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Schoolgirl Pregnancy, Dropout or Pushout?: An Ubuntucentric Re-Construction of the Education for Student Mothers in Malawi

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Title: Schoolgirl Pregnancy, Dropout or Pushout?: An Ubuntucentric Re-Construction of the Education for Student Mothers in Malawi
Language: English
Authors: Chinkondenji, Pempho (ORCID 0000-0003-2668-1222)
Source: Gender and Education. 2022 34(6):738-753.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2022
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Early Parenthood, Adolescents, African Culture, Cultural Influences, Secondary School Students, Pregnancy, Reentry Students, Barriers, Student Needs, Family Role, School Role, Equal Education, Access to Education, Educational Policy, Mothers, Social Bias, Social Support Groups, Evening Programs, Educational Environment, Student Attitudes
Geographic Terms: Malawi
DOI: 10.1080/09540253.2022.2061922
ISSN: 0954-0253
1360-0516
Abstract: This critical phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of young women returning to secondary school after pregnancy in Malawi. Through the lens of "Ubuntu," an African philosophy on humanness, the article conducts an analysis of the driving and restraining forces affecting student mothers' schooling experience. The data were gathered from young women who left secondary school due to pregnancy and later returned after delivery. The findings highlight important but complex forms of support and challenges embedded within familial and school systems related to student motherhood. This article argues for Ubuntucentric educational practices for student mothers that pursue continuation-oriented approaches and resist structural inequalities that 'push the learners out' of the school system.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2022
Accession Number: EJ1357082
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0158110049;gae01aug.22;2022Jul25.01:54;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0158110049-1">Schoolgirl pregnancy, dropout or pushout?: an Ubuntucentric re-construction of the education for student mothers in Malawi </title> <p>This critical phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of young women returning to secondary school after pregnancy in Malawi. Through the lens of Ubuntu, an African philosophy on humanness, the article conducts an analysis of the driving and restraining forces affecting student mothers' schooling experience. The data were gathered from young women who left secondary school due to pregnancy and later returned after delivery. The findings highlight important but complex forms of support and challenges embedded within familial and school systems related to student motherhood. This article argues for Ubuntucentric educational practices for student mothers that pursue continuation-oriented approaches and resist structural inequalities that 'push the learners out' of the school system.</p> <p>Keywords: Ubuntu; girls' education; school pregnancy; Malawi; education policy; motherhood</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-2">Introduction</hd> <p>In 2013, the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFP) stated in their report on the Challenges of Adolescent Pregnancy, 'When a girl becomes pregnant, her present and future change radically, and rarely for the better. Her education may end, her job prospects evaporate, and her vulnerabilities to poverty, exclusion and dependency multiply' (UNFPA [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref1">32</reflink>], ii). This interruption in schooling is a challenge for the girls' academic performance, and external pressures from family, school and society jeopardize the young women's prospects of completing their education. In most African contexts, pregnant young women's experiences are surrounded by discourses of shame and stigma, especially among teen mothers (Bhana and Mcambi [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref2">5</reflink>]). Ngabaza and Shefer ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref3">24</reflink>]) state that schools' practices of exclusion and the teachers' and peers' negative attitudes towards in-school pregnant and mothering girls discourage the girls from staying in school. Evidence ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref4">34</reflink>]) shows that pandemics, such as COVID-19 exacerbate adolescent pregnancy and school drop-out, particularly due to school closures and restrictions in movement that increase the vulnerabilities of adolescent girls.</p> <p>This article studies the phenomenon of returning to secondary school after pregnancy among six low-income Malawian young women. The findings highlight the forces that support young mothers' returning to school and address the restraining forces that sought to counter their return. Using the post-colonial African philosophy of <emph>Ubuntu</emph>, this paper aims to unpack pregnancy-related education policy and practice while centering on (humanistic) <emph>Ubuntu</emph> educational approaches, which are characterized by inclusivity, compassion, and equity for all. Based on the findings, I argue that the 'departure' of adolescent mothers from the education system is both a 'pushout' (institutionally influenced) and a 'dropout' (personal decision) due to structural inequalities ingrained within educational policies and practices as well as individual challenges respectively. Different scholars (Cardoso and Verner [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref5">6</reflink>]; Morris [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref6">21</reflink>]) have utilized the concept of dropout and pushout in diverse ways to examine the factors that lead to school abandonment. Through an <emph>Ubuntu</emph> lens on the pushout and dropout factors with a specific focus on in-school pregnancy, this article primarily engages with policy-related practices in schools, including rules and procedures, as the pushout factors that are institutionally driven to force pregnant girls out of school. On the other hand, individual challenges outside of school, primarily within familial structures at a more personal level, are considered the drop-out factors that force young women to leave school. To address both these factors, this article draws from this study's support structure that heavily connects to <emph>Ubuntu's</emph> humanistic values. This approach helps us to re-think what type of education 'fits' school-aged student mothers by connecting to what I call 'Ubuntucentric education' and implementing 'continuation-orientated approaches' such as school–community collaborations and night schools rather than 'exclusionary-oriented approaches' that force young women to leave school. Night schools, which are a critical part of the young women's experiences in this study, are afternoon/evening classes that operate at mainstream schools for any student, regardless of their age, to take courses/subjects outside of regular schooling hours. Usually, students in night school do not attend mainstream classes.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-3">Malawi's readmission policy: legal basis for re-entry</hd> <p>Before 1993, the Malawi Government required the permanent expulsion of all pregnant girls in schools. Due to pressures from community organizations for the government to revise the policy on pregnancy, the Malawi readmission policy was enacted in December 1993, serving as the legal basis to readmit girls who were pregnant and withdrawn from school. Over the years, the readmission policy has undergone multiple revisions to improve the procedures and conditions set as prerequisites for in-school pregnant girls to return to school, including the development of the Revised Readmission procedures in 2006.