The Effect of Motherhood on Female International Students from West Africa in Scottish Higher Education, specifically in Strathclyde University

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2024 in the subject Pedagogy - Higher Education, grade: A, University of Birmingham (Education), language: English, abstract: The high education horizon of the 21st-century is increasingly being enriched by a significant number of international students seeking academic excellence, cultural sharing, and networking phenomena. A sizeable population of this group are women from the West African sub-region who relocates to other nations in pursuit of a postgraduate education to advance their degree and professionalism in a scholarly field. The study adopts a mixed methods approach to examine the effects of motherhood on female international students from West Africa in the Scottish higher education system, specifically at Strathclyde University. A mixed methods approach involves the collection of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The findings reveal, that West African student mothers experience numerous challenges such as inability to balance studies and mothering, childcare difficulties, stress, anxiety, time management, financial constraints, marginalization, and isolation. The study is of great value and significance especially in the educational sector as it allows the higher learning institutions to comprehend and develop the efficient approaches that can be incorporated to help in addressing the challenges caused by motherhood on female international Students from West Africa in Scottish higher Education.