ASSESSMENT OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF TEENAGE MOTHER STUDENTS WHO RETURNED TO SCHOOL; A CASE OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MBEYA CITY COUNCIL
The study aimed to assess the academic performance of teenage mother students who have returned to school, a case of selected secondary schools in Mbeya city council. The study was conducted in Mbeya city council where five secondary schools which provide education to teenage mother students were selected. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling were used to get a sample size of 145 respondents from target population of 228 people. The sample size comprised 90 teenage mother students (40 from level one and 50 from level two), 35 teachers of teenage mother students, 5 school coordinators of re-entry program, and 15 parents of teenage mother students. The study used mixed research design of both qualitative and quantitative research designs to analyze data.
The key findings of the study include; teenage mother students do not perform well academically compared to non-teenage mother female students. The major factors which influence poor academic performance of teenage mother students revealed are; poverty, multiple responsibilities, poor support from family, peers, school, and community, psychological and administrative problems, unconducive school environment, poor guidance and counselling services, and stigmatization and discrimination.
The recommendations of the study include; to increase policy awareness on the existence of the policy of returning teenage mother students to school, provision of education to the society about the importance of the policy of returning teenage mother students to school to minimize discrimination and stigmatization, the government to enact strict laws on parents and guardians who practice forced marriage and child marriage, provision of counselling and guidance services to teenage mother students because most of them experience psychological problems, and provision of support to teenage mother students who have returned to school to improve teenage mother students engagement to studies and for better academic performance.
Key words: teenage mother students, academic performance, Mbeya City Council, assessment, re-entry.