</p> <p>For the re-entry process, students are withdrawn from school for one academic year, and readmission is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, meaning that the student(s) only get one chance to return to school (Malawi Government [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref7">19</reflink>]). These issues within the readmission policy expose the institutional factors/forces at play that systematically 'rationalize' the pushout of pregnant learners and student mothers and make it appear as though they are solely responsible for their 'departure' from school.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-4">Ubuntu: humanness and challenging stigmatic discourses</hd> <p>Both literally and figuratively, social and political discourses continue to conceptualize student mothers as 'unfit subjects' and undesirable bodies in educational policies and practices. To interrogate historical, political and societal conceptualizations of adolescent pregnancy and student motherhood, this article discusses the power dynamics and stigmatic discourses through an African epistemological lens of <emph>Ubuntu</emph>. The study uses <emph>Ubuntu</emph> as a way of not only theorizing from the South but also incorporating new lenses in understanding global issues in a different light as well as using theory in the contexts from which it emerged to better understand contemporary issues in the places of study.</p> <p> <emph>Ubuntu</emph>, also known as <emph>Umunthu</emph> in Chichewa, is a post-colonial African thought or 'ideological system' originating from the Bantu or the native people of Southern Africa. The term presents the African philosophy of humanness. <emph>Ubuntu</emph> refers to individuals' humanity and sense of self rooted in the common bonds among people and communitarian approaches that govern the social, political, spiritual and moral spheres of society. <emph>Ubuntu</emph>'s fundamental values include respect, dignity, interdependency, collaboration, equity, compassion, inclusion, acceptance and mutually beneficial relationships. According to Kayange ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref8">14</reflink>]), the originality of <emph>Ubuntu's</emph> ontological thesis is traced back to Desmond Tutu, and he postulated that the word itself points to the essence of being human and in togetherness. As stated by Khomba and Kangaude-Ulaya ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref9">15</reflink>]), the application of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> 'is pervasive in almost all parts of Africa,' and it is an ideology that 'is integrated into all aspects of day-to-day life' (<reflink idref="bib673" id="ref10">673</reflink>); it incorporates a deep appreciation of others. <emph>Ubuntu</emph> centers on communal solidarity for survival, and the concept carries with it an ethic of care that helps individuals, families, communities and institutions to thrive. Kayange ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref11">14</reflink>]) highlights the multifaceted nature of this philosophy by pointing out that <emph>Ubuntu</emph> is a complex concept that contains both individualist and communitarian meanings. <emph>Ubuntu</emph> is not only central in many African belief systems but it is also foundational in education primarily through its focus on building relationships in [learning] spaces where this process is interdependent and mutually beneficial (UNESCO [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref12">31</reflink>]). In their chapter on <emph>Re-thinking Education in Post-Colonial Africa</emph>, Hapanyengwi-Chemhuru and Makuvaza ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref13">12</reflink>]) postulate that if education in post-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to be grounded in Eurocentric epistemic paradigms, it will fail to align with <emph>Ubuntu</emph> because most of the Western approaches that make up the current education systems in SSA are 'individualist and [do] not function as a collective unit' (Hapanyengwi-Chemhuru and Makuvaza [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref14">12</reflink>], 85).</p> <p>According to Abdi ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref15">1</reflink>]), colonial dimensions have not been fully cleansed from colonized spaces, and the colonizers' ways remain prominent and visible in many transactions today. The neo-colonial conditions of African states, particularly those in education practices and policies, stem from the education systems inherited from colonizers. During the colonial era, schools were run by Christian missionaries, who expelled pregnant girls from school. In the early 1990s, several SSA governments did not have policies that permitted young women who were pregnant in school to return after delivery (Gender links [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref16">9</reflink>]). Such colonial practices that pushout learners contrast with the social ethics of <emph>Ubuntu</emph>, particularly its focus on interdependency, respect and compassion, and through the eyes of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> can be seen as a form of violence threatening the learners' sense of humanity.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-5">Methodology</hd> <p>This critical phenomenological study examines the phenomenon of becoming a mother during secondary school years and school re-entry among low-income Malawian young women. Based on the young mothers' lived experience, the study emphasizes the common meaning of this phenomenon (Creswell and Cheryl [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref17">8</reflink>]) by looking at 'what' the phenomenon was and 'how' it was experienced (Moustakas [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref18">22</reflink>]). This research was designed as a preliminary study, and it seeks to answer these research questions:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> When young women become pregnant during their time in school, what are the restraining and driving forces that affect their academic experience as they leave and return to school?</item> <p></p> <item> How do young mothers experience school re-entry after delivering their baby while in secondary school?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0158110049-6">Setting and positionality</hd> <p>Due to the nature of this study, the criteria for participation was limited to Malawian women above the age of 18 who dropped out of secondary school due to pregnancy and later returned to continue their education after having their child. Since young mothers who returned to school were difficult to find, the study utilized the Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) strategy that employs snowballing and chain-referral methods (Bernard [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref19">4</reflink>]).</p> <p>I write as a Malawian scholar-practitioner with current and previous field experience working with pregnant adolescents and student mothers, which positions me to provide a unique perspective on the gender and power dynamics within education spaces in the context of the study. My identity as an African woman and a co-founder of a nonprofit focusing on girls' education and school re-integration in rural Malawian communities played a critical role in conducting this research and analyzing the participants' experiences. As a daughter of a woman who returned to secondary school after having children, my familial background also contributes largely to this work.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-7">Data collection tools</hd> <p>For the data collection process, in Fall 2019, online interviews were conducted with six Malawian women (<emph>n</emph> = 6) who met the eligibility criterion (please see Table 1). The data were primarily collected using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions.