RINE Final Summary: Teen Pregnancy

Teenage Pregnancy Final Research Journal Summary

Approximately one in twenty births in Australia is to a mother between the ages of fifteen and nineteen years old (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007, in Education Queensland, 2009). Giving birth while still of school age can severely affect a young parent’s education and her future prospects, as well as those of her offspring. The link between parental educational attainment and that of offspring has been established (Krause et al., 2003, p. 283); therefore it is imperative that educators create the best opportunities possible for pregnant and parenting teens to continue their education for as long as possible, to improve not only their students’ post-school outcomes, but those of their children. This essay will explore the additional needs of pregnant and parenting students and ways in which educational bodies can provide inclusive education for pregnant and parenting students.

In a study of the factors that contribute to a teen’s decision whether to terminate or continue her pregnancy, Ann Evans identified a strong link between a student’s level of academic achievement and her decision regarding her pregnancy. Students who habitually achieved higher grades were more likely to choose to terminate their pregnancy, whilst poorly achieving students were more likely to carry their baby to term (Evans, 2004, p. 32). Their decisions were influenced by other factors of course, including religion, living arrangements, socio-economic status, cultural and linguistic background, their age at conception and their aspirations for the future. However, there can be no doubt that a student’s attachment to their education has an important role to play in her decision. Therefore, the better educators can maintain a student’s engagement in her education, the less likely she is to leave school due to parenthood. Of course, her many challenges post-birth will make her ongoing education ever more difficult; so educators must mitigate these challenges to the best of their abilities in order to ensure her ongoing education.

Pregnant teenagers face dramatic disturbances to their education from a variety of factors, including absenteeism, physical symptoms of pregnancy such as morning sickness and fatigue, absence surrounding the birth of the child, and emotional stresses including fear, stress and family conflict. Young parents face even more challenges after birth: ongoing fatigue, logistical problems such as transport and childcare, changed living arrangements, distraction, stress, social isolation, vastly altered priorities, changed life aspirations, and much more. Our task as educators is to mitigate the educational impact of these challenges to the best of our ability, by providing flexible and inclusive education options. Some educators have made great headway into inclusive education for pregnant and parenting teens, including a number of Australian schools and educational bodies which can serve as role models for the wider educational community.

CCCares is an excellent example of an educational institution that has gone the extra mile to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment for pregnant and parenting students. The college provides a “best practice model for pregnant and parenting students to access education … Year 12 Certification; goal oriented learning packages, on-line learning and employability skills.” (CCCares @ Canberra College, 2010) Its facilities include play and sleep rooms, change rooms, a medical suite, outside play areas and two minibuses to provide transport to and from school for the students and their children. Its programs include an “Adopt a Grandparent” scheme, a breakfast, morning tea and lunch program, childcare support, vocational course options, a dual control vehicle for driving lessons, and much more. The college exemplifies what can be provided to pregnant and parenting teams with a sufficient level of commitment and funding, as well as collaboration with community services and government agencies. With over eighty pregnant or parenting students, the college caters to a niche in the Australian Capital Territory educational system. Many of its programs and facilities would not be possible in an everyday school environment due to logistical challenges, lack of funding, and insufficient pregnant and parenting student numbers. However, many of the considerations the school makes for its parenting students are applicable in traditional school environments, for example, its e-learning options, collaboration with institutions such as TAFE to provide vocational courses to students; and the students’ ability to stretch their two-year college education over three years to lighten the load. Flexible learning options are probably the most easily applicable in any other educational environment, especially in the twenty-first century with our capabilities for e-learning.

Opportunities for inclusion and accommodation of pregnant and parenting students exist in every school, albeit more often in the form of positive and inclusive attitudes and flexibility than in physical amenities. Whereas a mainstream school can probably not supply an on-campus childcare facility, it can negotiate with pregnant and parenting students to create Individual Learning Plans, extend due dates on assessments, allow students to undertake less than a full-time study load and extend their schooling life, excuse higher levels of absenteeism and send schoolwork home, and so on. It can adopt a holistic approach to education, considering the benefits to the parenting teen of alternatives to traditional education such as vocational courses, or studies that are directly related to their parenting role, including First Aid courses or the Certificate III Community Services (Childcare) (Harrison, Shacklock, Kamp & Angwin, 2004, p. 11).

Pregnant and parenting teens come to school with a complex and ever-changing set of additional needs. Some of their needs are within the scope of the educational institution to provide, whereas some are logistically not possible. However, using tools such as Individual Learning Plans, a positive attitude to flexibility and inclusion, a “can-do” problem-solving approach, e-learning tools and collaboration with the wider community and government services, educators have many options for improving the educational outcomes of pregnant and parenting teens.

Source List
The Canberra College (2010), CCCares @ Canberra College, http://www.canberrac.act.edu.au/curriculum/cccares

Clayden, Peter. Using the power of partnership to address important educational and social welfare needs, Canberra College, 2009, http://www.canberrac.act.edu.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0019/122239/CCCares_Schools_First_conference_article_2010.doc

Flood, M., Greenspan, S., & Mundorf, N. (1985) School-Based Services for Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents. Special Services in the Schools, 2(1), 27-44. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J008v02n01_03

Evans, Ann. Education and the resolution of teenage pregnancy in Australia [Paper in: Symposium on Women's Health, Hunt, Lynne and McNamarra, B (eds).] [online]. Health Sociology Review, 13(1), Sept 2004, pp. 27-42.

Harrison, L., Shacklock, G., Kamp, A., & Angwin, J. (2004) Taking your baby to school: The Young Parents Access Project at Corio Bay Senior College. Redress, May 2004, pp. 10-13.

Harrison, L., Angwin, J. & Shacklock, G. (2002) "Having a Baby and Being in School: Researching Pregnant and Parenting Young People and their Educational Transitions". Deakin University.

Krause, K., Bochner, S., & Duchesne, S. (2003) Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching. Southbank: Thomson.

Queensland Pregnant & Parenting Students Project, Redress, May 2004, pp. 7-9.

Viadero, D. Study Finds Teen Pregnancies On The Rise. Education Week 2010, 29(20), 4. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=48135020&site=ehost-live

Teenage pregnancy rate rises for the first time in ten years. (2009) Education 2009 (345), 1. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=36919545&site=ehost-live

The State of Queensland (Department of Education and Training) (2006). Pregnant and Parenting Students. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/inclusive/gender/pregnant.html