Girls’ re-entry into school after pregnancy in the Ashiedu Keteke Submetro district, Accra: Implications for a substantive policy
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Date
2019-06
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Publisher
Ghana Social Science Journal
Abstract
Government directive on student mothers’ access to continued education
and the Inclusive Education Policy are intended among other things to
address issues of exclusion in education and also ensure educational
attainment among pregnant students in Ghana. This paper explores some
of the implementation issues that have arisen, especially constraints to
school re-entry such as stigma and poverty; as well as challenges
encountered by student mothers in Ashiedu Keteke Sub-Metro district in
Accra. Personal in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 girls who
were purposively sampled with 26 other key informants. The findings
revealed that the inability of student mothers to re-integrate into formal
education was due to constraints such as childcare responsibilities, poor
economic background, and unsympathetic teachers and school mates.
Further, the absence of specific guidelines, capacity development and
sensitization to execute the provisions of the directive is constraining the
smooth implementation of the directive. The preparation of a substantive
policy with the required legal backing was suggested
Description
Ghana Social Science Journal, 16(1)
Keywords
Inclusive education, Student mother, Government directive, Re-entry constraints, School-based challenges