Single mothers have the lowest rates of degree completion of any demographic group when they pursue higher education as a path out of poverty. This article explores the obstacles student mothers face when they pursue higher education. The lived experiences of participants add context to data about low rates of degree completion. Findings are based…

Through a year-long study of welfare-to-work students in the community college CalWORKs program, we investigated what self-authorship development looks like by examining developmental progress, and whether there are patterns in development along the three dimensions of self-authorship. Findings demonstrate progress toward self-authorship, but…

The universal belief that poverty is a matter of low income and correctable through economic growth, more jobs, and increased income is precisely why poverty has persisted in the United States and elsewhere. We view the poor as those not yet in the middle class, but it can be shown that not all the poor can join the middle class, even in the…