Abstract:
Teen mothers’ re-entry policies are aimed at supporting teenage mothers to access
and be retained in mainstream secondary schools to completion level. However,
the practice in schools remains wanting since it is characterised by suspension,
expulsion, or re-entry in other schools. This study sought to explore stakeholders’
perceptions of teen mothers’ re-entry policy and practices in secondary schools in
Malongo, Sub-County, Mayuge District and find out intervention strategies to
enhance re-entry. The research objectives were to: find out Ministry of Education
and Sports officials’ perceptions on re-admission policy and practice; find out the
headteachers and teachers’ perceptions on re-admission policy and practice; find
out teen mothers’ perceptions on re-admission policy and practice and identify
intervention strategies that can be adopted to enhance re-admission of teen mothers
in secondary schools. The guiding theory for this study was Urie Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological system theory. The study applied an interpretivist approach using the
phenomenological research design as this enabled the researcher to explore the
experiences and attitudes of stakeholders on teen mothers’ re-entry policy and
practices. The target population included teen mothers, teachers in charge of girl
child affairs, head teachers and Education officials. Data was generated by
conducting thorough interviews and drawings for teen mothers. Purposive sampling
and snow ball sampling techniques were used to select key informants. Data
analysis was done using thematic analysis. The study revealed a slight positive
change in the attitudes of stakeholders and some degree of awareness regarding
retention and re-entry in secondary schools. This can be a foundation on which
policy makers can ably rely on to enhance re-entry mechanisms and strategies.
These are somewhat sure ways of bridging the gap between the policy and practices
while a disconnect in the systems and structures would sabotage the efforts to
enhance retention and re-entry. The study identified strategic interventions that can
be adopted to enhance teen mothers’ re-entry in schools to uphold the rights of a
girl child to education as accorded by SDG 4.
