Browsing by Author "Haufiku, Anneli Ndapandula"

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    Educational and psychosocial experiences of women university students who became teenage mothers whilst at school
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Haufiku, Anneli Ndapandula; Carolissen, Ronelle; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Educational Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Namibian education policy, emphasising inclusion, has enabled teenage mothers to return to school after giving birth and to complete their schooling. Despite the inclusion policy, there seem to be few studies on teenage parents who completed their schooling and continued their education at university. This qualitative case study focuses on women who became pregnant while at school and who are now university students. It specifically explores the factors that assist women to remain in and complete high school, as well as the factors that assisted them to access university. Through this study, a deeper understanding was sought of what motivates women to succeed despite challenges attached to school pregnancy. This study draws on the integration of three theoretical strands at various levels, namely metatheory (Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory), individual and interpersonal theories (possible selves), and political and social levels (feminist theory), with a focus on Iris Marion Young's five faces of oppression. Based on the pre-established selection criteria, a sample of 12 university students who became pregnant while at school was chosen carefully. Individual semi-structured interviews with the aid of an interview guide were used to gather data. This study adopted a strengths-based approach rather than the deficit approach that is frequently used when researching marginalised groups, in this case, African women who have had teenage pregnancies. The study revealed that changing the policy had a positive impact on women's educational pathways. The NAMCOL programme – the university’s mature-age entry scheme, and NSFAF funding enabled the research participants to access university. Women’s self-motivation and the holistic systemic support they received strengthened their ability to remain in school and access university. The findings contest deficit approaches to teenage pregnancy, which frequently contend that African women who become pregnant while still in their adolescence are doomed to failure in terms of educational success. This is one of the few studies conducted outside of South Africa on young women's educational pathways after having teenage pregnancies in African contexts.
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    Teachers’ experiences and practices of support for school-going teenage mothers in Namibia
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-04) Haufiku, Anneli Ndapandula; Carolissen, Ronelle; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Educational Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The exclusion of girls who fall pregnant while attending school has long been a contentious issue in the literature as it normally ends their schooling. Namibian school-going girls who become pregnant while attending school are no longer excluded from continuing with their education, as new policies in education prevent such exclusion. This qualitative research explores teachers’ experiences of and support practices for school-going teenage mothers in Namibian secondary schools, given this policy context of inclusion. The study was framed within Bronfenbrenners’ bio-ecological system theory focusing on teachers’ interactions with teenage mothers. Eight participants were selected purposively from two secondary schools in the Oshikoto region, Namibia, provided that they were secondary-school teachers and had taught teenage mothers in the past three years. Data were collected in the form of semi-structured focus groups, follow-up individual interviews and field notes. Each focus group was represented by four teachers from the same school, two males and two females. Qualitative content analysis was used as a method of data analysis. The themes that emerged included the following: teachers’ responses to the inclusion of teenage mothers in schools, unpacking teachers’ perceptions on the policy of inclusion of teenage mothers, and support practices. The results revealed that there was a lack of resources and teachers’ felt burdened, not only in the classroom but generally in the school. Teachers, nevertheless, did have empathy for mothers as learners. They also felt both satisfied and dissatisfied, often blaming the inclusion policy for their difficulties in managing classroom dilemmas when teenage mothers were present. They displayed conditional caring and raised concerns about gender and care, as well as expressing a need for comprehensive information. The key finding was that teachers made a distinction between pregnant and parenting learners when thinking of support. The physical appearance of a pregnant learner played a role. Therefore teachers cared for a pregnant learner because they feared that something might happen to the pregnant learner while in their care in the classroom. This resulted in teachers seemingly providing “strategic caring” based on the condition of the pregnant learner. From the findings, it is recommended that pre-service and in-service training of teachers should pay attention to the practise of inclusion of teenage mothers in schools.