Five stories from the ‘Being Student parents/carers’ series
During the months of March and April 2024, Teaching Matters invited students with caring responsibilities to contribute to a Hot Topic series: Being student parents/carers↗️. The series highlighted the often-overlooked narratives of student parents/carers within the university, and provided insights and recommendations to foster a more inclusive learning environment.
This newsletter brings together common conversations from the eight blog posts in this series, and presents five stories that capture the student parents/carers’ academic and personal journeys, highlighting how they can be better supported by the University community:
- Story 1: With great responsibility comes great resilience
- Story 2: A delicate balance of expansiveness and moderation
- Story 3: A small tweak can make a huge difference
- Story 4: The elephant in the room - institutional efforts
- Story 5: United we thrive and make collective progress
These are followed by our regular features: Collegiate Commentary, In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), and What's new at Teaching Matters! If you'd like to keep up with Teaching Matters, make sure to sign up to our Newsletter Mailing List↗️.
Story 1: With great responsibility comes great resilience
Balancing multiple responsibilities often requires immense resilience. Several blog posts in this series highlight the common experience of juggling multiple roles, striving to meet the demands of academia while managing the complexities of personal life.
In her blog post↗️, Vania Pinto, an online distance learning student and a student parent, shares how she interacts with her other responsibilities - studies, career, work, self-care, and family - while navigating through life’s challenges and unexpected turns. Vania shares:
“Over the past few months, I have been having ideas for a new project…I am starting to believe that maybe I can pull this new idea off… but can I??! I am trying to make sense of it all, what direction to go next, what is right, what is wrong, not only for myself, but also for my family. Despite all doubts, my gut is telling me to stay positive, and to think about what I have achieved so far! As I look back in time, and think about the person I was, both personal and professionally, I realize I have a completely new perspective on health, disease, and wellbeing”.
In her blog post↗️, talking about balance and resilience, Joséphine Foucher, who has recently completed her PhD in Sociology and her internship as Deputy at Teaching Matters, artfully shares lessons learned from finding balance amidst challenges, unveiling the boundless depths of love and resilience of the human spirit.
“But when I think back to how I managed to complete a PhD with my three arms and three legs [Josephine refers to the painting image by Alice Neel: The intellectual↗️]; from using my pregnancy insomnia to get some reading done, to breastfeeding my five months old during the ten-minute break between teaching two tutorials, to writing my conclusion with noise cancelling headphones while my partner tamed a crying toddler, I feel compassion for that difficult, joyous chaos”.
In a co-authored post about being student carers, Jo Alexjuk, describes how resilience was a key aspect for her success and overall well-being during her PhD studies whilst also working as a lecturer at the University. Having experienced the role of caring for both her father and mother, as well as six close family bereavements during her PhD studies, Jo’s story speaks of the reality and complexity in the interplay between academic and caregiving responsibilities. These success stories inspire hope to persist amidst challenges.
Story 2: A delicate dance of expansiveness and moderation
Finding a harmonious blend of expansiveness and moderation, abundance and balance, allows student parents/carers to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially while honouring their multifaceted identities and aspirations.
In her blog post↗️, Josephine Foucher discusses the beauty of finding a delicate balance in being a student parent:
“…it’s about fostering moderation. Adapting your life to foster the fulfilment of a highly dependent being, whilst not compromising your whole existence is a delicate dance. It requires mindful, daily adjustments to maintain a layered identity that isn’t just wrapped up in being a parent, but also a friend, partner, community member, sister, daughter. However, even moderation needs to be done with moderation. Abundance and radicality are thrilling. And sometimes necessary for being creatively and politically engaged”
Vania↗️ shares how she balances her study time, self-care and family:
“My strategy is to set specific times for studying, but also for being with my family and friends. I try to keep myself balanced, plan assessments ahead of time, listen to my body, and notice how I feel. In times of high-energy and clarity, I try to be extra-productive. Other times, I force myself to relax, focus all my intentions on the ones around me, count my blessings and celebrate the opportunities I have been given”.
