School after child birth: experiences of teenage mothers returning to school in Makindye Division-Kampala City

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy is a contemporary global challenge with disproportionate representation in the global south. This hinders attainment of sustainable development goals including, good health and wellbeing, quality education and gender equality. Using a qualitative approach, the study sought to examine the experiences of teenage mothers returning to school to understand factors facilitating teenage pregnancies, the choices available to teenage mothers, challenges they encounter and the resilience mechanisms they adopt. The study was anchored in liberal feminist thought. The study findings indicate that factors explaining teenage pregnancy are interconnected and range from economic to social, religious, and cultural factors. The challenges on the other hand point to stigmatization, unfavourable school environments, financial challenges and increased workloads. The main strategies that teen mothers employed to cope with their challenges were leveraging on peer-to-peer support and depending on schools’ guiding and counselling services. The study concludes that schooling teenage mothers are among the most vulnerable group of learners as motherhood becomes a heavy responsibility for them, at an early age, with multiple and conflicting roles. Teenage mothers must be supported adequately to avoid high school drop-out rates. The study recommends that the Government and the other stakeholders should develop and deliver sensitization campaigns for community members about the school re-entry policy. This policy provides for students’, teachers’ and community members’ awareness and understanding of the existing policy, and how it protects the rights of teenage mothers.