Mothering by Degrees: Single Mothers and the Pursuit of Postsecondary Education

Jillian M. Duquaine-Watson

Published by Rutgers University Press 2017

Mothering by Degrees

Single Mothers and the Pursuit of Postsecondary Education

Jillian M. Duquaine-Watson

In the series The American Campus

https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813588452

Overview
Contents

About this book

Winner of the 2018 AERA Division J Outstanding Publication Award

In Mothering by Degrees, Jillian Duquaine-Watson shows how single mothers pursuing college degrees must navigate a difficult course as they attempt to reconcile their identities as single moms, college students, and in many cases, employees. They also negotiate a balance between what they think a good mother should be, and what society is telling them, and how that affects their choices to go to college, and whether to stay in college or not.

The first book length study to focus on the lives and experiences of single mothers who are college students, Mothering by Degrees points out how these women are influenced by dominant American ideologies of motherhood, and the institutional parameters of the schools they attend, and argues for increased attention to the specific ways in which the choices, challenges, and opportunities available to mothers are shaped within their specific environments, as well as the ways in which mothers help shape those environments...

Author / Editor information

JILLIAN M. DUQUAINE-WATSON is a senior lecturer in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Reviews

"Jillian Duquaine-Watson casts an insightful eye on how determined single mothers navigate the obstacles of time, money, and a chilly campus climate as they seek to improve their family's fortunes by pursuing a higher degree. These rich stories shatter stereotypes, inspire admiration, and call out for attention."

— Kathleen Gerson, author of The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of Gender, Work, and Family

"Jillian Duquaine-Watson casts an insightful eye on how determined single mothers navigate the obstacles of time, money, and a chilly campus climate as they seek to improve their family's fortunes by pursuing a higher degree. These rich stories shatter stereotypes, inspire admiration, and call out for attention."

— Kathleen Gerson, author of The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of Gender, Work, and Family

Read Jillian Duquaine-Watson's Interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education: http://www.chronicle.com/article/Scholar-Finds-That-Academe-s/240004

— Chronicle of Higher Education

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Prologue: Lessons from My Grandmother Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. The Politics of Single Motherhood in the United States Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
2. Trying to Make Ends Meet Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
3. Clocks and Calendars Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
4. Navigating America’s Child Care Crisis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
5. Mothering Alone in a Chilly Climate Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Appendix: Supporting Single Mothers at Colleges and Universities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	261

Language: English
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 272
Illustrations
- Other: 1 table
Keywords: single mother; mother; motherhood; pregnancy; education; secondary education; postsecondary; postsecondary education; college; college degree; degree; student; adult student; young mother; university

eBook

Published: May 31, 2017
ISBN: 9780813588452