‘They don't realise how hard it is’. Investigating the lived experiences of higher education students with parental responsibilities during the Covid-19 pandemic

Anecdotal reports of student parents’ challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic prompted this explorative study; investigating the lived experiences of UK student parents and the provision of Higher Education support. Data was derived from 91 online surveys, 20 follow-up interviews, and analysis of 100 university websites. This occurred during the pandemic lockdowns whenthe stresses, challenges and opportunities of balancing their simultaneous roles of parent and student were intensified due to school closures. The Double ABC-X model provided a framework for examining participant's lived experiences, and the role that Higher Education institutions could play in effecting positive coping and adaptation. Findings indicate that universities need to implement strategies to enhance support for this sector, including greater awareness of the vulnerabilities and challenges involved, more flexibility and adaptability in the university ethos, formal and informal policies and structures to provide more effective support and advice for juggling these simultaneous demands.     

Modeling of Nonlinear Growth to Improve the Accuracy of Identification Decision Rules

Progress monitoring using curriculum-based measures administered to a student at multiple points in time is common in educational settings. Recent research has demonstrated that common approaches to identifying individuals in need of special services, such as the trend line or median techniques, can be negatively impacted by the nonlinear change in scores over time. The purpose of this study was to test and demonstrate a nonlinear regression model for adjusting the linear trend line for the presence of such nonlinearities, thereby improving the accuracy of common methods for identifying students in need of special services. Results demonstrated that use of this nonlinear model improved the accuracy of common methods for identifying students in need of special services.