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into their curriculums in response to the increasing demand for online instruction as adult and
nontraditional student populations also grow (Burke, 2019; Jaggars & Xu, 2016; Wavle, &
Ozogul, 2019). Some of the perceived benefits of online teaching and learning are flexibility,
accessibility, and convenience (Baum & McPherson, 2019; Burke, 2019; Grau-Valldosera et al.,
2019; Levy, 2017; Swanson, 2005). This makes online learning
appealing to many students
whose personal circumstances require them to seek educational opportunities with flexibility to
participate in their courses while attending to the needs in their personal lives.
Online education allows college students to overcome geographic barriers and attend
courses virtually to earn degrees from anywhere in the world with internet access (Cragg et al.,
2005). According to Duffin (2020), the estimated share by gender of students studying
online in
2020 was 50% female at the undergraduate level and 52% female for graduate level students.
According to the CCCCO (2022a), 53% of the student body in the California Community
College system was female during the 2019–2020 academic year. A report published by Institute
for Women’s Policy Research using 2015–2016 data found the largest share
of student parents is
enrolled in community colleges: 42% of all student parents are community college students
(Reichelin Cruse et al., 2019). The findings in this report also indicated more than 1 in 5 college
students, roughly 22% of all undergraduates, were parents. The report indicated out of the 3.8
million students parenting in college, roughly 2.7 million (70%) were mothers and 1.1
million
(30%) were fathers. According to the report, most mothers in college were single parents (62%),
and the majority of fathers were married (61%). Swanson (2005) found the “majority of distance
education learners in North American are women, older, likely
to be working full-time, and
married” (p. 5). The numbers of student mothers in college are large, and although there is some
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research about their experiences in
online learning, as HyFlex gains popularity and is offered
with more frequency across institutions of postsecondary education in the United States, it is
necessary to investigate what the experiences of mother college students are
like so educational
leaders and practitioners can ensure they are creating learning environments that include enough
wraparound services to support students mothering while enrolled in college.
