| Popis: |
Many single parents face economic and social barriers which make it difficult to escape poverty. A growing number of single parents are returning to college in order to obtain a good job at a living wage. While a college education offers a way out of the cycle of poverty, many obstacles hinder single parents from both entering and being successful in college. Single mothers who attend college are perhaps the students most at risk for dropping out of school, achieving lower grades, and experiencing poor adaptation to the collegiate environment in general. Some of these obstacles are created due to the role strain which single mothers experience while trying to balance their roles as parents, students, homemakers, friends or lovers, and self-care providers. The purpose of this study was to design and develop a time management intervention which assisted single parents in their attempts to better manage the demands of college life and reduce levels of role strain. A Design and Development (D&D) research strategy was utilized to achieve these purposes. Three trials were conducted over the course of an academic year with a total of 23 self-selected members of the Single Parent Program at Andrews University. Developmental feedback from group members was used to successively refine the intervention. Trials #2 and #3 showed moderate to high levels of satisfaction with all aspects of the seminar content and process. Those who attended more frequently were more likely to express satisfaction with the seminar, more likely to incorporate the time management principles into their lives, and generally showed higher levels of self-management and lower levels of role strain. |
