Exploring The Experiences Of Pregnant Students In Some Selected Basic Schools In The Ejisu Municipality

Abstract

The Ghana Education Service issued a guideline in 2018 on pregnant students. The guideline seeks to facilitate the continuous education of pregnant students in Ghana. Hence the need to explore the experiences of pregnant students in selected schools in the Ejisu Municipality. The research philosophy and approach adopted for the study were the interpretivist paradigm and qualitative approach. Specifically, the semi-structured interview design was employed. Five basic schools from five educational circuits in the Ejisu Municipality in the Ashanti Region were studied. Qualitative data were collected from 30 participants (made up of pregnant students, head teachers, teachers, parents, class mates, and health officials). Purposive sampling technique was used to select the 30 participants from 958 paricipants. The semi-structured interview guide was the main instrument used for data collection. Thematic analysis was used in analyzing the data. The study revealed that schools in the Municipality have not effectively implemented the GES guidelines. The study further revealed that although the pregnant students received some form of support from their parents, head teachers/teachers, classmates, and health officials, there were other supports such as teachers doing remedial teaching for them. The study revealed that the academic performance of pregnant students in the Municipality have negatively been affected. The pregnant students experienced challenges such as stigmatization, scoffing, and inferiority complex in the home, school, and the community. It is therefore recommended that Stakeholders and other support institutions such as teachers’/head teachers, parents, classmates, health officials, District Education Directorate, Regional Education Directorate must be trained and sensitized on the GES guidelines.