</p> <p>Table 1. Participant information.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><td>Pseudonym</td><td>Age of pregnancy</td><td>Level of schooling when pregnant</td><td>Years of school missed</td><td>Type of school before pregnancy</td><td>Type of school after re-entry</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Tionge</td><td char=".">18</td><td>Form 1</td><td>2 years</td><td>Regular boarding school</td><td>Night school</td></tr><tr><td>Malaika</td><td char=".">17</td><td>Form 4</td><td>2 years</td><td>Regular boarding school</td><td>Night school</td></tr><tr><td>Agnes</td><td char=".">17</td><td>Form 3</td><td>1.5 years</td><td>CDSS*</td><td>CDSS*</td></tr><tr><td>Martha</td><td char=".">17</td><td>Form 3</td><td>1.5 years</td><td>Regular boarding school</td><td>Boarding school</td></tr><tr><td>Chimwemwe</td><td char=".">18</td><td>Form 2</td><td>4 years**</td><td>Regular boarding school</td><td>Regular boarding school</td></tr><tr><td>Madalitso</td><td char=".">18+</td><td>Form 4</td><td>2 years</td><td>CDSS*</td><td>Night school</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 *Community Day Secondary school.</p> <p>2 **Got pregnant while already out of school.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-8">Findings: elements of the support structure</hd> <p>Within the young women's narratives, the study findings primarily center around one broader category: the support structure for teen mothers returning to school. This category is based on three main themes constructed from the research findings, which include school-based support (SBS), self and mother groups, and home-based support (HBS). When put together, these themes contributed to a consolidated support structure, which incorporates different approaches for schools and communities, demonstrating how teen mothers in this study were supported to return to school after delivery.</p> <p>Drawing from the findings, the support structure is the convergence of the central forms of support, and it highlights the elements that demonstrate the impetus or power that encouraged the young women to remain determined and strive towards their goal of returning/staying in school regardless of the challenges they experienced during and after pregnancy. The findings indicate that these forms of support are not mutually exclusive, meaning that they need to happen simultaneously for the support to impact the young mother's return and retention in school. Once this consolidated force is established and maintained, it can overpower the existing restraining forces that would otherwise take over and prevent young mothers from returning to school. The support structure also highlights the complex interactions across the different types of support and the interactions between schools, families and communities to ensure effective and holistic support for teen mothers. As indicated earlier, an Ubuntucentric education focuses on interdependent and mutually beneficial relationships, which calls for continued dependance and collaboration between schools, families and communities. The support structure capitalizes on <emph>Ubuntu</emph> values that facilitate the continued education for student mothers.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-9">School-based support (SBS)</hd> <p>The school-based support theme discusses the essential strategies within school spaces, and although not exhaustive, they are representative of the key components that supported the young mothers in this study to return to school and stay within the education system. The first strategy centers on night schools. It is important to note the central role that night schools played in the young mothers' return to school. As evidenced by the data (see Table 1), most of the participants enrolled into night schools upon re-entry, and they highlighted how 'comfortable' they felt with their peers and teachers' in this school setting. They also highlighted how they experienced little to no stigmatic and societal pressures of being a teen mother in their interactions with peers and teachers at night school due to the open and welcoming nature of the learning space. While sharing about her experience when she first enrolled at her night school, Agnes explained:</p> <p>No, there was nothing [relating to challenges with the teachers]. They just received me at the school and told me that I should not do it again. They did not even say anything that was mocking or insulting.</p> <p>In Malawi, night schools are inexpensive afternoon classes open to adults and working individuals who did not complete their secondary education. The schools utilize existing mainstream secondary school premises and teachers use them to teach students enrolled in the night school. Although not available at every school, night schools are locally managed by school personnel, and students of different ages can attend, even those who are pregnant. Based on the participants' experience, the nature of the night schools is inclusive and does not discriminate against learners based on their age, pregnancy or motherhood status. Due to the diverse nature of learners in night schools and their focus on nontraditional students, the setting is based more on the community values of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> than regular schools hence allowing for increased enrollment, attendance, participation and retention of student mothers. This form of inclusive education in night schools, grounded in Ubuntucentric values, is fundamental in allowing student mothers from diverse backgrounds to not only learn but also benefit from the education system while they are pregnant or after delivery.</p> <p>As evidenced by the data, all the participants in this study, apart from Chimwemwe and Agnes, attended a night school after delivery. In contrast with those who went to night school, Chimwemwe, who attended a regular boarding school, was the only one who was directly 'attacked' by her teachers inside the classroom, and they used her as a 'bad example' of what not to become. Chimwemwe shared:</p> <p>Even the teachers mocking me [<emph>sighing</emph>] ... everything was so bad ... that was part of tease[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref20">1</reflink>] that I returned to the school [after delivering a baby] ... it was part of tease. I was not being used as a good example ... it was not for a good reason that they were using me as an example in the classroom ... it hurt me.</p> <p>Chimwemwe expounded that at the school, the teachers and school matrons (who were in charge of residential life) would seem to show the young mother some 'form of respect' yet scorned her for being a mother. According to Ngabaza and Shefer ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref21">24</reflink>]), returning to school as young mothers is difficult, particularly due to the challenges within the school environment, including the lack of empathy, which subjects 'them as parents to open hostility in some cases' (<reflink idref="bib110" id="ref22">110</reflink>).