they do not overshadow the joy and fulfilment that these women derive from motherhood.     

Home visiting program impacts on reducing homelessness among young mothers

In the current study, we aimed to determine the effects of Healthy Families Massachusetts (HFM), a statewide home visiting program, on young mothers’ experiences with homelessness during enrollment and after program completion. Data were drawn from a longitudinal, randomized control trial evaluation of HFM. Data collection occurred across 5 time points between 2008 and 2015 from a sample of 704 participants. The current analyses were restricted to a subsample of mothers (n?=?443) with Time 5 data (74 months post-enrollment; 59.1% program, 40.9% control), which was representative of the Time 1 sample. We used data from maternal phone interviews to assess program effects on experiences with homelessness. Young mothers who participated in HFM were less likely to experience homelessness when their children were preschool-age or older than mothers in the control group. During program participation, the number of home visits was negatively associated with concurrent homelessness when children were infants or toddlers.     

Difference,subjectivities and power: (de)colonizing practices in internationalizing the curriculum

This paper problematizes the discourse of internationalizing the curriculum using a critical framework of difference. The author draws on her transnational experiences as an international postgraduate researcher in an Australian university, an educator in Malaysia and her present experiences as an academic in an Australian university. The notions of difference, power and subjectivities are used to unpack the academic and pedagogical practices of internationalizing the curriculum. A politics of difference in internationalizing the curriculum entails interrogating the power dynamics in the privileging and marginalization of knowledge, skills and ways of being, knowing and doing. Transnational connectivity and reciprocal flows of individuals and knowledge are emphasized within such practices.     

Preface

Being raised by a single mother is one factor that has been suggested as contributing to the plight of African American males. Yet few studies have focused specifically on African American single mothers' experiences with raising sons. This qualitative study explored the following questions: (1) What are the experiences of African American single mothers in the raising of their sons? (2) What coping strategies do African American single mothers use in the raising of their sons? Two rounds of unstructured open-ended interviews were conducted with 11 African American single mothers of at least one son. Implications for family therapy based on the interviews are presented.     

Medicalized mothering: experiences with breastfeeding in Canada and Norway

This paper explores infant feeding practices and experiences of mothers in Canada and Norway, two countries where breastfeeding rates are relatively high. Based on interviews with 33 Canadian mothers and 27 Norwegian mothers, we also examine how mothers feel, think and talk about their infant feeding decisions and experiences, and examine similarities and divergences across their stories. Our findings reveal that infant feeding is very much organized according to the logic of the broader medical discourse, a finding which lends support to arguments that contemporary parenthood is characterized by a process of increasing medicalization. Our findings also reveal the existence of a broader culture of pressure, competition, judgement and surveillance regarding breastfeeding, suggesting that the high breastfeeding rates in these two countries are not merely a result of favourable structural conditions, but also of strong cultural expectations towards breastfeeding. We discuss our findings in connection with the broader argument that medical discourses and health professionals are becoming the primary authorities and moral gatekeepers of contemporary parenthood.     

ECONOMIC ROULETTE

Complementing previous literature on welfare reform and the character of jobs in the low-wage labour market, we illustrate the lack of regularity and security that mark the jobs held by many low-income mothers. To do so, we present a typology of mothers’ work patterns and illustrate their experiences through case examples. Our qualitative analysis of longitudinal pathways-to-work in three cities involved an examination of the experiences of 99 diverse, low-income working mothers with a young child. The work patterns that emerged from this analysis include: continuous duration of a single job; multiple job spells; underemployment; and churning in and out of employment. Findings indicate that a complicated ‘coming together’ of well-paying stable jobs, consistent aid from public systems and stable family networks are necessary for mothers to take even the first steps into stable employment.     

