Meeting the challenge: Pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers identify conditions in school for successful learning

This study is an inquiry into the school life of pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into conditions that exist in schools that make it possible for pregnant and parenting teenagers to be successful learners in school. An additional purpose is to gain insight into the difficulties pregnant and parenting mothers face that hinder their school success. Four research questions guide this study: Research Question 1: What conditions in schools do teenagers report make it possible for them to be successful leaners in school once they become pregnant? Research Question 2: What conditions in school do teenage, mothers report make it possible for them to become successful learners in school once they have a baby? Research Question 3: What do teenagers report as the major difficulties that hinder them from being successful learners in school once they are pregnant? Research Question 4: What do teenage mothers report as the major difficulties that hinder them from being successful learners in school once they have a baby? This study employs qualitative research methods. Twenty-one participants across the United States were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed verbatim then rewritten as narrative profiles. Each profile was searched for data that answered the four research questions. An open-coding strategy was used to identify themes in each narrative profile, and then across profiles that emerged for each research question. Three themes emerged on conditions in school that support learning: Social/Emotional Support, School Programs, Practices and Policies and Characteristics of Self. The mirrored opposite of these themes emerged as themes that hinder learning. In addition, three themes that hinder learning outside of school emerged: Lack of Social and Emotional Support Outside of School, Life Circumstances and Time. The challenges and support individual school settings create are complex because of the many variables that effect how the individual and the learning environment interact. Striking diversity, as well as common perceptions about the conditions that support and hinder success in school were evident in the findings