</p> <p>During colonial times, hostility toward schooling and pregnancy existed in Christian missionary schools. Expulsion was one of the punishments for the 'immoral status' of pregnancy out of wedlock for girls in school, and schools today display similar approaches in their praxis (Chilisa [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref23">7</reflink>]). Such practice contrasts with the <emph>Ubuntu</emph> concept of humanness and respect, which existed in African precolonial times where 'the main source of a woman's respect' and honor were grounded in motherhood and childbearing (Iliffe [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref24">13</reflink>], 264). The findings in this study reveal that teachers in boarding schools demonstrated overt discrimination against the girls as compared to teachers in night schools. Such school practices constructed and influenced by colonial legacies continue to perpetuate the systematic pushout of teen mothers from schools, which are ideological state apparatuses (Althusser [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref25">2</reflink>]) working through systems (policies) and individuals (teachers) to influence the young women's departure from mainstream schools. Interestingly, teachers at the night schools and the community day secondary school seemed indifferent and did not publicly or privately show any disdain toward the young mothers. Although inclusive, the participants stated that the night schools were poorly resourced with no access to laboratories, and not all subjects were being taught. An analysis by the Southern African Global Distance Education Network ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref26">30</reflink>]) highlighted a lack of policy regarding night schools resulting in an uncertain future for the schools, which called for the need to improve these learning spaces if they are to serve as a feasible alternative.</p> <p>The second strategy in school spaces is that teachers and school administration informed and guided the young mother's overall experience when they returned to school pregnancy after delivery, particularly those in night school. The participants expressed that the teachers and school administration's engagement with the young mothers and the acknowledgment of their background creates room for establishing 'safe spaces' during their time in school and affirmed that they were welcome and accepted. Madalitso was pregnant while in school and eventually went to a teacher's training college to become a primary school teacher. Based on her experience as a teacher, Madalitso explains:</p> <p>... The teachers just give the students the green light showing them to work very hard in school so that they can have a better life in the future. Even with the Primary Education Advisor (PEA), administrators, and teachers, they encourage the young girls so that they should not feel embarrassed even when their peers laugh and tease them and say, 'this one has a baby, and she breastfeeds.' But the teachers, the headteacher, and the PEA are always happy that the young girls are returning to school [after having their baby].</p> <p>Existing research shows that there are mixed reactions among school personnel regarding their support towards young mothers and pregnant learners in school, where some have the general attitude that the learners should stay home while others believe they should be supported and come back to school (Mpanza and Dumisani [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref27">23</reflink>]; Ngabaza and Shefer [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref28">24</reflink>]; Nkani and Bhana [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref29">25</reflink>]). In this study, Chimwemwe, whose re-entry was at a regular boarding school, experienced mixed reactions from her teachers; some using her as a bad example as indicated above, while other teachers provided support, as she explains below:</p> <p>My teachers used to buy me some food like groceries ... and soap. And sometimes when they can ... when their kids tell them about me, they were like 'Oh that's good, so you should keep working hard' and encouraging me to go further with my education. And then it made me stronger that I had to make it.</p> <p>This study found that teachers and school personnel's support for young mothers was fundamental to strengthening Ubuntucentric values. These values of inclusiveness, equity and compassion within school spaces enabled teachers and school administrators to be sources of support and create inclusive learning environments.</p> <p>The third strategy at the school level shows the complexity and essentiality of social networks between young mothers and their peers within the school environment. In this context, social networks are primarily for accumulating social capital and building relationships with peers and trusted adults within their school setting. The forms of social support highlighted by the participants include encouragement from teachers, girls' clubs, mentoring and peer support that is demonstrated in multifaceted ways. Some of the participants stressed the need for girls' clubs uniquely designed for young mothers to develop relationships with each other and with female teachers at the school, and these spaces also serve as a protective function from social hurdles. In highlighting what a girls' club for young mothers would look like, Tionge shared:</p> <p>In my own thinking, I would bring together the teachers, maybe those that I have a good rapport with ... approaching them, the female teachers and recommend to them that if they could make time to bring together girls, doing some research and finding the girls who got pregnant while they were still young ... maybe bringing them back to school and encouraging them. And finding them a person who was once pregnant maybe in primary or secondary school, but right now that person is educated. Taking that person, maybe even if the person has a job, and using that person as an example so that we can learn from that person ... who succeeded even after going through a similar experience.</p> <p>Research (MHRC and SALC [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref30">20</reflink>]) shows that due to the socio-cultural setting within Malawian societies, female students are more likely to open up to their female teachers as opposed to male teachers about their feelings and experiences. Scholars argue that same-gender teachers have the ability to not only act as role models but also to improve students' motivation and performance (Lee, Rhee, and Rudolf [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref31">16</reflink>]). In further explaining the teachers' role in supporting young mothers, Malaika said:</p> <p>By encouraging young mothers, I mean that they (teachers) should make the time ... bringing together the young girls who were pregnant and making the time to explain to them what their future looks like and teaching them the things that they need to learn to succeed in the future. Because when they encourage them like that, the young girls are encouraged that 'oooh, this means ... we are still young' ... because some people see themselves as adults/grownup the moment they have the child ... 'this means that we are still young we can continue schooling and making it to a better place [in life] ...</p> <p>Furthermore, the participants shared that their peers not only provided support with classwork, but they also shared food, school supplies, as well as general advice on life and navigating its challenges. Gordon and colleagues ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref32">10</reflink>]) indicated that peer learning, an emerging intervention, positively affects girls' confidence and self-esteem. Both Tionge and Malaika, respectively, were 'encouraged' by their school peers, who compared them to other young women who did not make the 'better choice' of returning to school. <emph>Ubuntu's</emph> ontological assumptions are rooted in communitarian values (Kayange [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref33">14</reflink>]) that allow individuals to forge interdependent relationships to support one another and understand the essence of humanity found through others. In these school settings, the young mothers' humanity is found through their supportive peers and teachers, significantly affecting their attendance and retention.