Teen Pregnancy

Running-head: Teen Pregnancy

Teen Pregnancy and Academic Success

Abstract
The prevention of academic failure and subsequent teen pregnancies is an important goal of our society. Parenthood is the leading cause of school dropout among teen girls. Competing demands of school and home can thrust adolescent mothers into stressful situations. These students may conclude that academic achievement is impossible. It is also the case that school achievement, attendance, and involvement helps reduce the risk of teen pregnancy (Casserly, Carpenter, and Halcon, 2001). Studies used have suggested that staying in school and getting an education helps improve the long-term well-being of teen mothers and prevent teen pregnancy.

Among the numerous social problems that can occur in adolescence, two problems- teen pregnancy and academic failure are major concerns as a result of their consequences. A lot of the times when teenagers become pregnant, many drop out of school. The issue is teen mothers are giving up on continuing their education because of the lack of opportunity and support. For this reason, school dropout rates are on the rise. There are many teenage girls with no support. No help from partner, family and friends, or school. According to the study of Perrin & Dorman (2001), ‘‘the hardest thing about being a teen mother is the isolation.’’ Moreover, they often do not achieve the qualifications they need to progress into further education, and in some cases, have difficulties finding childcare and other support they need to participate in education or employment. Consequently, teen mother’s struggle trying to obtain or balance an education while also in the process of providing care for a child. Finding ways to help improve the outcome of teen mothers today is of high importance. Teen mothers need support, it is essential to provide them with resources that will help them to succeed as a mother and as well as a student.
Many teen parents have great aspirations for building a prosperous future, however, becoming a school-age mother in some cases limits a teens’ future success. Teenagers do believe that motherhood can seriously interfere with education or employment. School staff considers teen mothering to be a “bad choice” that eventually contributes to future hardships (SmithBattle, 2007). SmithBattle (2007) done a study on teen mothers’ to find out what the impact of mothering had on their educational goals and school progress. SmithBattle’s (2007) findings were that parenting teens were often unsuccessful on their education goals because of their family responsibilities, competing work demands, and limited school support. The different social worlds according to SmithBattle (2007) reflect the controversial views of educators and teen mothers. Whether teens give birth or not, the opportunities for teen mothers living in poverty are limited. Therefore, the quality of education and employment for the poorer teen moms are limited. A lot of teens who grow up in poor neighborhoods attend schools that are inferior compared to their middle-class peers. Schools that may seem inferior often do not offer as many advantages or foster a sense of competence that the other middle-class schools do. The lack of educational or vocational opportunities can thwart a teen’s success. On the other hand, according to SmithBattle’s (2007) professional and scientific views, “No one can dispute that teen mothers tend to be less educated and have lower incomes and are more likely to remain single than women who postpone parenting In fact, the majority of teen mothers gain a high school diploma and is eventually employed in stable positions. Also, teen mothers with the best outcomes held higher educational aspirations than teen mothers with poorer outcomes.” The studies of Smithfield (2007) have found that the prior disadvantages before giving birth is what contributes mostly to the negative outcomes of teen mothers in contrast to parenthood itself.
The relationship between teenage pregnancy and education is profound. Casserly, Carpenter, and Halcon (2001) done a study on teens to examine the relationship between young women’s school attendance and academic achievement 1 year before conception compared with 1 year after childbirth. According to Casserly et al. (2001), teenage mothers who were academically successful before childbirth remained academically successful. Conversely, those who were academically unsuccessful remained academically unsuccessful. Moreover, in some cases teen mothers would experience academic failure due to frequent truancy, which sometimes eventually led students to drop out of school. Also, teenage mothers who transferred schools often miss more days out of school and performed poorly while in school. However, since a baby is expected to arrive soon, teen mothers experience moving to a new location for their own purposeful reasons. Such as, not enough room for baby in current location or moving out of their parent’s home. These reasons may have been the cause for a parent’s diminishing school attendance and low academic performance. Furthermore, there is some evidence that suggest the teenage parents can excel greatly in their academics. According to Casserly et al. (2001), “the large number (n =41) of young mothers who were not successful before the conception of their child but became successful 3 years later is of particular interest.” Anyhow, Casserly et al. (2201) suggested that the resiliency theory can positively impact school attendance and achievement. The construct of resilience, set forth by Norman Garmezy in the 1980s, is ‘‘the capacity to recover and maintain adaptive behavior after insult (Casserly et al., 2001). ’’ This approach help individual’s build up their strengths. Women who are resilient are more likely able to maintain their good attendance and academic achievements after giving birth. Instead of letting imperfections hinder them, resilient mothers are able to accept becoming a parent and they’re able to gather up the facts they need to move around obstacles. As a result, most these women attain greater success. As a final point Casserly et at. (2001), suggested that alternative schools for pregnant and parenting teens may address the unique needs of these individuals. Teen