Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Edited by Robert Morrell, Deevia Bhana and Tamara Shefer Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Published by HSRC Press Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.hsrcpress.ac.za First published 2012 ISBN (soft cover) 978-0-7969-2365-3 ISBN (pdf) 978-0-7969-2366-0 ISBN (e-pub) 978-0-7969-2367-7 © 2012 Human Sciences Research Council The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Human Sciences Research Council (‘the Council’) or indicate that the Council endorses the views of the authors. In quoting from this publication, readers are advised to attribute the source of the information to the individual author concerned and not to the Council. Copy-edited by Mark Ronan Typeset by Laura Brecher Cover design by Jenny Young Cover photo by Cedric Nunn Printed by [Name of printer, city, country] Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver Tel: +27 (0) 21 701 4477; Fax: +27 (0) 21 701 7302 www.oneworldbooks.com Distributed in Europe and the United Kingdom by Eurospan Distribution Services (EDS) Tel: +44 (0) 17 6760 4972; Fax: +44 (0) 17 6760 1640 www.eurospanbookstore.com Distributed in North America by River North Editions, from IPG Call toll-free: (800) 888 4741; Fax: +1 (312) 337 5985 www.ipgbook.com Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Contents Tables vii Acronyms and abbreviations ix Preface xi 1 Pregnancy and parenthood in South African schools 1 Robert Morrell, Deevia Bhana and Tamara Shefer SECTION A Principals, teachers and the ‘problem’ of pregnancy and parenting Introduction 31 Deevia Bhana 2 School principals and their responses to the rights and needs of pregnant andparenting learners 35 Lindsay Clowes, Toni D’Amant and Vuyo Nkani 3 Teacher responses to pregnancy and young parents in schools 49 Deevia Bhana and Sisa Ngabaza SECTION B Learner attitudes to pregnancy, parents and gender equality: Aquantitative analysis Introduction 63 Richard Devey and Robert Morrell 4 Mothers, fathers and carers: Learner involvement in care work 75 Robert Morrell and Richard Devey 5 Mothers: yes, babies: no – Peer attitudes towards young learner parents 87 Richard Devey and Robert Morrell 6 Gender and parenting: Challenging traditional roles? 103 Richard Devey and Robert Morrell SECTION C Being a learner, being a parent: School experiences Introduction 121 Tamara Shefer 7 ‘It isn’t easy’: Young parents talk of their school experiences 127 Tamara Shefer, Deevia Bhana, Robert Morrell, Ntsiki Manzini andNokuthulaMasuku Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za 8 Being a young parent: The gendered sharing of care work 149 Tamara Shefer and Elron Fouten 9 Conclusion: Policy implications and issues for the future 169 Deevia Bhana, Tamara Shefer and Robert Morrell 10 Being a learner parent: A visual essay 177 Cedric Nunn Author biographies and reflections on parenthood 197 Appendix 1: Overview of participating schools 207 Appendix 2: Attitude to parents survey 2006 209 References 221 Index 233 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za vii Tables Table B.1 Number and percentage of respondents by school type 68 Table B.2 Number and percentage of respondents by school 69 Table B.3 Number and percentage of respondents by grade 69 Table B.4 Frequency and percentage of respondents by gender 70 Table B.5 Frequency and percentage of respondents by race group 70 Table B.6 Demographic indicators by school type and school 70 Table 4.1 Number and percentage of youth aged 17–19 attending school, by gender 76 Table 4.2 Number and percentage of youth aged 17–19 attending school, by race group 76 Table 4.3 Reasons given by youth aged 17–19 for leaving school, by gender 77 Table 4.4 Reasons given by youth aged 17–19 for leaving school, by race group 78 Table 4.5 Number and percentage of respondents who are parents, prospective parents and substitute parents, by gender 80 Table 4.6 Number and percentage of learners who are parents, prospective parents and substitute parents, by race group 80 Table 4.7 Number and percentage of learners who are parents, prospective parents and substitute parents, by school type 81 Table 4.8 Number and percentage of learners who are parents, prospective parents and substitute parents, by gender and race group 82 Table 4.9 Number and percentage of respondents who are parents, prospective parents and substitute parents, by gender and school type 83 Table 4.10 Status of mother and father of learner, by gender 84 Table 4.11 Status of mother and father of learner, by race group 85 Table 4.12 Presence of siblings in home of learner, by gender 85 Table 4.13 Presence of siblings in home of learner, by race group 86 Table 5.1 Mean scores of learners to attitude statements on parent learners, by gender 93 Table 5.2 Mean scores of learners to attitude statements on parent learners, by race group and ordered from strongest agreement to strongest disagreement 96 Table 5.3 Mean scores of learners to attitude statements on learner parents, by parent status 99 Table 5.4 Mean scores of African learners to attitude statements on parent learners, by gender 100 Table 6.1 Learner responses to attitude statements on gender 104 Table 6.2 Correlation between responses to ‘A father can bring up children on his own’ and ‘A mother can bring up children on her own’ 106 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za viii Table 6.3 Mean scores of learners to attitude statements