"They will go like I did": How parents think about college for their young children in the context of rising costs. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Friedline, Terri; Rauscher, Emily; West, Stacia; Phipps, Barbara; Kardash, Nadzeya; Chang, Karin; Ecker-Lyster, Meghan
• Is Part Of: Children and youth services review. Volume 81(2017:Oct.)
• Page Start: 340
• Page End: 349
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: Student loan debt -- College -- Higher education -- Parents' educational expectations -- Qualitative; Social work with children -- Periodicals; Social work with youth -- Periodicals; Adolescent -- Periodicals; Child Welfare -- Periodicals; Social Work -- Periodicals; Service social aux enfants -- Périodiques; Service social à la jeunesse -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.08.027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0190-7409

Abstract

Abstract: Rising college costs and student loan burdens have triggered national debates about whether a college degree is "worth it." Parents raising children in the midst of these debates may be evaluating the value of a college degree relative to its costs and adjusting their educational expectations for their children, shaping future generations' socialization toward college. In this context, it is unclear how theoretical models on college attendance decision-making perform in explaining parents' thoughts about college for their children. This qualitative study elicited early perspectives on college through in-depth interviews with 37 parents of kindergarten children from one school district in a mid-sized, Midwestern city. Almost unanimously, lower-income parents with some college education saw a college degree as a catalyst of their children's upward mobility, though very few thought they could help their children afford college. Higher-income parents more often expressed doubts about pursuing a college degree or the value of that degree acquired with debt. Highlights: Rising costs and student debt have triggered debates about the value of college. Parents raising young children may be questioning whether college is worth the cost. We elicited early perspectives on college via in-depth interviews with 37 parents. Lower-income parents saw college as a catalyst of their children's upward mobility. Higher-income parents expressed doubts about a college degree acquired with debt.