</p> <p>The complication and paradox of School Based Support (SBS) in this study is the opposition to the presence of young mothers within non-night school settings by both teachers and peers. Despite the various forms of support, some participants experienced hostility, disapproval and some 'harmful' social discourses that negatively constructed student motherhood. Not only were they accused of promiscuity but they were mocked and bullied by peers and, for some, by their teachers. This created a fear of returning to school, and upon their return to school, these fears and constraints forced the young women to hide their identity as mothers so that they could 'fit in' the school spaces and feel accepted. In Agnes' experience, unaware of the readmission policy, she shared that she stopped going to school even when she wanted to because her friends at school started insulting her. This led to the loss of friendships, teasing and name-calling with words such as <emph>Ntchembere</emph> [a person who has a child/breastfeeds- <emph>the term is used in a derogatory manner</emph>]. Martha shared that she chose to hide her identity as a mother for acceptance:</p> <p>I tried as much as possible to hide the fact that I have a baby. I did not disclose ... Most of the time, the breasts of someone who has breastfed change shape. It was a challenge ... I was forcing myself to bath very early before anyone else so that people should not know ... should not see how my breasts are. So, I was very uncomfortable at that school.</p> <p>Discriminatory practices in boarding school forced the young mothers to fake reasons for gaps in their school history and conceal their identity as mothers. All of these challenges not only resulted in little concentration in the classroom but also unsatisfactory performance for some of the participants.</p> <p>Lastly, due to the 'unconducive' learning atmosphere and their difficult life situations as young mothers, the participants asserted the need for robust psychosocial support to be made available to both student mothers and pregnant teens in schools. The young mothers emphasized the need for schools to spearhead counseling, sensitization campaigns, teacher and student orientation and incorporate punitive/disciplinary measures for those bullying student mothers in school. In her explanation of what should be done to create a more conducive learning environment, Martha shared:</p> <p>There are some other people, who despite knowing the policy that pregnant girls and mothers are encouraged to go back to school, others do not take this well ... they still mock these girls. So, what I can say is that these schools should try as much as possible to give punishments or to sensitize to those other students that whenever someone dropped out of school and then someone has come back to school, that someone should be given support so that that someone is encouraged. That someone should be treated like anyone else ... So, I think schools should have some sensitization campaigns against these practices done on the young mothers who go back to school.</p> <p>Liwewe ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref34">17</reflink>]; as cited by MHRC and SALC [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref35">20</reflink>]) criticized the Malawi readmission policy for simply 'getting the girls back into school' (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref36">5</reflink>) without assessing or integrating appropriate measures in schools that cater for the student mothers' psychological wellbeing. Given the centrality of compassion and empathy within the foundations of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> (Kayange [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref37">14</reflink>]), an Ubuntucentric education strives to support the wellbeing of students and helps them to not only maintain their resilience but also enables them to identify coping mechanisms in order to succeed with their education. The lack of a robust SBS structure intensifies institutionally influenced practices that perpetuate the pushout of student mothers, subsequently diminishing their economic and educational achievements.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-10">Self and Mother groups</hd> <p>Self and mother groups are situated in the middle ground between the school environment and home setting. The participants indicated that they themselves are the key figures in the success of their re-entry into the school system, and they stated that it was self-motivation that was the leading cause for their return to school after pregnancy. Their individual undertakings and belief in one-self enabled them to succeed in navigating the difficulties related to schooling and motherhood. Tionge shared:</p> <p>No one, but just on my own, after sitting down and thinking and asked myself, "the way things are going in the world today, what should I do for things to go well for me, or for me to be free in the future?" ... The intelligent thing to do that I found was to return to school to continue with my education so that in the future, I can be independent without depending on anyone else.</p> <p>All the participants in this study discussed that they first decided on their own to 'want' to return to school so that they could build a better future, and the support from family was built on their initial desire. The young mothers shared that the challenges they faced during and after pregnancy plus having a baby redefined their commitment towards education and motivated them to pursue education.</p> <p>Additionally, partnerships between the schools and communities specially designed to bring back girls who were out of school created another key intersecting point. In this study, mother groups, which are all-women community groups that collaborate with schools to support young girls to pursue education, played a critical role in supporting young mothers to return to school after pregnancy. Madalitso shared:</p> <p>If the girl was pregnant and gave birth, the mother group members go and say to her, 'even though you have given birth to a child, you should return to school,' and they do this in collaboration with the headteacher ... so the young girl(s) return to school.</p> <p>The findings highlighted that mother groups were established for the community around the school and enable women in the community to 'go searching for girls who became pregnant when they were in school and delivered their babies but are just staying home' (Madalitso). The participants shared that the mother group members 'persuade' the young mothers and worked hand-in-hand with the school administration and parents to encourage them to return to school. According to the UNFPA ([<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref38">32</reflink>]), mother groups are an underutilized resource that evidence suggests have great potential in promoting girls' education in Malawi, particularly for girls who dropped out of school due to pregnancy. The findings indicate that the mother group model is grounded in justice and fairness for female learners, and their practices are based on the <emph>Ubuntu</emph> philosophies of interdependance, communitarianism, solidarity and humanness. This Ubuntucentric educational approach not only has a functionality that is centered on African traditional socio-political systems that 'function under a strong collective spirit' (Kayange [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref39">14</reflink>], 120) familiar to the African context, but it also offers alternatives and unique forms of support for student mothers relevant to local contexts.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-11">Home-based support (HBS)</hd> <p>Home-based support (HBS) emerged as the other fundamental dimension of the support structure that primarily centers on the forms of support provided by the young mothers' family and community outside of school. The HBS theme identifies the key individuals within the home environment who play a central role in ensuring the young mothers' return to school after delivery, including extended family, parents, mothers and community members.