Measures to Improve Pregnant and Teenage Mothers' Participation in Secondary Education. A Case of Etago Division, Kisii County

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish factors that contribute to teenage pregnancies, educational challenges that these teenage mothers face and measures to improve their participation in the school system. The study reviewed various attempts that have been carried world over, and Kenya in particular, to ensure that education for the girl child is improved. The study further mirrored the extend of this wastage between the year 2007 and 2010 by analyzing enrolment and performance trends of pregnant and teenage mothers in the area of study. Information on enrolment and performance was obtained fromthe AEOs and principals' offices. that The locale for the study was Etago division South Gucha district. Then recommendations were given on measures to improve participation of this vulnerable group in the school system. The study adopted a descriptive survey design carried out in the four zones that comprise Etago division. The target population comprised six principals, eighteen classroom teachers, five MoES&T staff within the division, seven members from the provincial administration, ten parents and seventy pregnant/ nursing adolescents. The entire sample size was one hundred and sixteen respondents. Purposive sampling, convenient sampling and exploratory descriptive survey were ideal in selecting schools depending on their status. Data collection instruments were questionnaires, interview schedules and observation. The questionnaires were semi-structured and contained items that are both open-ended and closed. These questionnaires were administered on one chief, two assistant chiefs, two zonal Quality Assurance and Standards officers, three principals, fifteen classroom teachers, five parents and sixty pregnant/nursing adolescents. Interview schedules were administered on the remaining respondents. The data collection instruments were pretested on a small portion of an identical population in the neighboring Rongo district in order to refine the instruments. The data collected were edited and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and inferences drawn. After analyzing data, the findings were summarized and conclusions drawn. The recommendations on how to improve the school participation of this vulnerable group were made. Lastly, because the research was not carried in the entire nation, suggestions for further research were put forward.