Single mothering during the COVID-19 pandemic: a remote photovoice project among Filipino single mothers working from home

ABSTRACT Family and work lives are continually transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Single parent families may be disproportionately affected by prolonged confinement and work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. This photovoice study explores how single mothering is shaped by WFH during the COVID-19 pandemic using an ecological perspective. Fifteen (15) single mothers participated in this remote photovoice project that was facilitated through digital and Internet-mediated methods. The mothers took photographs of daily home and work life highlights. These photographs were used to guide the one-on-one interviews conducted via videoconferencing. Findings demonstrate changes in the meanings, roles, and performance of single mothering during the COVID-19 era. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) increased presence at home; (2) shared motherhood during confinement; (3) work and work management as an act of mothering; and (4) single mothers as second teachers. Aside from WFH and pandemic-induced confinement, familial support, distance education, culture and passage can be potential ecological resources that can enrich single mothers’ mothering agency.