</p> <p>Grant and Hallman ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref40">11</reflink>]) confirm that family support, particularly childcare, significantly affects the likelihood of student mothers' staying in school, and the lack thereof encourages dropout. All participants mentioned that they received different forms of HBS, including childcare, financial contributions and emotional responsiveness that reassured them of their potential and ability to succeed. Martha shared how her parents had supported her:</p> <p>I have to thank my parents. They were very loving and understanding. By then, I was just 17 years old. In fact, my parents said, 'this one being so young, we cannot allow her to get married. We will keep the baby after she has delivered, then we send her back to school.' So, I think because of motherly love or parental love, they did not want to destroy my future, despite that situation, so they promised to send me back to school after delivery.</p> <p>The fundamentality of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> on communal dimensions within families and communities (Kayange [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref41">14</reflink>]) creates room to establish a collective support system that allows for pregnant mothers to stay in school. The complexities, however, within the forms of HBS were the disagreements that existed within families on how to 'handle' the girls' pregnancy and the subsequent academic re-entry. Although some of the participants' families unanimously agreed to send the girls to school, others, such as Malaika and Tionge, shared the challenges of a divided family that even considered marriage and disowning the girls. Despite the dissimilar viewpoints, the participants shared that they always were supported by their mothers. Malaika shared that she was pushed to get married to her child's father, but her mother wanted her to go back to school:</p> <p>Some of them were like extended family such as my uncles, others ... yes, they were the ones who were saying, 'she should just go [get married].' But because my mum understood me, they later said 'she should just go back to school.'</p> <p>One common aspect among the participants with this form of pushback from their families was the difference in response between their fathers and mothers. The data highlights supportive mothers and 'distraught' fathers who pushed for some 'form of punishment' against the young women's pregnancy and were unwilling to provide support at the beginning (although they eventually became more flexible). With a sad tone in her voice, Malaika shared her challenging experience with her father after her mother asked the father to accept Malaika back into the house:</p> <p>... You know when someone does something like that [getting pregnant], even if it happened by accident, you still do not feel comfortable even staying in your own parents' house. There are times when dad would just be upset with me ... he stopped talking to me, but mum was at least better.</p> <p>Malaika and Tionge shared that for a while, they were only supported by their mothers, but both said their fathers were angry at them for being pregnant. Although Malaika's father and the extended family wanted to send her into marriage, Malaika continued to plead, especially with her mother, that she wanted to go back to school and refused to be married off. Such complex relational realities contrast with the compassionate and inclusive nature of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> in society and highlight how young women are involved in constant negotiation and resistance to oppressive experiences. Eventually, with the support Malaika got from her mother, her family decided to send Malaika back to school. The findings indicate that the challenges from the young women's families made staying at home while pregnant difficult and impeded their progress towards school re-entry. The abandonment and frustrations ranged from forced marriage, limited to no family support, solitary childbirth, as well as being moved out of the family house to go to the village. Agnes shared:</p> <p>There were a lot of challenges; there were times I lacked support and basic needs ... I did not have soap, even food ... I was not happy; it was a very difficult experience. Then I decided that with this, it is better for me to return to school so that I can continue where I stopped.</p> <p>The financial hardship and their inability to take care of the baby also motivated the girls to return to school. This concurs with Schultz ([<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref42">28</reflink>]), who highlights that young mothers' persistence in school, in part, is because they have children. The young women in this study stressed that it was their redefined commitment to education together with their supports that helped them to be resilient and pursue education. Within this complex construction of family support, the participants stated that the reassurance from immediate and extended family helped them cope with school re-entry difficulties. Despite parents' strict discipline after learning about the pregnancy, the participants emphasized that acceptance from family provided a sense of belonging and feelings of inclusion, which motivated them to continue pursuing their education. Consistent with Ubuntucentric values, families are considered the centerpiece for the formation of one's sense of belonging that affects all spheres of life; hence, family acceptance is critical.</p> <p>Lastly, the presence of educated women in their community who had similar backgrounds inspired the young mothers to not only be resilient and strive but to constantly see an image of what they could emulate and become. As contended by Oviawe ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref43">26</reflink>]), there is a place for <emph>Ubuntu</emph> within education systems in Africa and beyond to function as an alternative paradigm that is 'less positivistic, Eurocentric and individualistic than what has become the norm today' (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref44">2</reflink>). As such, in the context of an Ubuntucentric education, holistic and transformative learning is cultivated both inside and outside the classroom to create enabling environments that allow student mothers' access and retention in school. More importantly, this approach also capitalizes on valuable attributes of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> that oppose exclusionary policies and practices that 'pushout' the learners from the education system.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-12">Discussion: Ubuntucentric practices and pedagogies for student mothers</hd> <p>Through the lens of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> and drawing from this study's findings, this article proposes what I call Ubuntucentric education. These are practices and pedagogies relevant to support girls' education, particularly student mothers, through the principles of <emph>Ubuntu</emph>. These approaches primarily draw from <emph>Ubuntu's</emph> key values centering on the need for communal existence and deep appreciation of others. Also, the Ubuntucentric approaches focus on <emph>Ubuntu's</emph> central principles, which include respect, dignity, interdependency, collaboration, equity, compassion, inclusion, acceptance and mutually beneficial relationships. With this premise, Ubuntucentric education centers on humanistic approaches characterized by inclusivity, student-centeredness, refusal of violence towards the 'other' in the community – in this context, student mothers – rendering of care and joint responsibility between teachers, students and families.