Exploring school administrators and teachers’ implementation of girl mothers’ re-entry policy in selected primary schools in Mungwi District, Northern Province, Zambia

Abstract

The girl re-entry policy is a strategic intervention that was introduced in 1997 by the Ministry of Education. It was introduced as an intervention in Zambia to allow girls to have access to education after giving birth in an endeavor to stop or reduce the incidence of girls dropping out of school so that they can attain their rights to education. Despite having the policy to allow girls to have access to education, Zambia has been consistently recording a high rate of pregnancy in primary schools with low re-entries. This study explored the school administrators' and teachers‟ implementation of girl mothers‟ re-entry policy in selected primary schools in Mungwi district, Northern province of Zambia. To answer the main question of this study: What are school administrators and teachers‟ experiences of implementing the girl-mothers‟ re-entry policy in selected primary schools in Northern province of Zambia? Three sub-questions were used (How is the awareness of school administrators and teachers about the re-entry policy in primary schools? What are the challenges of re-entry policy implementation in primary schools? What guidelines can be developed to effectively implement the re-entry policy in primary schools?). A qualitative study within the interpretivism paradigm drawing on a phenomenological design was used. Social integration theory was used to guide the study. 5 head-teachers and 5 guidance and counseling teachers in 5 different schools were purposively sampled to participate in the study. Ethical principles were observed throughout the study activities and trustworthiness was ensured. One-on-one interviews, unstructured questionnaires, and drawings were used for data generation and the data was analyzed thematically. The findings of the study revealed that there is no uniform implementation of the re-entry policy among Guidance and Counseling teachers and administrators. Social cultural practices influence girl mothers‟ re-entry policy implementation which leads to a lack of cooperation between the schools and the community, and primary schools do not have professionally trained counselors. It was also found that primary schools have support mechanisms for girl mothers during and after maternity leave such as home visitation, counseling, and advocacy efforts for re-entry policy awareness and sensitization. From the findings of the study, it was concluded that the re-entry policy is not bearing the expected fruits because of low-levels of awareness by the Guidance and Counseling teachers and the community members. Lack of professionally trained counselors and supporting infrastructure are some of the contributing factors. The study recommended that primary schools should have professionally trained guidance and counseling officers. The Ministry of Education should foster school-community partnerships through Parent/teachers association (PTA) meetings in order to keep the community and teachers informed about changes to re-entry policy and other guidelines. The Ministry of Education and the government should endeavor to build supportive infrastructure to enable the implementation of the re-entry policy.