Margaret W. Sallee is a GSE associate professor of educational leadership and policy. From an early age, she remembers thinking about the relationships between family/parenting and work/life. She has recently focused on student-mothers, and currently has two funded grants to pursue the topic: “The Role of Institutional Support in Shaping Student-Mothers’ Success in Higher Education” (Jewish Foundation for Education of Women) and “The Impact of Federal COVID-19 Relief Policy on Low-Income Student-Mothers’ Educational Choices and Experiences” (Spencer Foundation). She refers to herself as a “gender, family, work-life and organizational scholar.”
What sparked your interest in student-mothers?
My work is about changing structures, to be more supportive for people who need it. Part of what I’m looking at is how campuses support students who are parents. Many of these women are first-generation students, living and working in poverty.
How did federal legislation introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic affect student-mothers?
I was running a pilot study during the pandemic, and I spoke multiple times with 22 student-mothers in New York and Georgia over the course of a year; while the study didn't look at the impact of stimulus funding specifically, it sort of did by default. We studied how these student-parents were making it through the pandemic. A lot of them talked about how school districts were giving free meals for kids. They said it really made a difference, since the kids might not otherwise have breakfast and lunch.
How do you anticipate further policy changes around student loan forgiveness will affect student-mothers’ decisions?
I'm expecting that it will relieve stress for a lot of moms—maybe it opens up windows for them; if they’re at a two-year college, they consider four-year, or if they’re in graduate school, it’s easier to think about taking on less debt. Kids seeing a parent go to college makes a big difference, too.
What about the effect of the stimulus checks?
Preliminarily, there’s a big range. Some student-moms are financially well off enough to put the money into savings while others don’t have the luxury of saving money; they paid bills or used it to help fund a car. Some needed the money to buy diapers and shoes, or clothes for their kids so they wouldn’t get picked on at school. What has made more of a difference in some of their decisions about their own education have been programs like loan forgiveness programs or VA funds.
What is the most impactful thing universities can do to support these student-mothers?
They can have robust student-parent networks or centers that are designed to support low-income women. Student-mothers say it’s pivotal having somebody on campus they can go to, to help troubleshoot if they or their kids get sick and they have to miss an exam. Students also talk about appreciating additional support checking in with a dedicated counselor or staff person weekly, and also help tapping into financial aid and scholarships. Some said they would have dropped out if they didn't have that sort of support. “Life gets in the way,” they say. But when they have that person to go to, it makes the difference.
What sparked your interest in student-mothers?
My work is about changing structures, to be more supportive for people who need it. Part of what I’m looking at is how campuses support students who are parents. Many of these women are first-generation students, living and working in poverty.
How did federal legislation introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic affect student-mothers?
I was running a pilot study during the pandemic, and I spoke multiple times with 22 student-mothers in New York and Georgia over the course of a year; while the study didn't look at the impact of stimulus funding specifically, it sort of did by default. We studied how these student-parents were making it through the pandemic. A lot of them talked about how school districts were giving free meals for kids. They said it really made a difference, since the kids might not otherwise have breakfast and lunch.
What about the effect of the stimulus checks?
Preliminarily, there’s a big range. Some student-moms are financially well off enough to put the money into savings while others don’t have the luxury of saving money; they paid bills or used it to help fund a car. Some needed the money to buy diapers and shoes, or clothes for their kids so they wouldn’t get picked on at school. What has made more of a difference in some of their decisions about their own education have been programs like loan forgiveness programs or VA funds.
How do you anticipate further policy changes around student loan forgiveness will affect student-mothers’ decisions?
I'm expecting that it will relieve stress for a lot of moms—maybe it opens up windows for them; if they’re at a two-year college, they consider four-year, or if they’re in graduate school, it’s easier to think about taking on less debt. Kids seeing a parent go to college makes a big difference, too.
What is the most impactful thing universities can do to support these student-mothers?
They can have robust student-parent networks or centers that are designed to support low-income women. Student-mothers say it’s pivotal having somebody on campus they can go to, to help troubleshoot if they or their kids get sick and they have to miss an exam. Students also talk about appreciating additional support checking in with a dedicated counselor or staff person weekly, and also help tapping into financial aid and scholarships. Some said they would have dropped out if they didn't have that sort of support. “Life gets in the way,” they say. But when they have that person to go to, it makes the difference.