mothers are at risk of negative social and health consequences. These consequences become even more severe once teen mothers have more than one child during their teenage years. According to Baytop (2006), studies have found that teen mothers who lack educational attainment are likely to experience subsequent pregnancies. Baytop (2006) conducted a study to help find ways that would reduce the consequences of early childbearing and prevent the additional births of teen mothers during adolescence. Moreover, more than 80 percent of participants in this study were African American. School- based programs was regarded as the strongest intervention program to help African American teen mother’s complete school. The school-based intervention provided help on a daily basis while meeting the educational needs of teen parents. The school-based programs focused on improving maternal life of teen mothers; such as subsequent fertility, increased education, employment, and reduction in public assistance (Baytop, 2006). Clinical-based and in-home based programs which are two very prominent programs were actually seen as less ineffective for educational attainment among African American teen mothers. Being that the clinical and in-home based programs offer more counseling rather than offering academics support services, could simply be the reason why it shows no effect in educational attainment. Consequently, school- based programs have the potential to prevent teens from dropping out.
While many studies find the disadvantages or losses in the lives’ of a teen parent, Perrin & Dorman (2001) points out significant factors that lead to teen parent’s success. There are positive aspects that come along with parenting. Once you become a mother, you usually develop a new sense of the future. According to Perrin & Dorman (2001), “mothering introduces new standards, priorities, obligations, and skills for teenagers.” Perrin & Dorman (2001) conducted a qualitative research study on teen pregnancy. There were 22 women participating in this study, each women expressed a personal life story of when they were mothers in their teenage years. Through exploring the personal life stories, Perrin & Dorman (2001) were able to identify the factors that contributed to these women success in achieving a master’s or doctorate degree. Through economic opportunity some women were able to gain assistance in order to help them obtain stability. Women were helped by student loans, grants or scholarships. These women also spoke of receiving Medicaid, food stamps, and rent assistance. The availability of these economic resources gave some of these women the kind of social support they needed to endeavor. Being optimistic about obtaining an education gave majority of these women determination for pursuing a degree. Most decided that in order for their life, and life of the child’s to be better was to succeed in getting an educational degree. Teen mothers should be made aware of any possible ways that are attainable in achieving academic success along with economic independence. Perrin & Dorman (2001) sufficiently explored various possibilities women have taken in order to help them reach higher success. Given these possibilities, we are able to reach out to teen mothers and inspire them to take on similar influences. According to Perrin & Dorman (2001), education is used in way to help influence a teen mother’s future success.
A large number of teen parents have inadequacies that put the baby and the teen mother at risk. However, during the first few years of life, a baby needs to be healthy, safe, and in a nurturing environment to protects his or her well-being. According to Thomson & Caulfield (1998), teen mothers “do not have the necessary experiences or resources to fulfill their parenting obligations.” However, Thomson & Caulfield (1998) are concerned with helping teenage mothers fulfill their determination to become self-sufficient and provide for their kids. Thomson & Caulfield (1998) have suggested that more attention should goes toward addressing each individual and his or her unique needs. With this in mind, too many health professionals are concerned only with the child’s health and educational professionals are concerned only with the child kindergarten readiness. Societal support is needed; strengthening the family should be emphasized more, rather than the support of public assistance. Professionals need to show teens ways of seeking independence as far as establishing personal goals, communicating effectively, and solving problems. When it comes to educational attainment, teen mothers should be well- educated. No mother should feel obligated to drop out of school because the lack of opportunity or support. Parenting teens should be providing with vouchers that ensure childcare while their continuing their education. Developing childcare on school campuses would be a supportive call for teenage mothers. At a large urban high school in Honolulu, an interdisciplinary approach was used effectively by a group of early childhood educators. The students that were either pregnant or parenting were counseled, and taught goal-setting, child development, and vocational skills. With consent from school officials these educators were able to establish a daycare center on the high school’s campus. With a year of full support, the success-oriented program at this high school had retained 14 teen parents from dropping out of school. According to Thomson & Caulfield (1998), “School-based childcare for teen parents is one way to increase graduation and ensure high quality care for infants and toddlers while their parents attend school.” For majority of these studies, obtaining an education is essential to helping improve the long-term well-being of teen mothers. Again, pregnancy is regarded today as a serious social problem. Having children at a young age can damage young women’s health and well-being and severely limit their education and career prospects. Being a parent is a demanding job. It requires maturity, financial security, and support from partner, family and friends. However, approaches to support pregnant and parenting teens allow them to make responsible and successful choices about childbearing, education, and family formation.

