In this qualitative research study, I examined the experiences of single parent females who enrolled or withdrew from a flagship university since the implementation of Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The research questions the study was designed to explore were: Are there differences in the students' experiences based on prior academic success and ages of children? What is the experience of current and former TANF recipients at a flagship northeastern university who have attempted to persist in college? What kind of psychological and sociological factors do students make use of to persist in college? Grounded theory was utilized to explore how women balanced the demands of parenting, school and the economic constraints they encountered while enrolled in school. The students were found to use multiple strategies to ensure that they met the requirement of the two-year time limit for TANF while attempting to complete school. This study also indicated that Tinto's theory of persistence could be used to examine the women's experience. The study found academic and social integration to be mutually interdependent for the single parent students.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-1966 |
| Date | 01 January 2001 |
| Creators | Austin, Sandra Aletha |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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