A new research project hopes to help college students juggling academics and care for a children or dependents at the same time.
The joint study from Mohawk College and the Hamilton Public Library (HPL) has received a federal grant and will seek to develop educational support programs for post-secondary student caregivers with extra burdens.
Research lead Dr. Pamela Ingleton says a recent survey found about one-fifth (18 per cent) of full-time students in Mohawk are tasked with caring for young children and have struggled with financial support as well as finding childcare while trying to get an education.
“They have limited quality time to focus on studies that they tend to need to sometimes drop down to part-time status or take longer to study as a result of their other commitments,” Ingleton explained.
She says anecdotal evidence from student consultations shows many don’t have the option to bring kids to class since some post-secondary institutions don’t have child care on campus.
“Trying to balance the time … and … all of these different components in the experience of being a caregiver or parent … is making it hard to sort of live up to the commitments of what is essentially two full-time jobs, being a parent and also being a student, ” said Ingleton.
The ultimate goal is to take existing supports provided by libraries and learning facilities, like early childhood education and peer tutoring, to create a model for student-caregivers across Canada.
“The proposed tandem programming will provide Hamilton Public Library new ways to support student-caregivers while offering children positive experiences that focus on early literacy, school readiness and building social-emotional skills,” said Cindy Poggiaroni, HPL’s Director of Collections and Program Development.
Data collection from HPL branches and Mohawk’s campus is expected over the next two years culminating in a symposium for colleges and universities in the final year of the study.