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Previous academic literature and Government agendas and policies share concerns about schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be not continuing in education and having lower qualifications. Despite this, research has not considered why schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be are more likely to drop out of education or why it is so difficult for them to continue. This thesis is an in-depth study of the experiences and challenges faced by schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be while continuing in education. Within this research consideration is given to: the deficit model that characterises schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be as discussed in the existing research literature; the experiences and challenges of schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be while attending school; and the support provided by education and health professionals to schoolgirl mothers/mothersto- be. The analysis of data (from questionnaires and interviews) was guided by three research questions: What experiences and challenges do schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be (aged 18 and under) living in Scotland encounter when continuing in education? What are the different approaches taken by local authorities in supporting schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be whilst at school? How do education and health professionals (school staff, health visitors) in schools and the National Health Service (NHS) support schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be while continuing in education during pregnancy and the early stages of motherhood? A review of policy was carried out across all local authorities in Scotland asking for information about how schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be are supported in school. The results of the review helped to identify the local authorities to be approached for inclusion in the study. Eleven local authorities and twenty-nine schools or alternative provisions across Scotland are represented in this study. Forty-three schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be who attended schools or alternative provisions within the eleven local authorities participated. Schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be completed a questionnaire and participated in an individual or group interview. A follow-up interview was conducted 9-12 months later. Seventeen members of staff from schools or an alternative provision that participants attended were interviewed. An interview was also held with five health visitors from the five NHS Boards across Scotland that the identified local authorities fell within. Overall, the experiences of participants in this study often do not fit with the deficit model that characterises schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be in popular accounts or Government agendas and policies. Many participants had a ‘really good’ or ‘good’ experience of school before pregnancy, conflicting with the expectation of disengagement with education. Schoolgirl mothers do have conflicting legal demands to remain in education and care for their baby but the data do not suggest that all are either engaged or disengaged from the education system. Professionals sometimes unintentionally exacerbated difficulties. Only a minority of participants were given the opportunity of a flexible tailored curriculum to attend school and college. Schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be could have had a much better experience at school had support such as childcare and transport assistance been provided. The relationship between professionals and schoolgirl mothers/mothers-to-be is key to help them overcome the different experiences and challenges of continuing in education while pregnant or after having a baby.

This thesis explores images of the Japanese schoolgirl as accessory to the Occidental Self in contemporary Orientalist pop culture in the US. In an analysis of a series of images by four different Western pop culture artists, each artist expresses an appreciation for Japan that is based primarily on their encounter with Japanese pop culture. Furthermore, they express identification with the Japanese Other and a desire to introject into Japanese subjectivities. However, lacking the material body needed for full immersion or identification with the Other, they produce the Japanese schoolgirl as an accessory to the Self. The accessory provides false immersion or identification with the Japanese Other. In this way, the Japanese schoolgirl becomes the embodiment of Japanese pop culture and an object for Western fetishization. / text

This work is concerned with five problems in combinatorics. In Josephus problem, people are standing in a circle or in a row and every q-th is executed until only one person remains. We show how to find the survivor, and discuss the generalization when each person has more lives. In Tower of Hanoi, we study the numbers and properties of moves necessary to transport the tower from one rod to another, where the total number of rods is either three or four. We mention related problems with restrictions on the legal moves. In ménage problem, we calculate the number of seatings of couples around a table such that men and women alternate and nobody sits next to his or her partner. We also discuss permutations with restricted positions and rook polynomials. In ballot problem, we consider two candidates competing against each other and calculate the probability that, throughout the count, the first candidate always had more votes than k times the number of votes of the second one; we also mention the relation to Catalan numbers. In Kirkman's schoolgirl problem, the task is to find a weekly schedule for fifteen girls walking daily out in triads so that no two go together more than once. We also discuss the social golfer problem and Schurig's tables.

It is not an uncommon feature anymore to find young mothers in Venda secondary schools busy with their studies. These young mothers, referred to as schoolgirl mothers in this investigation, do however, battle in general with their studies and experience problems different from those of ordinary schoolgirls. It was, therefore, decided to launch an investigation into the problems related to the learning situation of such schoolgirl mothers. The formation of relationships by the adolescent has been used as a point of departure for this study. Contrary to expectations, the empirical investigation has revealed that schoolgirl mothers maintain basically good relationships with themselves, their studies and others. On the other hand, their academic achievements are significantly lower than those of ordinary schoolgirls. Further research is necessary to shed more light on the situatedness of schoolgirl mothers in general and in Venda secondary schools in particular. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

It is not an uncommon feature anymore to find young mothers in Venda secondary schools busy with their studies. These young mothers, referred to as schoolgirl mothers in this investigation, do however, battle in general with their studies and experience problems different from those of ordinary schoolgirls. It was, therefore, decided to launch an investigation into the problems related to the learning situation of such schoolgirl mothers. The formation of relationships by the adolescent has been used as a point of departure for this study. Contrary to expectations, the empirical investigation has revealed that schoolgirl mothers maintain basically good relationships with themselves, their studies and others. On the other hand, their academic achievements are significantly lower than those of ordinary schoolgirls. Further research is necessary to shed more light on the situatedness of schoolgirl mothers in general and in Venda secondary schools in particular. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

DEd (Educational Management) / Department of Educational Management / This study sought to establish the impact of interventions employed by schools to support the teaching and learning of pregnant and parenting learners (PPLs) in the Mopani district of Limpopo province, South Africa. The study employed qualitative research methodology to gather narrative data from 68 key school-based education stakeholders who were purposively sampled and interviewed on what their schools were doing to support the teaching and learning of PPLs they enrolled. Data were collected through face-to-face and focus group interviews, as well as document analysis. The study revealed that although all the four schools provided basic access to education for PPLs, their inclusive support systems and strategies to assist PPLs to cope with and benefit from the school curriculum activities were largely superficial due to the following challenges: educators, as the primary duty bearers to PPLs were not trained to identify the educational needs of PPLs and to implement relevant strategies for teaching and learning of PPLs; there was inadequate political-will to support PPLs by educators; there was inadequate collegial relationship between mainstream learners and PPLs, there was no synergy between national and school policies on management of schoolgirl pregnancy and there was non-involvement of other professionals to provide psycho-social support at the four schools. The study revealed that cultural and traditional practices of the community contributed to the negative attitudes to teenage motherhood that resulted in inadequate support service provision and structures for teaching and learning of PPLs. The study recommends that the Department of Education (DoE) must put in place formal training on policy and practice for all the key school-based education stakeholders and employ a multi-sectoral counselling system to support enrolled pregnant and parenting schoolgirls to cope with schooling. / NRF