Undoubtedly, households led by single mothers who abide in poverty are on the rise. This occurrence has been attributed to the level of education of the single mothers. The goal of this study will be to substantiate the correlation that exist between the level of education of the single mothers and poverty level. The target population of this study will be single mothers living in Texas, who are living with children under the age of 13 years. Purposive non-probability sampling method was employed accompanied with snowballing sampling technique. The inclusion procedures comprised single mothers who are the sole providers of their households and have a secondary level education. As such, 25 single mothers who have accomplished post-secondary education and 25 who have only a secondary education were used as study population. Content analysis will be adopted in the process of analysing the data gathered through the questionnaires and interviews.
Research Methodology
The decision to examine the prevalence of poverty among the single mothers who have secondary education was inspired by the escalating degree of poverty in a substantial number of single mother households across America. In particular, households where women had only a secondary education level or lower., poverty seemed to be predominant in these households.
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Targeted Population
A target population refers to a group of people who have satisfied the established inclusion for a specified study (Lee, 2012). Moreover, a targeted population denotes a population to which an investigator aims at generalizing the outcomes of a study. Bearing that in mind, the target population for the present study is single mothers within the vicinity Texas.
Sample and Sampling Criteria
A sample denotes an aspect of population which the investigator aims at generalizing the finding (Lee, 2012). As such, to obtain a representative sample for this study, the investigator will adopt a purposive non-probability to substantiate the single mothers’ households in Texas. Snowballing technique will be applied in order to reach out to other single mothers who have secondary education as well as those who have post-secondary education level, in that, the participating single mothers will recommend other single mothers who are willing to participate in the study. The process will progress until a sample of 50 single mothers are attained. The sample selected will then be categorized into those 25 single mothers who have attained secondary education and those who have accomplished 25 post-secondary education. It is noteworthy that, that the inclusion criteria of the participants will ensure that the participants were genuinely single mothers with at least one child, thirteen years or younger.
Ethical Consideration
Before beginning the interview or handing out a questionnaire, the respondents will be requested to sign a consent form. Consent form will comprise details with regards to how the investigation will be undertaken as well as the measures that will be adopted to affirm the privacy and protection of the information disclosed, according to the standards set by the National Institute of Health. The respondents will be affirmed that the researcher is the only authorized entity who will view any personally identifiable or sensitive information. Besides, they will be informed prior to commencing that participating was voluntary and that they could withdraw any moment they want.
Research Design
This study will employ longitudinal or cohort studies, this is a type of observational studies where the beginning point is identifying and selecting a study population, and in turn data is gathered to establish the people in this population who are vulnerable to the aspect under investigation. For example, in this present study, single mothers who have attained secondary and post-secondary education where the study population. Cohort studies requires investigation of the study population over a specified duration of time where elements under inspection are then compared.
Operationalizing Variables
Operationalization of variables entails clear definition of variables in such a way that they can be measured. The goal of operationalizing is to remove all manner of ambiguity and in turn facilitating clarity in the research process. Poverty in this study will refer to households living under $1.25 a day. Single mothers in this study will imply to unmarried mothers who are the main providers of their household. In that respect, in this study, Likert Scale of Intensity measurement was adopted. This scale is employed when the researcher intends to determine the degree to which the participants agree or disagree with a specific statement. The components of Likert Scale encompass: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree. Questions will be strategically developed and in turn given out to the participants in form of a survey questionnaire as well as during the interviews.
Data Analysis Plan
The data mobilized from both the interviews and the questionnaires filled by the single mothers will be analysed by applying the content analysis method. Content analysis refers to a systematic representation of the specific contents of the objects, materials or subjects of the study. Content analysis determines the frequency at which a specific theme occurs from the study population under investigation. This method will be relevant for the study because it enhances a degree of detailed and robust accounts of the circumstance under inspection. The following figure illustrates the different phases of content analysis.
Step 1: Documenting data- Refers to carefully compiling data gathered from the sample used in the study, that is, the filled questionnaires, field notes and audio recordings. Data gathered from the single mothers will be carefully compiled.
Step 2: Transcription- Refers to the process of converting the recorded discussions with the single mothers into readable text.
Step 3: Coding- Refers to the process of attaching names or labels linked to particular units or segment meaning developed prior to going to the field. It entails developing categories and themes upon which specific element can be classified.
Step 4: Evaluation of relevance- Comprises examining the coded information to substantiate relevance to the research questions and objectives.
Step 5: Thematic Patterns- Refers to analysing contents to ascertain the trend of emerging themes.
Conclusion
Expected Outcomes
The expected outcomes are that the level of poverty was relatively lower in the households where the single mothers had accomplished post-secondary education, as compared to the households where single mothers had not attained post-secondary education. Secondly, it is anticipated that the mental health of the single mothers who had attained a post-secondary education was relatively better than that of the single mothers who had not attained post-secondary education.
Limitations
Projected shortcomings in the process of investigating the study population is the withdrawing of the single mothers under examination due to personal reasons. Secondly, the single mothers under investigation may get married, thus, influencing the accuracy of the study.
Implications
Implications of this study comprises the need for elevating awareness on part of college program administrators and social service providers to enhance academic success as well as facilitate education accessibility for the single mothers.
References
Lee, T. (2012). Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. Chicago . Worth Publishers
Vagenas, D., Wahnefried, W., & Bashford, J. (2015). Evidence from a Prospective, Population-based Cohort Study. Social Sciences, 15 (28), 2-9.
Newman, P. and Bufford, M. 2014. Bracketing in qualitative Research. Qualitative Social Work , (11),70-96
