University of Northern Colorado Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC Dissertations Student Research 12-1-2014 Educational resiliency in teen mothers Linnea Lynne Watson Follow this and additional works at: http://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Watson, Linnea Lynne, "Educational resiliency in teen mothers" (2014). Dissertations. Paper 272. This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2014 LINNEA LYNNE WATSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO Greeley, Colorado The Graduate School EDUCATIONAL RESILIENCY IN TEEN MOTHERS A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Linnea Lynne Watson College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Department of Leadership, Policy, and Development Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (P-12) December, 2014 This Dissertation by: Linnea Lynne Watson Entitled: Educational Resiliency in Teen Mothers Has been approved as meeting the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Education in College of Education and Behavioral Sciences in School of Leadership, Policy, and Development, Program of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Accepted by the Doctoral Committee _________________________________________________________ Linda Vogel, Ph. D., Research Advisor _________________________________________________________ Spencer Weiler, Ph. D., Committee Member _________________________________________________________ Anthony Armenta, Ed. D., Committee Member _________________________________________________________ Valerie Middleton, Ph. D., Faculty Representative Date of Dissertation Defense__________________________________ Accepted by the Graduate School _________________________________________________________ Linda L. Black, Ed.D. Dean of the Graduate School and International Admissions ABSTRACT Watson, Linnea Lynne. Educational Resiliency in Teen Mothers. Published Doctor of Education dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, December, 2014. Teen pregnancy has been heralded as a social issue that affects families for generations. While recent research has shown the long-term effects are not as devastating as once predicted, more than 40 years after the passage of Title IX, legislation mandating equal educational opportunities for pregnant and parenting teens, only 50% of teen parents graduate high school, lagging far behind their non-parenting peers. Additionally, most of the research on this at-risk population comes from the social science field rather than the educational arena, leaving a research gap on the educational opportunities teen parents receive from within the field of education itself. The purpose of this study was to close the research gap and answer the following central question: What factors contribute to teen mothers’ educational resiliency? Additionally, three sub-questions were asked: Q1 What factors of the various school environments encourage motivation and support resiliency in teen mothers? Q2 What are the teen mothers’ perceptions of stigma within the various educational settings? Q3 What are teen mothers’ perceptions of the opportunities and support services available in each educational setting? This qualitative case study examined six parenting teen mothers attending three different educational settings, a young parent program, an alternative school, and a traditional school, to discover what factors contributed to their educational resiliency and helped them graduate from iii high school. The portraiture method was used to create life stories and their voices resonate throughout the study to paint a portrait of the struggles and triumphs they faced as they navigated life as a high school mother. Five themes emerged, struggle, support, hope, perseverance, and transformation. An in-depth look at how these themes played into their educational resiliency is explored and several implications for working with pregnant and parenting teens are discussed. Strategies for educators and policymakers to better meet the needs of this at-risk population, increase their graduation rates, and the importance of reorienting teen pregnancy and parenthood as an educational issue rather than a social issue are also explored. iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my amazing family, for whom this endeavor would not have been possible without their love and support, to my friends who supported and encouraged me the whole way, and to the brave young women who shared their lives and their stories and made it all possible. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. EDUCATIONAL RESILIENCY IN TEEN MOTHERS ………………...1 Significance of the Problem Purpose of the Study Assumptions, Limitations, Scope, and Delimitations Definitions of Terms Summary II. LITERATURE REVIEW: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME . 