The Need for a Model to Facilitate Health for Pregnant Learners Attending Secondary Schools in South Africa

Type Journal Article - Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences
Title The Need for a Model to Facilitate Health for Pregnant Learners Attending Secondary Schools in South Africa
Author(s)
Volume 5
Issue 25
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
Page numbers 83-91
URL http://www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/viewFile/5351/5164
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to point out the need for a model to facilitate health for pregnant learners attending secondary schools
in South Africa. It motivates this need by presenting the findings of a study on the exploration and description of the
experiences of pregnant learners attending secondary schools in Limpopo province of South Africa.A qualitative, exploratory,
descriptive and contextual design was used to explore experiences of pregnant learners who attended secondary schools in
Limpopo province. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with learners who were pregnant or were at some stage
pregnant while attending secondary schools. A purposive sampling was used to select participants and due to data saturation
ten learners participated. Data analysis generated six themes and eleven categories. The themes are (1) identification of
pregnant learners, (2) continuation of pregnant learners' school career, (3) dilemmas related to school-attending pregnant
learners, (4) support of school-attending pregnant learners, (5) gender in pregnancy caretaking and (6) communication and
cooperation between teachers and parents. Pregnant learners revealed themselves while others were identified by their
parents and teachers as they attempted to hide their pregnancies. Some pregnant learners continued attending school even
when they faced challenges while others dropped out. Pregnant learnersreceived support from teachers and parentsbut in
some cases that vital cooperation between parents and teachers was lacking. It can be concluded that pregnant learners
facedhealth related challenges to continue attending school which requires a health facilitation model to enable pregnant
learners to benefit from schooling and have positive health outcomes

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