ERIC Number: EJ1149989
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0256-0100
EISSN: N/A
Teen Mothers and Schooling: Lacunae and Challenges
Chigona, Agnes; Chetty, Rajendra
South African Journal of Education, v28 n2 p261-281 2008
While many girls who become mothers before completing schooling consider academic qualifications to be very important, they may not be able to succeed academically if the support they need to complete their studies is insufficient. Usually, instead of getting support, the teen mothers endure misunderstandings and pressure. The teen mothers may feel disempowered because they are "othered" and consequently, they develop forms of resistance which in most cases may foster their failure as learners. Our aim was to find out how much support was offered to these girls to facilitate their schooling, thus making it possible for them to complete their education and become self-reliant. A qualitative research approach was employed to gather information for the study. Teen mothers, their educators, and parents were interviewed to gather information about the girls' schooling situation. The results showed that many teen mothers failed to succeed with schooling because they lacked support to avoid the numerous disruptions to school attendance.
Descriptors: Mothers, Pregnant Students, Qualitative Research, Student Surveys, Teacher Surveys, Parent Surveys, Interviews, Academic Support Services, Social Support Groups, Academic Aspiration, Reentry Students, Barriers, Special Needs Students, High School Students, Coping, Stereotypes, Peer Relationship, Teacher Student Relationship, Parent Student Relationship, Foreign Countries
Education Association of South Africa. University of Pretoria, Centre for the Study of Resilience, Level 3, Groenkloof Student Centre, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, George Storrar Road and Lleyds Street, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Tel: +27-12-420-5798; Fax: +27-12-420-5511; Web site: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A