Teachers’ perceptions of the impact of teenage pregnancy on learners’ academic performance: a case of selected schools in South Africa

Keywords: Teenager, pregnancy, absenteeism, academic, performance, educator, rights of learners, education, drop out, stakeholders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the negative impact of teenage pregnancy on learners’ academic performance in one district of education in South Africa. Teenage pregnancy was argued in the literature as the main source contributor to learners’ low academic performance, especially in disadvantaged schools in South Africa. For example, teenage pregnant learners missed classes owing to absenteeism as they will be visiting clinics. Their performance rate fluctuates as this depends on their periodic mood swing, which they experience from time to time. In some cases, these teenage pregnant learners drop out of schools. The study followed a qualitative research approach where purposive sampling was employed to select two educators per institution from three selected schools. Pseudonyms were used to protect the participants from being known and encouraged them to participate freely. Trustworthiness and ethical considerations were adhered to. Open-ended questions were prepared and administered to the selected educators to find out the impact of teenage pregnancy on scholastic performance.

The study findings established that a sense of knowledge and respect of rights need to be promoted since these pregnant learners have the right to education and must receive the same education as other non-pregnant learners. The study, reported on this paper, further recommends that all stakeholders should discourage teenagers from watching television with sexual content that might tempt them to engage in sexual activities that can lead to teenage pregnancy, which will end up affecting their academic performance.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Komape Mashuhlane, Central University of Technology

Department of Educational and Professional Studies

Letlhoyo Segalo, Central University of Technology

Department of Educational and Professional Studies

Tsakane Ngobeni, Central University of Technology

Department of Educational and Professional Studies

References

Ramulumo, M. R., Pitsoe, V. J. (2013). Teenage Pregnancy in South African Schools: Challenges, Trends and Policy Issues. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4 (13), 755–755. doi: https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n13p755

Field, S., Abrahams, Z., Honikman, S. (2020). Adolescent mothers: A qualitative study on barriers and facilitators to mental health in a low-resource setting in Cape Town, South Africa. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 12 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2279

Jochim, J., Cluver, L. D., Meinck, F. (2021). Learner pregnancy in South Africa’s Eastern Cape: The Factors affecting adolescent girls' school withdrawal during pregnancy. International Journal of Educational Development, 87, 102484. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102484

Barron, P., Subedar, H., Letsoko, M., Makua, M., Pillay, Y. (2022). Teenage births and pregnancies in South Africa, 2017 – 2021 – a reflection of a troubled country: Analysis of public sector data. South African Medical Journal, 112 (4), 252–258. doi: https://doi.org/10.7196/samj.2022.v112i4.16327

Segalo, L. (2020). Learner pregnancy in secondary schools in South Africa: Have attitudes and perceptions of teachers changed? Koers – Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 85 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.19108/koers.85.1.2461

Thobejane, T. D. (2015). Factors Contributing to Teenage Pregnancy in South Africa: The Case of Matjitjileng Village. Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 6 (2), 273–277. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09766634.2015.11885667

Madzamba, R. (2022). Socio-economic Factors Associated with Teenage Pregnancy in the Mandela Park Community of Mthatha, South Africa. Commonwealth Youth and Development, 19 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6549/9464

South Africa (Republic) South African Schools Act, 86 (1996). Pretoria: Government Press.

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Nguyen, H., Shiu, C., Farber, N. (2016). Prevalence and Factors Associated with Teen Pregnancy in Vietnam: Results from Two National Surveys. Societies, 6 (2), 17. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/soc6020017

Humberstone, E. (2019). Friendship networks and adolescent pregnancy: Examining the potential stigmatization of pregnant teens. Network Science, 7 (4), 523–540. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/nws.2019.25

Humberstone, E. (2018). Dynamics of Social Networks Following Adolescent Pregnancy. Journal of Social Structure, 19 (1), 1–34. doi: https://doi.org/10.21307/joss-2018-009

Odu, B. K., Ayodele, C. J. (2006). The Incidence of Teenage Pregnancy in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 11 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.4314/njgc.v11i1.36987

Maemeko, E. L., Nkengbeza, D., Chokomosi, T. M. (2018). The Impact of Teenage Pregnancy on Academic Performance of Grade 7 Learners at a School in the Zambezi Region. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 6 (9), 88–100. doi: https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2018.69006

