Why Go Back to School? Investigating the Motivations of Student Parents to Pursue Post–Secondary Education

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This study explored the factors that motivate student parents to pursue post–secondary education. Student parents at four Canadian universities ( n =398) completed open–ended questions on their reasons for attending school in an online survey. Using Possible Selves Theory as a lens, we conducted a directed content analysis and found that student parents’ motivation to attend school has a strong future orientation. Primary motivators for engaging in post–secondary study included: to attain a valued job/career, higher education, and inspiration from family. Secondary motivators included: personal development, improvement in lifestyle and income, inspiration from relationships outside the family, the desire to be socially responsible, to overcome physical/mental challenges, and to develop a new hobby. The results indicate that student parents’ reasons for pursuing post–secondary education are varied and complex; it is therefore important that government and university policymakers are aware of the uniqueness of this population when making decisions on policies and supports.