Congratulations to Ledawn Hall, who on Monday, February 16, 2026, successfully defended his dissertation proposal.
The title of Ledawn’s dissertation is "THE INVISIBLE STUDENT-PARENT: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF SINGLE FATHERS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES."
Overview of Problem: Student–parents are not graduating at the same rate as their non-parental student counterparts in the United States (Askelson et al., 2020; Cruse et al., n.d.). Horton (2015) stated that student–parents are more likely to drop out than non-parent students. Around 52% of student–parent undergraduates leave college without a diploma, compared to 32% of non-parent students (Ashford, 2020; Wladis et al., 2018). This disparity is also seen in community colleges. Twenty-eight percent of beginning community college student–parents graduate within 6 years (AACC, 2017; Brauer & Foust, 2020; Karp & Cruse, n.d.), while 34% of their first-time, beginning non-parental student counterparts who began in 2017 graduate during this same time frame (NCES, 2022). The enrollment data indicates a negative trend for student-parents who identify as student fathers, inclusive of single fathers. Single fathers tend to be less educated than single mothers, students without children, and married couples. In addition, single fathers are typically older and are more likely to be a person of color (Livingston, 2013). The dropout rate of student-fathers increases by about 10% for single Blacks and Latinos (Burke, 2022), demonstrating that the racial identity and marital status of said students play a role in academic success.
Research Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the lived experiences of single fathers attending community colleges. Drawing upon Tinto’s theory of persistence, this study further seeks to uncover how single fathers overcome barriers to succeed academically at community colleges and learn of suggestions from single fathers that can help stakeholders do more for this population.
Research Design: This qualitative study uses an interpretive lens to understand the lived experiences of single fathers in good academic standing at U.S. non-baccalaureate community colleges.
Sample: The recruitment sample will involve 12-20 single fathers in good academic standing who either currently attend a U.S. non-baccalaureate community college with 30 or more college-level credits or graduated within the last three years.
Data Collection: Data will be collected through one semi-structured Zoom interview per participant, lasting approximately 45-90 minutes. Data analysis will follow Yin’s (2016) five phases of analysis for coding, guided by Tinto’s theory of persistence.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CHAIR:
Dr. Peter Troiano
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Dr. Nicole Joseph
Dr. John Melendez
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