An Examination of Policies and Practices within Western Canadian Research-Intensive Universities that Support Students with Family Responsibilities
Date
2023-06
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Abstract
Canadian universities have an obligation to provide accommodation based on family status; however, few have services and policies in place, and little direction is provided by provincial and federal human rights legislation. Although students with family responsibilities are an underserved population on university campuses, the global pandemic has helped thrust caregiving into the spotlight. The specific needs and experiences of post-secondary students with family responsibilities are a neglected area within the Canadian literature. Addressing the needs of this student group is an important leadership issue because it touches on many facets of institutional priorities, including student recruitment and retention; success strategies; equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization initiatives; and supports for specific populations. There are also implications for policies related to academic concessions or accommodations. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how research-intensive universities in western Canada are contemplating students with family responsibilities as a policy issue and as a priority population for services and programs. The research question was, how do research-intensive universities in western Canada support students with family responsibilities through their respective policies, services, and programs? Five secondary questions were related to (1) human rights legislation and accommodation; (2) formal policies, regulations, and governing documents; (3) student services and supports; (4) leaders’ perception of their institutions’ supports; and (5) promising practices.
Supporting the research design was the extant literature and policy theory. Four themes were identified from the literature: access and success, students with family responsibilities, human rights, and leadership, all of which served as conceptual lenses. Four policy dimensions: normative, structural, constituentive, and technical (Cooper et al., 2004) served as the theoretical framework. Using a qualitative research design, I investigated how five universities support students with family responsibilities. Data sources included publicly available institutional documents (n=267) and interviews with leaders (n=5) within student affairs. The findings led to the proposal of the flower petal model of supporting students with family responsibilities, from which seven main findings contributed to 18 recommendations. Implications and promising practices in the areas of accommodation policies, student services, and programming are shared.
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student parents, student caregivers, family responsibilities, research-intensive, qualitative research, policy, student supports, COVID-19, post-secondary, higher education, university, Canada
Citation
Usick, B. L. (2023). An examination of policies and practices within western Canadian research-intensive universities that support students with family responsibilities (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.