</p> <p>Inclusion and collaboration are examples of <emph>Ubuntu</emph> values that fundamentally inform Ubuntucentric practices and pedagogies in relation to schooling post-pregnancy in association with school re-entry. In the young mothers' return to school after delivery, the evidence highlighted the pushout factors, including tagging them as bad influence at school and policy-related challenges. Ubuntucentric education is a reconceptualized approach that pursues continuation-orientation strategies to keep girls within the school system and refuses the incorporation of inclusive-exclusionary practices such as mandatory withdrawal from school upon the discovery of the pregnancy or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for re-entry as articulated in the Malawi readmission policy. Furthermore, this approach also capitalizes on the interdependency between the school and local community, such as establishing and using mother groups as a key resource in keeping girls in school.</p> <p>As presented in this study's findings, supportive school environments, familial support and self-motivation are the three critical factors that enabled young mothers to return to school. The study also highlights that school settings are simultaneously unfavorable and harmful spaces for them. Based on the evidence, I argue that <emph>Ubuntu</emph> educational approaches need to be incorporated, emphasizing equitable and inclusive education that does not sacrifice integration but provides mutual support while reducing pregnant girls' exclusion from schools. Connecting to Shah's ([<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref45">29</reflink>]) work on adolescent girls' education in India, relationship building among students is essential in creating a support network beyond the school environment. An Ubuntucentric education provides safe and supportive schooling environments, enhanced teacher training, gender-responsive pedagogy and restructuring school practices within and outside classrooms. More importantly, implementing these practices while recognizing the existing forms of oppression, exclusion and power dynamics within the schooling and cultural systems creates room for emancipatory possibilities.</p> <p>Schooling, community and home environments play an imperative role in the re-entry of school-aged mothers. As exemplified in Willemsen's ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref46">33</reflink>]) research in Tanzania on gender and schooling, the study highlights the critical role of collaboration between the family and community, especially when addressing the gendered outcomes of adolescent pregnancy among schoolgirls. <emph>Ubuntu's</emph> key values highlight that African communities center on inclusion and communitarianism that revolve around mutual support/dependance; hence 'inclusive schooling cannot be detached from the African way of living' (Mahlo [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref47">18</reflink>], 107). As presented in this study, the utilization of the mother group model in Malawian schools emphasizes the collaborative efforts between community members and schools to create a force and a space to promote girls' learning, particularly those that dropped out due to pregnancy or early marriage. This Ubuntucentric approach pushes for creating safe schooling spaces that promote learners' dignity, growth and self-worth and emphasize students' agency in their education.</p> <p>These approaches build up and call for the education community to rethink and restructure the concept of who belongs to the school community. The restructuring aims to address motherhood and schooling on its own Ubuntucentric terms and not based on colonial legacies and patriarchal norms that 'pushout' pregnant girls from the education system. Re-entry/readmission policies are an excellent first step towards building an inclusive education space, but evidence (Chilisa [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref48">7</reflink>]) shows that some policies are discriminatory in nature and prevent adolescent mothers from returning to school. This study shows that most of the participants transitioned to night schools, where they continued their education after delivery and expressed their sense of belonging and acceptance in this learning space which helped them excel in their education. For education policy and practice, night schools provide a critical alternative that allows for both pregnant learners and student mothers who have not been able to complete their primary or secondary education to pursue education. Instead of exclusionary-oriented approaches, I argue for the need to keep girls within the system by utilizing existing space, such as night schools, that pregnant students can utilize to continue their education. I make this argument by acknowledging the criticism that this approach appears exclusionary (Salvi [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref49">27</reflink>]) and the weaknesses within night schools, particularly their under-resourced nature and lack of government support. First, the alternative of night schooling for pregnant students allows them to stay within the education system rather than mandatory withdrawals as stipulated by the current readmission policy in Malawi, which highly reduces their chances of returning after delivery. This reorganization calls for the alteration of the policy from readmission to continuation. Since night schools currently enroll pregnant learners, giving the students a choice to continue with their education while pregnant (until they feel they need to leave to have the baby) creates better conditions for retention and ensures there is no compromise on the girls' rights to education. Such a change of policy requires the government to invest and improve night schools to ensure good quality of education. With the Ubuntucentric educational approaches above, this scholastic flexibility in policy and practice allows the girls to make their schooling choice and negotiate the tensions within these spaces to rebuild their identities and reconstruct 'homeliness' and their sense of belonging.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-13">Conclusion</hd> <p>As we trouble the structural inequalities that exist that oppress student mothers in schools, how are we – scholars, practitioners, and/or policymakers – critically examining pregnancy-related educational policies/practices? Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his keynote address at the 2004 International Women's Health Coalition annual gala, stated that girls 'pay a higher price' not just in issues of morality and mortality, but 'when girls become pregnant, school policies force them to drop out' (Annan [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref50">3</reflink>]). Therefore, there is a need for the girls to be educated, they need not be forced out of school because they are the ones who are left to put pieces together. Ubuntucentric approaches can be used to improve the readmission policy and toidentify localized Malawian tools such as mother groups and night schools that can serve as alternatives that create new possibilities for continuation-oriented approaches that refuse the withdrawal of pregnant learners from school.</p> <hd id="AN0158110049-14">Disclosure statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).</p> <ref id="AN0158110049-15"> <title> Note </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref15" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> A form of bullying in schools usually with the intention to humiliate.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0158110049-16"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibtext> Abdi, Ali A. 2012. Decolonising Philosophies of Education. Rotterdam : Sense Publishers.