Nkosi, N. N., Pretorius, E. (2019). The influence of teenage pregnancy on education: perceptions of educators at a secondary school in Tembisa, Gauteng. Social Work, 55 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.15270/55-1-698

Ankomah, A., Konadu Gyesaw, N. Y. (2013). Experiences of pregnancy and motherhood among teenage mothers in a suburb of Accra, Ghana: a qualitative study. International Journal of Women’s Health, 5, 773. doi: https://doi.org/10.2147/ijwh.s51528

Mangeli, M., Rayyani, M., Cheraghi, M. A., Tirgari, B. (2017). Exploring the challenges of adolescent mothers from their life experiences in the transition to motherhood: a qualitative study. Journal of family & reproductive health, 11 (3), 165–173.

Nandra, R., Brockie, A. F., Hussain, F. (2020). A review of informed consent and how it has evolved to protect vulnerable participants in emergency care research. EFORT Open Reviews, 5 (2), 73–79. doi: https://doi.org/10.1302/2058-5241.5.180051

Kakilla, C. (2021). Strengths and weaknesses of semi-structured interviews in qualitative research: A critical essay. doi: https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202106.0491.v1

Lester, J. N., Cho, Y., Lochmiller, C. R. (2020). Learning to Do Qualitative Data Analysis: A Starting Point. Human Resource Development Review, 19 (1), 94–106. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484320903890

Brinkmann, S., Kvale, S. (2017). Ethics in qualitative psychological research. The Sage handbook of qualitative research in psychology, 259–273. doi: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526405555.n15

Bailey, J. (2008). First steps in qualitative data analysis: transcribing. Family Practice, 25 (2), 127–131. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmn003

Mohr, R., Carbajal, J., Sharma, B. B. (2019). The Influence of Educational Attainment on Teenage Pregnancy in Low-Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Social Work in the Global Community, 4 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5590/jswgc.2019.04.1.02

Lambani, M. N. (2015). Poverty the Cause of Teenage Pregnancy in Thulamela Municipality. Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 6 (2). doi: https://doi.org/10.31901/24566764.2015/06.02.01

Masemola-Yende, J. P. F., Mataboge, S. M. (2015). Access to information and decision making on teenage pregnancy prevention by females in Tshwane. Curationis, 38 (2). doi: https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v38i2.1540

Matlala, S. F. (2017). Ethical issues related to research on pregnant school-going teenagers in South Africa. African Population Studies, 31 (1). doi: https://doi.org/10.11564/31-1-957

Kiarie, A. K., Mugambi, M. M. (2016). Social Media and Teenage Pregnancy among Students in Secondary Schools In Imenti North Sub-County, Meru County, Kenya. International Journal of Scientific Research and Managementm, 4 (9), 4586–4606. doi: https://doi.org/10.18535/ijsrm/v4i9.18

Barney, A., Rodriguez, F., Schwarz, E. B., Reed, R., Tancredi, D., Brindis, C. D. et al. (2021). Adapting to Changes in Teen Pregnancy Prevention Research: Social Media as an Expedited Recruitment Strategy. Journal of Adolescent Health, 69 (2), 349–353. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.12.140

Adolescent pregnancy (2020). World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-pregnancy.

Mathebula, R. N., Runhare, T., Mafumo, T. N. (2022). Educational support for pregnant and parenting schoolgirls in rural South African school settings. Issues in Educational Research, 32 (2), 593–612.

Mathebula, R. N. (2019). School-based interventions into effects of schoolgirl pregnancy on teaching and learning in Mopani District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. University of Venda.

Opondo, C. M., Aloka, P. J. O. (2022). Effect of school category on adjustment of re-admitted teenage mothers in secondary schools. ScienceRise, 3, 48–56. doi: https://doi.org/10.21303/2313-8416.2022.002534


👁 1070
⬇ 668
Published
2023-01-31
How to Cite
Mashuhlane, K., Segalo, L., & Ngobeni, T. (2023). Teachers’ perceptions of the impact of teenage pregnancy on learners’ academic performance: a case of selected schools in South Africa. EUREKA: Social and Humanities, (1), 54-60. https://doi.org/10.21303/2504-5571.2023.002572
Section
Social Sciences