A Phenomenology on the Dual Roles of Solo Parents in Public and Private Educational Institutions

The emergence of non-traditional families changes the landscape of social roles in our society today. These social roles are products of families conceived through single parenthood, mixed marriage, foster family, and blended family among others. For this research venture, the main focus is to determine the dual role of single or solo parents in an educational institution and specifically determine their challenges, adjustment, parental role and acceptance, and the discrimination or stigma they encountered. Using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), five solo or single parents served as the co- researchers selected using a snowball sampling procedure based on set criteria. Data were gathered using unstructured questionnaires, interview protocol, and observation. The findings suggest that the financial aspect was the primary challenge encountered by solo parents. Additionally, implementation of the law for solo or single parents was not comprehensively undertaken, and there were limited programs to address the psychological challenges posed by being a single parent. Furthermore, discrimination was not an issue to contend with. The results of the study suggest that further looking into the government support and the implementation of the laws relative to single parenting to maximize the benefits provided for them, creation of peer group support, and establishing of a counseling program or helpline can be done to address the psychological issues confronting single parents. Future researchers can do validation research using single parents working in different institutions or living in a rural community and use other variables across different socioeconomic statuses, gender, and age with a larger sample.