Work Cited

Perrin, K.M., & Dorman, K.A. (2003). Teen Parents and Academic Success. The Journal of
School Nursing, 19 (5), 288-293. doi: 10.1177/10598405030190050701

Thomas, M., & Caulfield, R. (1998). Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood: Infants and Toddlers Who
Need Care. Early Childhood Education Journal, 25. Retrieved from http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/995/art%253A10.1023%252FA%253A1025665429947.pdf?auth66=1365463176_d2688ad7a4bc98852e2c53f974f0187c&ext=.pdf
Casserly, K. R., & Carpenter, A.S. & Halcon, L. (2001). Adolescent Parenting: Relationship to
School Attendance and Achievement. The Journal of School Nursing, 17 (6), 329-335. doi: 10.1177/10598405010170060801
SmithBattle, L. (2007). I Wanna Have a Good Future. Teen Mothers’ Rise in Educational
Aspirations, Competing Demands, and Limited School Support. Youth Society, 38, 348-371. doi: 10.1177/0044118X06287962
Baytop, C. M. (2006). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Programs to Improve Educational
Attainment of Unwed African American Teen Mothers: A Meta Analysis. The Journal of Negro Education, 75 (3), 458-477. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/stable/pdfplus/40026815.pdf?acceptTC=true&&

Cited: Perrin, K.M., & Dorman, K.A. (2003). Teen Parents and Academic Success. The Journal of School Nursing, 19 (5), 288-293. doi: 10.1177/10598405030190050701 Thomas, M., & Caulfield, R. (1998). Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood: Infants and Toddlers Who Need Care. Early Childhood Education Journal, 25. Retrieved from http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/995/art%253A10.1023%252FA%253A1025665429947.pdf?auth66=1365463176_d2688ad7a4bc98852e2c53f974f0187c&ext=.pdf Casserly, K. R., & Carpenter, A.S. & Halcon, L. (2001). Adolescent Parenting: Relationship to School Attendance and Achievement. The Journal of School Nursing, 17 (6), 329-335. doi: 10.1177/10598405010170060801 SmithBattle, L. (2007). I Wanna Have a Good Future. Teen Mothers’ Rise in Educational Aspirations, Competing Demands, and Limited School Support. Youth Society, 38, 348-371. doi: 10.1177/0044118X06287962 Baytop, C. M. (2006). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Programs to Improve Educational Attainment of Unwed African American Teen Mothers: A Meta Analysis. The Journal of Negro Education, 75 (3), 458-477. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/stable/pdfplus/40026815.pdf?acceptTC=true&&