Being students, being mothers: perspectives on wellness promotion through UNIPA Parents Service

Abstract

Nowadays, human sciences increasingly focus on the educational potential of organisations and on the identification and promotion of personal and community wellness, even inside University. This paper has a twofold aim: on one hand, describing the University of Palermo Parents Service, born in 2021, as place of educational care of adults, meeting and sharing the lived-experience of being university students “as parents”; on the other, presenting some results of a innovative qualitative research regarding these students’ educational needs. With regard to the first aspect, it is shown how the Service provides learning support and, mainly, educational support to parenting. With regard to the qualitative research, it was developed according to phenomenological research design in the fundamental pedagogy framework. Actually, a questionnaire was administered to all University of Palermo parents-students with the purpose of envisaging new educational tools, functional to support their parenting as well as their right to study. In particular, perspectives of mothers-students are provided. The research shows how, implementing University human-centered governance, the Service encourages gender equality, students’ well-being, and inclusion.