Abstract
In June 2013 the U. S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) urged secondary schools to do more to help the hundreds of students who become mothers and fathers each year graduate from high school. With the same intent, in 2012-2013, we conducted a qualitative phenomenological study investigating the educational experiences of teen mothers who graduated from high school and attended or completed college and sought to discover the factors that contributed to their success. The research question that guided our study was: What is the educational experience of teen mothers who graduated from high school and attended or completed college, and what are the school factors that contributed to their academic success? The findings regarding the structure, factors or "how" participants graduated revealed they had a matrix of support from (a) home, (b) the school—supportive teachers and (c) the community— the faith community and teen parenting programs/classes that provided daycare assistance in high school and that extended through college. As well, participants were motivated to redeem themselves and to provide a good life for themselves and their children. Based on these findings, there are two (2) major recommendations for teachers: (1) Teachers must serve as an adult advocate for teen mothers and promote social justice and (2) Teachers must know the Title IX law, up hold it, and hold colleagues and other students accountable.
Recommended Citation
Stroble, Christine and Wiggan, Greg
(2014)
"Helping Teen Mothers Graduate: A Qualitative Study Investigating the Educational Experiences of Teen Mothers Who Graduated with Recommendations for Teachers,"
Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina: Vol. 7:
No.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/tejsc/vol7/iss1/7