Date of Award
Spring 4-6-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
D.S.W. Social work
Department
Social Work
First Advisor
Sharon Lyter
Second Advisor
Yasoda Sharma
Third Advisor
Janice Gasker
Abstract
As part of a feminist hermeneutic phenomenological study, mothers of children who had not yet entered kindergarten and who had used child care outside of the home during the COVID-19 pandemic were interviewed about their experiences of motherhood, use of child care, and COVID-19 after the US lockdown orders were lifted in late 2020. Informed by the matricentric feminist perspective, which promotes the enfranchisement of mothers, the study aimed to inform social work practice for mothers and advocacy for employed mothers of young children.
Exploring the experiences of mothers was completed by collecting narratives utilizing a semi-structured interview. Findings from the data include a reported sense of “being everything,” feelings of isolation, and continued struggles with navigating child care due to availability, affordability, employment, and other illnesses. This research can inform social work practice, advocacy efforts that aim to improve the systemic shortcomings that harm families, and inform social work leadership.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Higgins, Bailey, "Without A Village: Motherhood, Child Care and COVID-19" (2023). Social Work Doctoral Dissertations. 25.
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/socialworkdissertations/25