At the intersection of idealized youth and marginalized almost-adulthood: how girls negotiate young motherhood in London,Ontario

This article discusses how young mothers in London, a mid-size city in Canada, utilize a drop-in centre service while attending an alternative programme to acquire secondary school credits. The central arguments made here are informed by key concepts in the field of girlhood studies. With its attention to the interconnections between gender, age, and generation as well as other aspects of social identity, girlhood studies provides crucial insight into the lived experiences of young mothers who straddle the space between girlhood and adulthood. We interpret the experiences of the young mothers who participated in this study in light of shifting meanings and expectations of girls and girlhood in the neoliberal era. Drawing on the concept of the ideal neoliberal girl subject embodied in the ‘can do’ and ‘at risk’ girl, this paper highlights the tensions in accessing a drop-in centre, which functions as both a site of security and surveillance, for a group of young mothers receiving social services. The findings revealed how girls who are mothers struggle to live in the present to assert a legitimate maternal identity even as they are prepared for the future through neoliberal public policies and other disciplinary practices.     

Family structure, stress, and psychological distress: a demonstration of the impact of differential exposure

In this article, we evaluate the relative power of differential exposure and differential vulnerability to stressors to account for variations in psychological distress between single and married mothers. The data for this assessment are derived from a longitudinal survey of 518 single mothers and 502 married mothers living in London, Ontario, Canada. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses clearly reveal that the higher levels of psychological distress experienced by single mothers compared to married mothers are almost entirely related to their greater exposure to stress and strain rather than to any group differences in vulnerability to stressful experiences. Across a number of different dimensions of social stressors, single mothers are consistently more exposed to these stressors than married mothers are. Moreover, this differential exposure persists over time. In contrast, there is no evidence that single mothers are more vulnerable or reactive to stressors than are married mothers. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for the sociology of mental health and for primary prevention.     

Managing the Student‐Parent Dilemma: Mothers and Fathers in Higher Education

In this article, I explore how student‐parents draw on cultural discourses associated with parenthood and education when talking about their child care choices and schooling experiences. Unlike many other studies, I include the voices of both fathers and mothers. College students have extraordinary demands on their time, and their instructors do not generally expect them to be parents. Some students feel that in fact they are expected to be bad parents, bad students, or both. The use of accounts allows student‐parents to assert they are good parents even as they spend less time with their children and make their schoolwork a priority some of the time. As they modify their understandings of their capabilities as parents and students in this setting, they come to see themselves differently. They potentially change others' understandings of what good parents and good students are as well. Both the parent identity and the student identity change in the context of the university.     

The benefits of prisoner participation in interdisciplinary learning

Abstract

This paper considers the provision of an inter-disciplinary workshop day held for Social Work, Police and Nursing students at a UK university. The focus of the day was to give the students an insight into the reality of being a mother in prison, and the impact that having a mother in prison has upon children. A key feature of the day was the involvement of a group of imprisoned mothers from an open prison, who shared their experiences and engaged with students in small groups. The workshop allowed the stereotypes that the prisoners and student professionals held in relation to one another to be challenged. The planning, aims, process and outcomes of the day are considered along with feedback from those taking part. Students reported increased awareness of the stigma faced by this often overlooked vulnerable group of service users, an increased recognition of the needs of children with mothers in prison and an appreciation of the power of interdisciplinary working to deliver a good service. The imprisoned mothers welcomed the chance to educate the students about the issues faced by themselves and their children, and they found the experience of participating to be positive and empowering.     

Mothers and deployment: Understanding the experiences and support needs of deploying mothers of children birth to five

ABSTRACT

Military deployments can demand long separations of service members and their families. The strain of separation is particularly acute for mothers of very young children. This study aimed to better understand the deployment and reintegration experiences of service members who are mothers of young children. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 12 service member mothers who deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan when one or more of their children was younger than age 6. Discussions explored experiences before, during, and after deployment; needs and challenges at each stage; available support resources and gaps in support. Thematic data analysis was conducted, drawing on principles of grounded theory. Disruption and continuity were central themes as participants illuminated the challenges they faced and their profound dedication to sustaining strong family relationships across the deployment cycle. Relinquishing, reassuming, and balancing multiple roles and responsibilities are additional themes that were frequently evoked. Participants noted a lack of formal resources responsive to their needs and circumstances and highlighted a need for services tailored to mothers who are deploying. Military mothers, particularly mothers of young children, face distinct challenges surrounding deployment. Better understanding their experiences and support needs can inform tailored services to meet their needs.