Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-161).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1993. / Title from title page screen, viewed February 16, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny E. Morreau (chair), Jeffrey Hecht, Paula Smith, Miryam Assaf-Keller. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-123) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (DTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / There are many challenges to girls' education. Each and every barrier is challenging in and of itself. Teenage pregnancy/motherhood is a major cause of schooling disruption. Research shows that about 4 in every 10 girls become pregnant at least once before age 20 (McDowell, 2003). In most cases, teen pregnancy/motherhood has resulted in the discontinuation of education for the girls, leading to the loss of a sustainable future. In South Africa, girls have the right to continue schooling in public schools even after becoming mothers. In the Western Cape, the Education Department introduced the Managing Learner Pregnancy Policy (MLPP) which guarantees pregnant or mothering learners a right to remain in public schools. Despite the MLPP, teen mothers face a number of challenges as learners - they feel marginalised by the schooling system. Consequently, it is not easy for the girls to succeed with their schooling. They experience pressure from teachers, fellow learners, parents and society. In most cases, the teen mothers receive very little support and they are usually misunderstood. Society perceives teen mothers as deviants, failures and irredeemable girls who can contaminate other girls and influence them to behave immorally. Teen mothers are stigmatised. The stigma and discourses that help to construct it are the forces that impact on the schooling processes of the teen mothers. In most cases, responses of educators, parents and communities towards teen mothers are affected by beliefs, values and attitudes situated in the discourses.

M.Ed. / Early pregnancy and unplanned childbirth may have far-reaching physical, psychological and social consequences for the adolescent girl and her offspring and are therefore public health issues of concern. This study initially proposed to provide guidelines and support to help pregnant adolescents cope with their mental health. Ten pregnant adolescents were interviewed. All ten of them were black. Instead of dropping out of school, they were all staying in. The data were collected by means of observation and phenomenological interviews. The researcher followed a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual method. In the second chapter the researcher describes the research design and method of the research. The approach to data collection, analysis and report writing to achieve the goal of this research study are also indicated. The third chapter focuses mainly with the phenomenological interviews that were conducted and the central themes that have been identified and categorised. The fourth chapter indicates guidelines to help and support pregnant adolescents to cope with the situation they are experiencing and also to cope with their mental health. The research ensured trustworthiness to the participants during the research process. The researcher gained confidence of the participants by spending time with them informally. The researcher ensured credibility of the research study by audio-taping the interviews conducted with the participants. The independent coder was given the transcribed interviews. Thereafter a consensus discussion was held with the independent coder. The researcher ensured that the research study was credible, transferable, dependable and confirmable. The participants were also informed about the advantages and disadvantages of participating in the research. The researcher received informed consent from the parents of the participants. Consent was also obtained from the participants. All participants were informed about their privacy, benefits, withdrawal and the procedure to be followed. Ethical measures were also applied throughout the research. The research ensured that the participants would not be harmed, either physical or emotionally. The researcher ensured the participants of their anonymity. This was done by giving the participants pseudonyms and also made sure that the setting was not identifiable. The researcher’s results revealed that special attention should therefore be paid to adolescent sexual and reproductive health service needs. These should include contraceptive counselling in order to prevent pregnancy at a young age and also to improve their sexual and reproductive health status. / Prof. C.P.H. Myburgh

Since the popular indie-film Juno came out in 2007, it has received massive attention including both praise and harsh critique. Some have celebrated the protagonist Juno’s strong personality and her initial sexual liberty, but the majority have questioned what they see as the film’s anti-abortion message. In contrast, the more recent work Trouble, a young adult (YA) fiction novel from 2014 by Non Pratt, has received very little attention from scholars despite treating the same sensitive subject of teenage pregnancy. Therefore, this essay involves a comparative analysis of the two texts, which examines how the protagonists experience their pregnancies by looking at aspects such as the pregnant body, sexuality, maturation, identity and existential questions. The essay also takes into consideration some of the critique that previously has been voiced regarding the messages that Juno and other YA fiction send. The aim is to contribute to the same discussion by analyzing the film from a slightly different angle and by introducing an analysis of Trouble. In accordance with previous research, the essay concludes that these two works reveal traditional values and perspectives on teenage pregnancy that limit the protagonists’ sexual agency and leave them feeling isolated and confused.

For many young women, life can be an overwhelming, stressful and challenging experience. The increase in the cost of living and high costs of education places a huge financial burden on the parents of these young women especially those who are financially insecure and who have unfortunately not been awarded bursaries or student loans. Many have to find means of income in order to fund their studies and/or eke out a living. Older men who are wealthy have been found to take advantage of these realities and they seek out young women who are struggling financially and “bless” them by providing for their financial needs. Some older men even go beyond these offerings and lavish the young women with other luxury items. Young women see these men as caring and loving and also as a practical escape from financial burdens they face. The older men, called “blessers’”, seek return on their blessings and this is often in the form of sexual favours. The young women are expected to satisfy the sexual desires of their blessers, often at great personal cost and endless sacrifices. This exposes young women to sexual exploitation and abuse. This research seeks to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon and why women engage in these relationships and why some remain in these relationships. It also seeks to create awareness of the dangers of these relationships within the context of the church and to empower young women with a healthy sense of selfworth and value in order to make safer and informed life decisions and to pastorally care for those who have experienced trauma. As a result of the understanding gained through narrative approach, the researcher seeks to begin the process of developing a pastoral care and healing methodology/intervention method. / Dissertation (MTh)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Practical Theology / MTh / Unrestricted

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / This study examined the nature of educators’ experiences in dealing with teenage pregnancy. The study focused on educators in secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal province of the Republic of South Africa. The researcher looked at teenage pregnancy as a major problem in the education system in South Africa. Educators are dealing with pregnant learners almost every day. More learners, mostly teenagers, fall pregnant while they are still at school. Educators have different experiences of such a problem. The study further examined the influence of educators’ biographical characteristics like age, gender, race, teaching experience, educational level and religious affiliation on their experiences in dealing with teenage pregnancy. The study further looked at the extent to which educators experience stress when dealing with teenage pregnancy in secondary schools.

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