on gender, by gender 109 Table 6.4 Mean scores of responses to attitude statements on gender, by race group 113 Table 6.5 Mean bias score of male and female respondents 114 Table 6.6 Mean bias score by gender and race group 114 Table 6.7 African learners’ responses to attitude statements on gender, by gender 116 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za ix Acronyms and abbreviations ABC Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise ANC African National Congress CSG Child support grant DHS South African Demographic and Health Survey EMIS Education Management Information System GETT Gender Equity Task Team HoD House of Delegates HoR House of Representatives KZN KwaZulu-Natal MDG Millennium Development Goal SANPAD South Africa–Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development SASA South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) UKZN University of KwaZulu-Natal UN United Nations UWC University of the Western Cape WC Western Cape Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za [...]... research conducted in secondary schools in Durban and Cape Town Its starting point is a global feminist corpus of literature that stresses how gender inequality is manifested in contexts of pregnancy and disadvantages girls – in some instances ending their schooling summarily, and in others lowering the ceiling of professional, post-school advancement and dramatically reducing earning capacity (Hattery... are not willing to support young mothers who miss lessons The stigma against pregnancy and young parents in school results in difficult circumstances for young women and young mothers In the context of school pregnancy, the sexuality of young girls is often viewed as threatening and stigmatised In a study of a township secondary school in Durban, Kent (2002: 48) quotes a teacher as saying that ‘a pregnant... elaborating on the specific context of the study, including the demographics of teenage pregnancy and parenting, the policy framework and the social and material context of pregnancy, parenting and schooling Locating the study: Theoretical and contextual framework of gender equality International work by feminist researchers, as well as initiatives that may be included under the broad rubric of gender and. .. nurture, but instead many teachers are complicit in the sexual coercion of young women in schools (see Human Rights Watch 2001) Putting teachers and managers in the front line of research inquiry is important, as what they do affects the efficacy of policy Teachers’ and managers’ experiences of, responses to and interaction with policy in relation to pregnancy and parenting are varied and contested... that most boys will end schooling without becoming fathers And yet all learners have some interest in parenting and pregnancy In the most general sense, all children have parents and thus experience parenting Many learners engage in forms of care work (from babysitting to more active and intensive forms of childcare) And most learners at some or other time are aware of or interact with a girl who gets... other learners and family Quite separate from the intention of new laws, all stakeholders bring with them gendered identities and moralities (prejudices, inclinations) and practices (both at school and beyond) This means that some learners have excellent support systems in place, and others have none There are issues of inclusion and exclusion in the question of becoming and being a parent Young females... cases use it assertively and instrumentally (Haram 2001; Hunter 2002) In order to better understand the agency of young girls we need to examine constructions of young femininity Girls make their femininity under specific cultural conditions, which may include cultural injunctions against sexual relations and pregnancy, as these are part of a transition to womanhood, an estate that young girls are not simply... (Cape Town) and Salt Rock and Umzumbe (KwaZulu-Natal) As well as the three main researchers (and editors of this book) the team included Cedric Nunn, a local KZN photographer, who was commissioned to take photographs of young parents In the course of 2006 he photographed school-going parents whom he identified in both rural and urban settings in KZN At the beginning of 2007 he visited Cape Town and also... being stable and supportive environments that nurture, protect and encourage pregnant learners and young parents, schools are in tension with policy requirements Chigona and Chetty (2008: 276) note that teenage mothers lack support from schools; instead, what they get is ‘misunderstanding and pressure’ Local conditions in schools entail many contradictory processes, some of which undermine the institutional... questions: In what way does gender equality or inequality impact on the lives of pregnant girls and young parents? What do schools do to promote gender equality in the realm of pregnancy and parenthood? Our research reflected the expertise and interests of the research team (set out in more detail in the author biographies at the back of this book), all of whom have academic training and research involvement . manifested in contexts of pregnancy and disadvantages girls – in some instances ending their schooling summarily, and in others lowering the ceiling of professional,. schooling without becoming fathers. And yet all learners have some interest in parenting and pregnancy. In the most general sense, all children have parents