Profile: Students with family responsibilities
Jutta Rump; Imke Buß; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm; Petra Schorat-Waly
Definition and starting point
Students each live in different situations and are involved in family structures in different ways. This can be the demand for help in the household, the care of younger siblings or the involvement in the care of relatives, but also the own family formation and child care. The life situation of students with family responsibilities has a direct impact on their studies, whether through time restrictions or limited mobility/flexibility in terms of study location, internships, stays abroad, etc. (Berthold and Leichsenring 2012).
In the literature, the topic of studying with family responsibilities is often limited to two fields: Studying with child(ren) and studying with care responsibilities (ibid.). The 20th Social Survey of the German Student Union (Middendorff et al. 2013) states that 5% of students in Germany have one or more children. Of these, 50% are married, 32% live in a fixed partnership, and 18% live without a fixed partner. Students with children in their first degree program are on average 31 years old and thus 7.6 years older than their fellow students without children. In addition to marital status and parenthood, the social survey does not collect separate data on students who care for relatives.
The CHE Diversity Report (Berthold and Leichsenring 2012) assumes that the number of students providing care is still greatly underestimated. On average, caregiving students are older (25.8 years) than their non-caregiving peers (23.6 years) and study in higher semesters. They also come from non-academic families significantly more often and have an immigrant background more often than non-caring students. On average, more students with caregiving responsibilities or commitments have completed previous vocational training or studies. Moreover, students in this group are significantly more likely to have additional responsibility for a child (9.0% vs. 4.9%) and are thus doubly involved in family responsibilities.
In the Study Barometer of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ludwigshafen 2015b), 5.3% of the students surveyed reported having children of care-giving age, almost all of whom live together in a household with their child/children. 60% of students with children are female and 40% are male. Slightly more than half of the respondents with child(ren) come from the Department of Social and Health Services and a quarter from the Department of Marketing and Human Resource Management, while 12% each come from the Department of Management, Controlling and Health Care or the Department of Services and Consulting.
Effects on study situation and study success
Study success and dropout
The data situation with regard to parenthood shows: Due to time constraints, parents study in official full-time degree programs, but de facto can only do so part-time. Moreover, study programs that can be formally studied part-time or part-time are of particular interest to this group of students (Middendorff et al. 2013). Approximately one third of students with children interrupt their studies. The most common reason for this is pregnancy or raising children. For fathers, financial problems and employment also play a greater role (ibid.). Other reasons for interrupting studies are lack of time, difficulties in organizing studies and childcare, lack of understanding for the situation of fellow students and lecturers, coping with study requirements and raising children (Schrull 2005).
Reconcilingfamily and studies
The biggest challenge for students with child(ren) and/or with care responsibilities is reconciling family and studies (ibid.). In summary, this includes the management of scarce time resources and a heavy time and physical as well as psychological burden due to the multiple workload. Further, there are problems to create a place to work or space to write at home (Müller et al. 2015).
Psychological and physical limitations
The CHE Diversity Report shows that students with children are slightly less confident that they will succeed in completing their studies. In addition, they suffer from psychological or physical limitations in their studies with above-average frequency (Berthold and Leichsenring 2012). Single-parent students in particular obviously suffer more than students with a partner, which is reflected in their physical and psychological constitution.
Social integration
Family responsibilities affect students' social integration. Student parents report having significantly fewer social contacts at the university compared to other students. The time aspect and the extraordinary life situation in which students with caregiving responsibilities also find themselves inhibit social integration in and identification with the university (ibid.).
Financing
The survey of first-year students at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences shows that the student group with family responsibilities is generally more concerned about their financial situation compared to other students. 33% of students also indicate that they are concerned about childcare and have a need for a childcare place (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ludwigshafen 2015a). Furthermore, in the student barometer (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ludwigshafen 2015b), 2.1% of the respondents, or 10 people expressed in numbers, stated that they cared for relatives in need of care. Due to the small number of cases, no further analyses, e.g., regarding special needs or potentials of this student group, could be conducted.
Potentials of students with family responsibilities
In addition to the challenges in terms of time management and multiple workloads, students with family responsibilities also bring some potentials to their studies. Students with child(ren) and/or care responsibilities are generally older and already have more life experience. For the most part, they no longer live with their parents, are financially independent and want to finish their studies more quickly than students without children. They often have good family and professional structures that are used for studying and on the basis of which studying, parenthood and a job are reconciled. They have an environment in which their studies fit in. The rather conscious decision-making process for (further) studies is also reflected in very conscientious and careful work as well as determination (Berthold and Leichsenring 2012). Nevertheless, the compatibility of studies, employment and family is obviously difficult and certain framework conditions in studies can make it easier for this group to decide to study or to improve the adjustment situation in studies. The University of Applied Sciences Ludwigshafen contributes its share to the success of the compatibility of family duties and studies. Since 2002, it has been audited as a family-friendly university - the first university in Germany to do so - and sees a family-conscious approach in its dealings with employees and students as an integral part of its organization.
Literature
Berthold, C.; Leichsenring, H. (eds.) (2012): CHE: Diversity report: the full report. Available online at www.che-consult.de/fileadmin/pdf/publikationen/CHE_Diversity_Report_Gesamtbericht_komprimiert.pdf, last checked on 25.04.2016.
Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences (2015a): Study program survey. Internal document. Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences (2015b): Student barometer. University-wide student survey. Winter semester 2014/2015. unpublished document. With the collaboration of Keller, A. University Evaluation Officer. Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
Middendorff, E.; Apolinarski, B.; Poskowsky, J.; Kandulla, M.; Netz, N. (2013): The economic and social situation of students in Germany 2012: 20th Social Survey of the German Student Union conducted by the HIS Institute for Higher Education Research. Available online at www.sozialerhebung.de/download/20/soz20_hauptbericht_gesamt.pdf, last checked 25.04.2016.
Müller, M.; Husemann, B.; Buß, I. (2015): Study-related characteristics and needs of students with children and working students. First results from the research and development project "Study? Divers! Open study model Ludwigshafen".
Schrull, B. (2005): Work-Life Balance at the University of Potsdam: Reconciling Study - Work - Academic Career and Family.
Citation
Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Profile: students with family responsibilities. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good teaching in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, No. 6. www.hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere
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