Story 3: A small tweak can make a huge difference
Simple changes = profound effects! Many students with caring responsibilities feel that having flexible schedules as immensely helpful. Lindsay Jack, Director of the Student Experience at Edinburgh Law School, in her blog post on the project - ‘Beyond the gap’↗️ shares:
“Students with caring responsibilities…have told us that simple tweaks could make all the difference to their university career. More flexibility built into attendance at classes would transform their time at university. A broader understanding of the limits of their time and the lack of wiggle room would go a long way to underpinning their success too. Being included and considered as part of the way structures and processes are built in the institution would remove the sense they shared of feeling like they had to keep asking for things, and did not know who the correct person was to ask.”.
Lindsay adds that, while this project ‘Watch the Gap’ focused on students with caregiving responsibilities, it is crucial to acknowledge that these experiences may also be shared by other student groups, warranting further exploration.
It is important to highlight that often inclusive efforts to support certain groups of students often benefit ALL students.
Image credit: Vectorarte on Freepik
Story 4: The elephant in the room – institutional efforts
The role of educators and institutional policies in supporting student parents and carers is critical. Initiatives like the Carer & Child room at the Main Library↗️, spearheaded by Craig Robertson and co-authored by Neil Speirs, exemplify institutional efforts to create supportive spaces.
Research initiatives like the ‘Watch the Gap’↗️ project, and inspiring initiatives such as The Buddy Scheme & Student Ambassador Scheme, highlighted in their blog post↗️ by Michelle King-Okoye, Aigli Raouna and Jo Alexjuk, at the School of Health in Social Sciences, go a long way in increasing awareness, providing opportunities and supporting student wellbeing.
- The ‘Buddy Scheme’, which pairs students from similar programmes of study to be their brothers/sisters’ keeper has potential to strengthen peer relationships and provide support.
- The ‘Student Ambassador Scheme’ identifies someone (with lived experience) who will act as an advocate for students with caring responsibilities according to cohort and is a promising pathway for this subgroup of students.
In another blog post↗️, Neil Speirs discusses Place-Belongingness - for student parents is essential for their active engagement, support-seeking, and relationship-building within the campus environment. As Neil points out, "Belonging cannot be an isolated and individual affair" (Probyn, 1996), highlighting the importance of inclusive institutional efforts. He adds,
“Good educators place students in a position to flourish. Let’s make sure we do this for our student parents as well as other students – to do so we might need to colour-in outside of the lines of current policy and practice. But that might be no bad thing”.
While success of such initiatives highlight the importance of institutional commitment to inclusivity and the positive impact it can have on student parents and carers, there is more to be done.
Story 5: United we thrive and make collective progress
In their blog post↗️, student parents, Sylvia Western and Sarah R Squire, share accounts of student parents’ community at the Halls of Residence. They highlight the benefits of community living in providing a supportive environment where shared experiences promote belonging and enhance student experience. They share what makes their community unique, and how it contributes to the overall student experience and connects the university with the local community.
“With bonds that span across borders, the community mingles within and outside the halls of residence. Aligning with Strategy 2030, the Blacket community actively fosters local community outreach and collaboration, intertwining seamlessly with Edinburgh city and its local community. This commitment is evident through various initiatives and participation in key aspects of community life”.
In their blog post↗️, Michelle, Aigli, and Jo highlight a peer-led student parents and carers group initiative that aims to create a safe space to meet face-to-face and online to engage in meaningful discussions, and to participate in social activities, such as mindfulness, craft-making, vision board workshops and outdoor walks
Social media communities of student parents/carers at the university, drop-in sessions by the Widening Participation team, targeted student association (EUSA) activities are all great initiatives that help in community building and can foster both academic and personal development.