13 Our Girls: Teen Mothers of the 1970s The Other Girls: Teen Mothers of the 1980s The Burden of Responsibility: Teen Mothers of the 1990s The Struggle Continues: Teen Mothers of the New Millennium Conclusion III. METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………36 Qualitative Paradigm Epistemology: Constructionism Theoretical Framework: Critical Theory Methodologies: Narrative Case Study and Portraiture Methods Context Data Collection Data Analysis Trustworthiness IV. THROUGH THEIR EYES: PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS IN CONTEXT……………………………………………………………….49 Settings and Stories Summary V. THEMES……….………………………………………………………...81 Overview Themes Identified vi VI. CONCLUSIONS………………….…………………………………....118 Recommendations Future Research REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………136 APPENDIX A IRB APPROVAL……………………………………………………….144 B INTERVIEW 1 QUESTIONS………………………………………….146 C INTERVIEW 2 QUESTIONS………………………………………….150 D CONSENT AND ASSENT FORMS…………………………………...153 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 PARTICIPANT’S PERTINENT CHARACTERISTICS……….………..50 2 THEME 1, STRUGGLE, WITH SUB-THEMES………….…….…….…85 3 THEME OF STRUGGLE BROKEN INTO CATEGORIES WITH CORRESPONDING SUB-THEMES…………………………….………86 4 THEME 2, HOPE, WITH SUB-THEMES……………………….………90 5 THEME 3, SUPPORT, WITH CATEGORIES, SUB-CATEGORIES, AND SUB-THEMES…………………………………………….…..…...93 6 THEME 4, PERSEVERENCE, WITH SUB-THEMES……….………..103 7 THEME 5, TRANSFORMATION, CATEGORIZED INTO TIMEFRAMES WITH SUB-THEMES…………………….…………..109 viii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 BIRTH RATE FOR TEENAGERS 15-19 YEARS AND PERCENT OF TEEN BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED TEENAGERS……..…………..15 2 YOUNG PARENT PROGRAM………………...………….……………54 3 ZOE AND JACK…………………...……………………………………57 4 ZOE’S METAPHOR……………………………………………….……57 5 ZIANNA AND AUDRINA……………………………………………...60 6 ZIANNA’S METAPHOR………………………………………………..60 7 THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL………………………………………..63 8 CHARLEE AND WADE AT GRADUATION…………………………66 9 CHARLEE’S METAPHOR……………………………………………..67 10 ASHLEY AND CHASE…………………………………………………70 11 ASHLEY’S METAPHOR……………………………………………….71 12 HANNAH’S METAPHOR………………………………………………73 13 THE TRADITIONAL SCHOOL………………………………...………76 14 MADDIE AND HER MOM……………………………………………..78 15 MADDIE AND KIMMIE………………………………………………..79 16 MADDIE’S METAPHOR……………………………………………….80 17 RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE 5 THEMES…………………………..84 ix 1 CHAPTER I EDUCATIONAL RESILIENCY IN TEEN MOTHERS Teen pregnancy is viewed as a social issue that impacts families for generations. Although the teen pregnancy rate has been declining over the past few decades, the United States still has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed nations (Card, 1999; Key, Gebregziabher, Marsh, & O’Rourke, 2008). As a nation, in 2010, there were 34.2 per 1,000 live births to teenage mothers age 15-19. The state of Colorado is slightly below the national average at 33.4 per 1,000 live births (Martin, et al, 2012), and in the county where this research will take place, the teen birth rate typically sits above the state average and well above the national average at just above 40 per 1,000 teen births (Teen Sexual Health & Pregnancy Prevention Coalition, 2010). Historically, the research on teen pregnancy has focused primarily on the negative consequences of teen mothering. As a result of the focus on those negative consequences, research in the 1970s focused on how to care for teen mothers and their children, the 1980s research focused on pregnancy prevention and welfare reform, and the 1990s provided an eclectic research range from STDs, abstinence, positive views of sexuality, and community, state, and national campaigns (Card, 1999). Currently, researchers (Card, 1999; Furstenberg, 2007; SmithBattle, 2005, 2007a, 2007b) are finding that while there are immediate consequences to the teen mother and child, the long-term effects once postulated, fortunately, fell short of their generational doomsday predictions. In fact, most long-term effects of teen pregnancy can be attributed to pre-existing factors in the teen’s life prior to the pregnancy; however, the immediate 2 consequences for mother and child are still challenging. Teen mothers are less likely to receive prenatal care, more likely to live in poverty, have more than one child before age 20, and their children are more prone to behavioral issues (Spear, 2001). As a result, current researchers are interested in learning structures and strategies that could be utilized within social, health, societal, occupational, and educational environments to effectively help teen mothers navigate this difficult time more smoothly.