Maternity, study and work. Possibilities of conciliation in a university career. A case study in Comayagua, Honduras

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to analyze the situation of family and work reconciliation of university mothers studying at night during 2022 at the Centro Regional University Center of the National Autonomous University of Honduras. The premise is that, although it is true that, in the referred context, student prerogatives related to special attention in case of pregnancy are recognized, they are not recognized regarding the establishment of economic aid, credits, exemptions from exclusive payments, to pregnant, breastfeeding and maternity students. The study was developed through a phenomenological design of descriptive scope and the application of semi-structured interview techniques and discussion groups with university mother students enrolled in the Bachelor's Degree in Local Development. The results infer that the feminization of care placed on motherhood between work, family and raising children and adolescents is a socially learned construct, and institutionally validated by university student welfare programs, to such an extent that it is unsustainable to reconcile motherhood, studying and working at the same time. Therefore, it is concluded that such a result responds to a logic of the machista, sexist and patriarchal system that prevails in the Honduran public university that, since the IV University Reform in 2005, and close to two decades, is still a pending task.