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Original Research Article | Open Access | Peer Reviewed
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Factors Associated with Adolescent Mother Return to School: A Review of Literature
Eunice Kinya Stephen
Daniel M. Nzengya
Molly Secor
Abstract
The status of adolescent mother education stands as a pivotal concern for sustainable development across the
continent. The SSA region has a disproportionately highest number of adolescent pregnancies and the lowest
number of adolescent mothers who return to school, further undermining the potential of women to escape from
poverty and contribute significantly to economic development and sustainable development goals (SDGs) despite
most governments in Sub-Saharan Africa region having an adolescent mothers' return to school policy. Using a
sample of 28 empirically peer-reviewed journals, this paper utilizes a systematic review methodology to evaluate
factors influencing adolescent mothers' return to school in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Six broad themes or
factors were identified from the synthesis of the sample of the 28 papers, namely: category of school preferred by
returning adolescent mothers, family factors influencing return to school, school experiences with the
implementation of return to school policy, adolescent support systems and stakeholder perception, teachers and
school principals' perspectives on adolescent mother return to school and adolescent mothers lived experiences
and realities. A lesser studied theme on factors influencing adolescent mothers' return to school and retention to
completion are the adolescent mothers' lived experiences and realities. Narratives from the scholars who have
examined lived experiences highlight mothers' feelings that negative perception and treatment by those around
them create a hostile learning environment, discouraging them from fully engaging in their studies and leading to
higher dropout rates. This review, however, highlights a complex and challenging environment for teen mothers'
return and retention in traditional schools. Although many countries in the SSA region have a return-to-school
policy for adolescent mothers, there are still significant gaps regarding the school characteristics that promote the
return and retention of adolescent mothers in traditional schools in the region. Such gaps continue to undermine
the region's efforts in meeting SDG 5, with consequences in gender inequalities and women and girls.
Daniel M. Nzengya
Molly Secor
Full Text: PDF |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30845/ijhss.vol15p4
Article History:
Received: 7 January 2025 | Accepted: 9 February
2025 | Published: 23 March 2025
Reviewer(s):
Opted for Confidentiality.
Address for Correspondence:
Eunice Kinya Stephen, School of Education & Social Science, St Paul’s
University, Limuru, Kenya. +254714029098.
[email protected]
[email protected]
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