Reintegrating adolescent mothers into secondary education

Investigating the availability and effectiveness of support systems in Mbeya Region, Tanzania

Dados Bibliográficos

ID13899956
AutoresPendo Samson Mwakililo (0009-0008-9006-7765, Sokoine University of Agriculture, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume30
Fascículo1
Data de publicação2025-08-26
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Journal of Adolescence and Youth (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0267-3843 • E-ISSN: 2164-4527
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02673843.2025.2552335
OpenAlexW4413765207
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas27

Despite recent policy reforms, such as Education Circular No. 2 of 2021 and the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Programme (SEQUIP) initiative, aimed at facilitating school re-entry, adolescent mothers continue to face considerable emotional, financial, and institutional challenges. This study examines availability and perceived effectiveness of support systems for adolescent mothers re-admitted to secondary schools in the Mbeya region of Tanzania. Guided by Lazarus’s Cognitive-Motivational-Relational Theory (CMRT), this paper employed embedded single case study design involving 20 purposively selected student mothers across five secondary schools, through focus group discussions and open-ended questionnaires. Findings revealed that while informal support exists, formal and coordinated systems remain fragmented and insufficiently responsive to student mothers’ lived realities. The paper emphasizes the need for integrated psychosocial, financial, and institutional interventions that are contextually grounded and emotionally supportive. These findings contribute new insights into how adolescent student mothers perceive and interpret support, offering understanding of re-entry contexts

Developmental psychology · Environmental health · Environmental planning · Geography · Tanzania · Early Childhood Education and Development · Medicine · Parental Involvement in Education · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology