[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-587858-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-587858-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","designing-postsecondary-education-for-parenting-students-research-brief","Designing Postsecondary Education for Parenting Students - Research Brief","","Designing Postsecondary Education for Parenting Students outlines how Washington’s education system can better support learners who care for dependent children. It frames parenting students’ motivation alongside structural barriers such as childcare conflicts and cost pressures, noting they often excel academically yet graduate at lower rates. Using survey data from Washington colleges and universities, the brief profiles who parenting students are, examines geographic variation, and connects findings to universal childcare challenges, highlighting resources and policy and practice strategies used by other states.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/designing-postsecondary-education-for-parenting-students-research-brief/587858/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/designing-postsecondary-education-for-parenting-students-research-brief/587858.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Melati","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does the brief argue that postsecondary education should be designed for parenting students?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It argues that an education system built around parenting students’ needs helps them meet personal goals and develop skills for stable employment and income, benefiting families and communities over both the short and long term.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What structural challenges do parenting students face in post-high school education?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The brief highlights schedule conflicts with childcare operating hours and cost competition between education expenses and childcare costs, reducing time parents can spend focused on their children and families.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What does the brief report about parenting students’ basic needs and demographics in Washington?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It reports parenting students are disproportionately female and low-income, are more likely to identify with historically underserved groups, and report higher levels of basic needs insecurity, including challenges accessing housing, food, healthcare, and childcare.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},587858,1792191758,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962085570644,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","Designing Postsecondary Education for Parenting Students  \nResearch Brief  \nArya Kukreja and KC Deane September 2025  \nIntroduction  \nOur education system is most likely to yield transformative change when learners can access the support they need to succeed. For parenting students, or students who care for dependent children, an education system developed with their needs in mind can help them meet their personal goals and develop the skills necessary for stable employment and steady income. 1 In this way, education for parenting students is both an individual opportunity and a multigenerational opportunity that creates immediate and long-term benefits for families and communities.  \nParenting students begin their post-high school education or training resilient and motivated to learn. 2 When they arrive, they typically find educational structures that work against, not for, them. Class schedules may conflict with childcare operating hours, and school expenses compete with childcare costs. Further, time spent in class or studying is time that parents cannot spend focused on their children and families. The tension between their motivation and the structural challenges they encounter puts parenting students in a challenging position, where they often outperform peers in academic coursework 3 but, according to estimates from the Urban Institute, graduate at lower rates. 4  \nWashington’s higher education system can address these challenges and create more welcoming campuses for parenting students. By working with institutions and communities to help parenting students succeed, we are also investing in a more educated workforce that has greater economic returns for smaller communities, families and the state. 5  \nIn this report, we present a profile of Washington’s parenting students, then situate this profile alongside the universal childcare challenges experienced by all parents. We then summarize theresources and targeted supports that are available for parenting students and highlight strategies and interventions other states have used to center parenting students’ needs in policy and practice.  \nA Profile of Washington’s Parenting Students  \nIn fall 2024, the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) partnered with Western Washington University and Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to administer the WSAC Basic Needs Survey to students enrolled at all public universities and all but one community and technical college (CTC) in the state. Survey responses provide valuable insights into the composition of Washington’s parenting student population and the  \nestimated level of basic needs insecurity among these students. The survey results are therefore used to inform our understanding of the parenting student population within the state. 6  \nAcross Washington, approximately 18% of survey respondents self-identify as having a dependent which is equal to the nationwide average. 7 The students who comprise the population of parenting students within the pool of survey respondents are also disproportionately female and low-income. They are also likely to identify as being from a population historically underserved by higher education and likely to report experiencing basic needs insecurity (Figure 1) :  \n• 75% of parenting students identify as female, compared to 63% of non-parenting students statewide. 8  \n• 62% are low-income, compared to 40% of non-parenting students statewide. 9  \n• 2% identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, compared to less than 1% statewide.  \n• 8% identify as Black/African American, compared to 3% statewide.  \n• 15% identify as Hispanic/Latino, compared to 14% statewide. 10  \n• 68% of parenting students report challenges accessing basic needs such as affordable housing, food, healthcare, and childcare, compared to 52% of all students statewide. 11  \nFigure 1. Share of parenting and non-parenting students among Basic Needs Survey respondents enrolled in any Washington p","cbCaipMucUKhiyza","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipMucUKhiyza","pdf",517266,18,"English","# Introduction\n# A Profile of Washington’s Parenting Students\n# The Intersection of Geography and Childcare Accessibility","[{\"question\":\"Why does the brief argue that postsecondary education should be designed for parenting students?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that an education system built around parenting students’ needs helps them meet personal goals and develop skills for stable employment and income, benefiting families and communities over both the short and long term.\"},{\"question\":\"What structural challenges do parenting students face in post-high school education?\",\"answer\":\"The brief highlights schedule conflicts with childcare operating hours and cost competition between education expenses and childcare costs, reducing time parents can spend focused on their children and families.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the brief report about parenting students’ basic needs and demographics in Washington?\",\"answer\":\"It reports parenting students are disproportionately female and low-income, are more likely to identify with historically underserved groups, and report higher levels of basic needs insecurity, including challenges accessing housing, food, healthcare, and childcare.\"}]","Designing Postsecondary Education for Parenting Students - Research Brief | PDF",1792063385,45]