Conclusion
While we should celebrate success stories and unsung superheroes, we should remain cautious of valorising extraordinary feats that might inadvertently be normalised↗️ suggesting that this level of sacrifice is the taken for granted baseline for success in academia. While revealing the struggles and strengths of student parents, these stories bring to light the critical role of support systems at the university. This newsletter itself is an attempt to call for continued efforts to enhance institutional support and create more inclusive and empathetic academic environments, ultimately empowering student parents and carers to succeed in their academic and personal lives.“
Collegiate Commentary
Kenny Anderson, Director, Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAPWest)
While Teaching Matters primarily showcases University of Edinburgh teaching and learning practice, our core values of collegiality and support also extend beyond our institution, inviting a wider, international community to engage in Teaching Matters. In this feature, we ask colleagues from beyond the University to provide a short commentary on ‘Five things↗️...’, and share their own learning and teaching resource or output, which we can learn from.
Collegiate Commentary by Kenny Anderson, Director, Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAPWest)
It has always been a great privilege to work with adult students, especially those at the beginning of their return to education, and I am delighted to contribute to the 'Being student parents/carers' newsletter. The conversations and blog posts provide a rich introduction to working with a valuable group of students. They encapsulate beautifully the “juggling” required to be a student and a carer. Josephine Foucher's description of 'requiring three arms and three legs' is one that resonates with most student carers. One of my hopefully helpful pieces of guidance to student carers is to enjoy their learning. I hope with the juggling they also have time to daydream, like the “intellectual”, Josephine highlights in her article. I will be using that image in my work from now on.
The series provoked my thinking on how we, as educators, support our students with caring responsibilities, and value their resilience, determination and strength. For Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP), we provide education for returning adults throughout Scotland who left school with few or no qualifications. Our students return through college-delivered access programmes. Students benefit from being in a class with like-minded adults. We have about 2000 students starting with us each year on the journey to higher education. Since the beginning of SWAP, the numbers of students with children have remained at just over half of each cohort – 55%. A significant number are single parents – 29%. From our 35-year history, we can provide assurance to them and their families that the programme will work. At the conclusion of their SWAP years, our university partners benefit from determined and well-organised students. My colleague, Lesley Dunbar at SWAPEast, has evidenced the progression of these students and how valuable they are to the universities they attend – 'Tracking SWAP students' report, available by request from swapeast@ed.ac.uk
This newsletter helps all of us think and learn how we can work better. I enjoyed Neil Spiers’ thoughtful and academic piece on what it means to belong, which is key for student success. It is good to see student carers beginning to be highlighted by other universities, for example, at the University of the West of Scotland. Bespoke arrangements from universities ensure that these highly visible “invisible” students are noticed and valued. As Neil says, “Good educators place students in a position to flourish”. It is a credit to see the University of Edinburgh backing this up with action in creating a beautiful space for children to be welcomed by the university, in the Carer & Child Room in the Main Library.
Reflecting on how students with caring responsibilities think about their identities and how they develop at university, I am often struck on how little issues often matter the most. As Lindsay Jack highlights, “small tweaks make a big difference”, for example, having a timetable in advance to plan childcare, or thinking about how flexibility in teaching can provide students with an inclusive education. Might we need to learn more as educators about how work practices are altering to think more carefully about parents and those who support them?
The team at SWAP have been putting some thought into how we normalise the parent carer experience, and support the development of personal and social competences to tackle the challenges faced by adult students. Ideally, we want these activities to be seen as normal as part of the development of a successful student. Our approach has been to be upfront about the challenges. Our main way to tackle these challenges is to use student voice and peer guidance to normalise the solutions. Josephine and Vania have put together a helpful piece for that delicate dance. I hope many students will consider their wise words, when they follow in their footsteps. Having permission to admit to feeling guilty at times is perfectly normal. We have shared some of our own parent students stories in our 'Prep for HE' activity on preparing to be a successful student - Balance: https://www.scottishwideraccess.org/moodle/mod/scorm/view.php?id=255 (Please note there is no need to log in to the SWAPWest moodle; materials are available to all guests and please feel free to share. The software we use “rise 360” does require pop ups to be unblocked).
Finally, I enjoyed the piece by Sylvia and Sarah on uniting to thrive, which reminds us all of the benefits that working with student carers brings to developing the universities links with their communities. My final reflection is that policy matters to this group of students. Changes in childcare policy, benefits and finance impact our student carers. It is a good time to try and influence policy. We welcomed providing evidence to the Scottish Parliament on their report 'Addressing child poverty through parental employment', which allowed us to highlight the importance of education. Let us all continue to use this newsletter, stories and blog posts to keep up the visibility of our student carers.
