Parents as students: seeking for the balance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impact of the conflict between work, family and school on absenteeism from high-school, and the role academic motivation might have, for non-traditional students in Cyprus. To this end, a mixed-method research was conducted. The main research tools were the structured interview with former and current nontraditional high-school students with dropout behavior and a structured questionnaire for the registered students of a second chance school in Cyprus. Thematic analysis of the interview data indicated that being unable to respond effectively to the complex role of simultaneously being a parent, an employee and a student had resulted to increased absenteeism and dropout. Statistical analysis confirmed the above view, since absenteeism had a positive correlation with working hours and having children. Moreover, it was found that almost half of the participants experienced work-family-school conflict. Intention to dropout was higher for students that experienced work-family-school conflict compared to those who did not. It is noteworthy that academic motivation could predict intention to dropout. In conclusion, it seems that being a parent, a worker and a student is not an easy job, since it may result to work-family-school conflict and school dropout. However academic motivation may mediate the above relationship, increasing the likelihood of non-traditional students graduating from high-school.