Perspectives of learners and educators towards the inclusion of pregnant learners in mainstream education in Ladybrand high schools

Abstract

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of learners and educators towards the inclusion of pregnant learners in mainstream schools in Ladybrand. The theoretical framework for this study is the Ecological Systems Theory, developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1974 – 1979) in the 1970s. Urie Bronfenbrenner argues that to understand development, one must consider the entire Ecological System in which growth occurs. A purposive sample of 29 learners and nine educators was selected from two high schools in Ladybrand, Mantsopa Local Municipality of Thabo Mofutsanyane District in the Free State Province. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with educators and focus group discussions with learners. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the audio taped data from the transcribed interviews, guided by the respective research questions. The findings from this study illustrated that, educators’ perspective is that pregnant learners hide pregnancy from them to avoid the associated bureaucratic process, including being accompanied by parents to school. The learners and educators agree that educators are not adequately equipped to deal with pregnant learners, especially in cases whereby the pregnancy is hidden from them. The study recommends educators to be offered appropriate support through proper training on how to work with pregnant learners and parenting teenagers. Such a strategy will help them to identify pregnant learners, to meet their health-related needs and to enable them to offer social and psychosocial support to learners in need. To close the gap of teachers lacking health related skills, they need to undergo training to offer social and psychological support to pregnant learners. Moreover, the study recommends that all girl learners be educated before and during pregnancy, regarding official pregnancy policy guidelines. Such strategies will hopefully create a conducive environment where girl learners will talk freely about their status and get the necessary support.