Shifting from a Care-Free to a Care-Filled College Experience: An Exploratory Literature Review of Today’s Working Student-Parents

Student-parents experience higher education differently than their other enrolled peers, especially when holding other identities (e.g., spouse/partner, caregiver, intern). Among the multitude of needs that student-parents face, one remains constant: ensuring they build and sustain care for themselves and others whom they support in their everyday life. In a society that necessitates and values family formation and career readiness, these students navigate this balance while pursuing higher education. Focusing on the experiences of student-parents, this literature review examines the level of institutional care and individual care toward working student-parents pursuing higher education. The authors expound three major themes of exploration—the working student-parent identity, the reality of work-life integration among student-parents, and type of care for and from student-parents. Recommendations for theory, practice, and policies on how to move forward are provided.