About Kenny: Kenny Anderson has been Director of SWAPWest since 2008. SWAP is a national organisation which encourages adults to return to education. Prior to working with SWAP, Kenny taught computer programming and worked on a number of guidance projects. As Director of SWAPWest, he has managed a number of projects considering student guidance, use of adult students as role models and Erasmus project work developing the European framework for personal, social and learning to learn framework. He loves talking about adult education and can be contacted by email at swapwest@scottishwideraccess.org.
In case you missed it (ICYMI)
Teaching Matters recently featured series:
June-July Hot Topic theme: Students as Change Agents (SACHA)↗️. Students as Change Agents (SACHA) is a student-led design thinking programme that partners diverse student groups with host organisations to tackle challenges aligned to the University’s research themes and that address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS). This series features voices across the SACHA programme – including student participants (AKA ‘Change Agents’), staff, challenge hosts, and group coaches. They showcase some of the learnings and insights from the SACHA programme in this blog series.
March-June Learning & Teaching Enhancement theme: Assessment and feedback revisited↗️. Professor Tina Harrison introduces this series saying, 'Getting the basics right is the key'. The contributors to this series provide a wonderful array of examples of practice that address the Assessment and Feedback Principles and Priorities.
Podcast series: Student Wellbeing↗️. Co-produced and presented by Douglas Beales, Sibyl Adam and Tessa Warinner, Wellbeing Advisers at the Student Wellbeing Service, this series features an introduction to the Student Wellbeing Service, and discussions around key topics such as PhD students and wellbeing, and Wellbeing in the curriculum.
Don't forget to read our recent extra posts:
- Supporting our tutors and demonstrators: A balance of principles, practice and policy:↗️ Dr David Quinn, Lecturer in the School of Mathematics, shares his experience of supporting tutors and demonstrators, from informal support like peer support, to more formal routes such as peer observation and the courses offered by Institute for Academic Development: Introduction to Academic Practice (IntroAP) or the Edinburgh Teaching Award (EdTA).
- American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest 2024 at Edinburgh↗️: Serveh Sharifi, Vanda Inacio, Ozan Evkaya, and Amanda Lenzi, academics from the School of Mathematics, share their experience and insights on hosting the American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest 2024 at The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University. The hackathon attracted 82 students who worked in teams to analyse a large dataset from CourseKata.
- Together we thrive: Co-designing Peer Support for Master’s students↗️: Julie Smith, Emily Birtles, and Lianya Qiu spotlight a peer support initiative ‘Dissertation Buddies’, co-created to support one-year master’s students during their dissertation phase and to foster community building and belonging.
- Decolonising the Curriculum: A conversation with Dr Omolabake Fakunle:↗️ Charlie Bevan, Sharon Boateng, and Megan Douglas from the Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program share valuable insights from their conversation with Dr Omolabake Fakunle, Chancellors Fellow at the Moray House School of Education and Sport and Institute for Education.
- Reflections on Student and Staff Co-Creation: Are we there yet?↗️: Dr Neneh Rowa-Dewar & Sharon Levy (the Director and Deputy Director of Quality), Michelle Hart (Teaching Organisation Manager), and Yen Nguyen Culle (current student-member and Project Coordinator), highlight the challenges encountered and the transformative impact of embracing genuine partnerships within the academic environment.
We highly recommend having a look at the upcoming events at Edinburgh Network: Growing Approaches to Genuine Engagement (ENGAGE)↗️, and scholarly writing retreats and workshops through the SoTL Network↗️.
🎨 Unleash Your Creative Spirit 🖌️Are you a budding artist with a passion for illustration? Do you dream of showcasing your talent to the world? Look no further! We invite all students to participate in our Student Illustration opportunity↗️
Coming soon at Teaching Matters?
Teaching Matters is set to feature two new series:
- 📌Critical insights into contemporary issues in Higher Education
- 📌Student Partnership Agreement
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