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref25" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Althusser, Luis. 1970. "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses by Louis Althusser 1969-70." 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Accessed 11 January 2021. https://malawi.unfpa.org/en/news/mother-groups-–-underutilized-resource-girls'-education-malawi</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Willemsen, Laura. 2016. "Embodying Empowerment: Gender, Schooling, Relationships and Life History in Tanzania." https://hdl.handle.net/11299/198990</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> World Vision. 2020. "Covid-19 Aftershocks: Access Denied." https://<ulink href="http://www.wvi.org/publications/report/coronavirus-health-crisis/covid-19-aftershocks-access-denied">www.wvi.org/publications/report/coronavirus-health-crisis/covid-19-aftershocks-access-denied</ulink></bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Pempho Chinkondenji</p> <p>Reported by Author</p> <p></p> <p>Pempho Chinkondenji is a PhD candidate in Education Leadership and policy (International Education concentration) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. More broadly, her research examines the intersection between gender, education, and development. Her primary research focuses on school (re)integration for student mothers and in–school pregnancy–related policies and praxis in African contexts. She also has research interests in education in emergencies, critical feminist pedagogy, and gender and power dynamics in higher education both on the African continent and in the diaspora.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref1"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref8"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib673" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref18"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib110" firstref="ref22"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref24"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref26"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref27"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref29"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref30"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref31"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref32"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref34"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref40"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref42"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref43"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref45"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref46"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref47"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref49"></nolink>
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  Data: Schoolgirl Pregnancy, Dropout or Pushout?: An Ubuntucentric Re-Construction of the Education for Student Mothers in Malawi
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 16
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2022
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Parenthood%22">Early Parenthood</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescents%22">Adolescents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22African+Culture%22">African Culture</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Influences%22">Cultural Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+School+Students%22">Secondary School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pregnancy%22">Pregnancy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reentry+Students%22">Reentry Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Barriers%22">Barriers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Needs%22">Student Needs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Family+Role%22">Family Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Role%22">School Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Equal+Education%22">Equal Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Access+to+Education%22">Access to Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Policy%22">Educational Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mothers%22">Mothers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Bias%22">Social Bias</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Support+Groups%22">Social Support Groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evening+Programs%22">Evening Programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Environment%22">Educational Environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Malawi%22">Malawi</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/09540253.2022.2061922
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0954-0253<br />1360-0516
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This critical phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of young women returning to secondary school after pregnancy in Malawi. Through the lens of "Ubuntu," an African philosophy on humanness, the article conducts an analysis of the driving and restraining forces affecting student mothers' schooling experience. The data were gathered from young women who left secondary school due to pregnancy and later returned after delivery. The findings highlight important but complex forms of support and challenges embedded within familial and school systems related to student motherhood. This article argues for Ubuntucentric educational practices for student mothers that pursue continuation-oriented approaches and resist structural inequalities that 'push the learners out' of the school system.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2022
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1357082
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1357082
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/09540253.2022.2061922
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 738
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early Parenthood
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adolescents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: African Culture
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cultural Influences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secondary School Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pregnancy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reentry Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Barriers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Needs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Family Role
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Role
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Equal Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Access to Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Policy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mothers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Bias
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Support Groups
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Evening Programs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Environment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Malawi
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Schoolgirl Pregnancy, Dropout or Pushout?: An Ubuntucentric Re-Construction of the Education for Student Mothers in Malawi
        Type: main
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Chinkondenji, Pempho
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2022
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0954-0253
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1360-0516
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 34
            – Type: issue
              Value: 6
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Gender and Education
              Type: main
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