Teenage Out of Wedlock Pregnancy and Educational Pursuit Among Youths in Bariga LGA
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The following are the objectives of this study:
- To examine the relationship between out-of-wedlock pregnancy and educational pursuit among youths in Bariga.
- To examine the pattern of teenage out-of-wedlock pregnancies in Bariga.
- To examine the causes of teenage out-of-wedlock pregnancies in Bariga.
- To determine the solution to the problem of teenage out-of-wedlock pregnancies in Bariga.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Pregnancies among youths seems to be one of the social problems facing not only Nigeria, but also several other nations of the world. Surveys by investigators such as Briggs (2001), Gyepi-Garbrah (1985), Onuzulike (2003) and others revealed that teenagers become sexually active at an early age with corresponding high fertility. Teenage sexual activities in Nigeria also tend to be on the increase (Nwosu, 2005, Okafor, 1997). A major consequence of these increase sexual activities among teenagers is out of wedlock pregnancies that may result in abortion, childbirth or even death. Studies have proven that students’ sexual relationship is on the rampage and common in most of African schools (Jones &Espey, 2008; Mgalla, et al., 1998). The trend is rapidly changing and the incidence of student-adolescents’ engaging in sexual relationship is high and may constitute problems (Ngalinda, 1998) including social, health and academic. Students’ sexual activity has resulted into increased cases of unwanted pregnancies, poor academic performance, and eventually school dropouts (Mlyakado, 2013). However, studies in Nigeria have not seriously investigated the effects of sexual relationship on students’ academic performance. Most of previous studies in Nigeria have invested in studying factors affecting academic performance in general. Factors studied include such as teachers’ incompetence, student’s low motivation, teachers’ low morale, the level of sexual activity of students, etc. summarized in Timothy (2010).
Evidences from other countries like Tanzania, Ghana and Cameroon may help to understand the existing relationship between students’ sexual relationship and academic performance. In the United States, a number of studies have proven that, teenagers who abstain from sex are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college than their sexually active peers (Sabia& Rees, 2009). Although American context is not comparable to Nigeria due to great differences of the two countries in socio-economic, educational and technological development, still this review therefore lays a good foundation to understanding sexual behaviors and academic performance of students in different contexts including Nigeria.
It is agreed that a romantic relationship is an important element in an adolescent life. Youth spend much of their time thinking, talking, and engaging in romantic relationships. Strong positive or negative emotions in youth are more commonly caused by romantic relationships as opposed to other kinds of relationships (such as with friends, parents, or school staff) (Furman & Shaffer, 2003). It is often believed that romantic relationships may negatively affect youth’s academic outcomes because the time spent with a romantic partner might distract one from schoolwork. This intuition is supported by many empirical studies in the literature. Early studies, e.g., Grinder (1966), Larson et al. (1976), and Simmons et al. (1979), found that romantic relationships during high school were linked with lower GPAs or standardized test scores. Some more recent research also reports similar findings. Both Neemann et al. (1995) and Halpern et al. (2000) reported negative associations between academic achievement and romantic relationship in early adolescence. Quatman et al. (2001) found that students who date frequently (more than twice per month) exhibited lower academic achievement and motivation. Rector, Johnson, Noyes & Martin (2003), found that early sexual activity initiated among young girls was related to negative health outcomes (such as an increased rate of getting an STD, increased likelihood of having an abortion, increased rates of depression, and decreased happiness), which are likely to foster negative academic outcomes. However, the existing literature does not conclusively address the causal effect of romantic relationships on academic outcomes. Many existing empirical studies, including more recent ones, were limited in the analyses conducted. For instance, Rector et al. (2003) provides a descriptive analysis in which no covariates were controlled for. The potential sample selection bias is not well addressed either. Namely, students who choose to date frequently may be predisposed to poor academic performance, and romantic relationships and poor academic outcomes may be consequences of other unobserved factors that these students have in common.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitutes of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried to teenage out of wedlock pregnancy and educational pursuit among youths. Bariga local government form the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain teenage out of wedlock pregnancy and education pursuit among youths. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of teenage out of wedlock pregnancy and education pursuit among youths
Summary
This study was on teenage out of wedlock pregnancy and education pursuit among youths. Three objectives were raised which included: To examine the relationship between out-of-wedlock pregnancy and educational pursuit among youths in Bariga, to examine the pattern of teenage out-of-wedlock pregnancies in Bariga, to examine the causes of teenage out-of-wedlock pregnancies in Bariga and to determine the solution to the problem of teenage out-of-wedlock pregnancies in Bariga. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from Bariga local government. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
There is concrete evidence from the study that teenage mothers find it challenging to feed themselves and their children. Also, teenage mothers lack jobs and support from the child‘s father. This is an indication of disruption of the education of the teenage mother and limited access to childcare. However, teenage mothers live with their parents thus there condition of living is good and their health status is commendable. Most of the teenage mothers attend school less than five times a week. This is a contributing factor to poor academic performance since teenage mothers are coupled with the responsibility of taking care of their children and at the same time studying. Mostly, teenage mothers are preoccupied with taking care of their children rather than focusing on their education leading to frequent absenteeism and poor academic outcomes. Also, the study has established that a clear majority (72.1 percent) of the respondents have repeated involuntary as a result of teenage motherhood. This is because secondary schools lack effective measures to facilitate transition of teenage mothers from one class to the other. Specifically, teenage mothers are treated similar to other learners hence they lag behind academically because of their diverged attention and absenteeism. Similarly, low self-esteem was exhibited from the teenage mothers. Precisely, they stated that repetition does not improve their academic performance but it contributes to poor concentration in class and poor long term social outcome. Also, repeating contributes to a negative attitude towards school and learning and affects teenage mother‘s participation in class. From the foregoing, repetition has lowered the self-esteem of teenage mothers and has prevented them from making the best in their schooling and lives. These teenage mothers also face rejection from their peers and the community in general. All these factors make it hard for teenage mothers to perform well academically and therefore contributing greatly in lowering their self-esteem. The study also established that even though the gender policy in education (2007) and the re-entry policy (2005) have been in place for sometime now, most of the teachers and school principals are not well versed on it and that some schools advocate for transfer of the teenage mothers instead of re-admitting them unconditionally.
Recommendation
Teenage mothers to be motivated as much as possible and be provided with the required help so that they can have a positive attitude towards school and learning, full concentration in class and long term social outcome. This will enable them to take care of their children and also improve academically.
Schools should develop effective measures to enhance transition of teenage mothers from one class to another. Specifically, teenage mothers should be provided with home tuition towards the latter end of pregnancy and in the first few weeks of motherhood, and return to school as soon as possible to benefit from the broader curriculum a school provides.
Both parents and teachers need to make an effort to provide counseling for their mothering teenagers when they go back to school even though they know that they will come across alienation and stigmatization by fellow students.
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