A Title Ix Perspective On The Schools Response To Teenage Pregnancy And Parenthood

Title IX mandates that pregnant students, regardless of marital status, have the same rights and responsibilities as other students. Because social pressures on pregnant and parenting students to leave school still exists, schools have been required to develop responses to their needs. To examine these responses and subsequent programs from the viewpoint of educators, community members, and parenting adolescents, field studies were conducted in 11 school districts around the country. The programs were categorized into three types: (1) inclusive curriculum programs which offered general education and a range of special coursework and services; (2) supplementary curriculum programs that provide relevant coursework for credit in addition to regular classes; and (3) noncurricular programs which did not grant credit but did provide relevant instruction and other services. Site visits to two exemplary, noncurricular programs revealed that the presence of motivated individuals who took the initiative to establish programs for pregnant students was critical for program success. Overall, however, the findings indicate that the generally passive response of schools to student pregnancy and parenthood reflects the widespread view that responsibility lies with the students rather than the school. (JAC)

Although Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments affirmed the right of pregnant and parenting students to remain in school, few districts have established programs that help or encourage them to do so. This report examines 12 such programs, assesses the education and support they offer, and suggests guidelines for setting up special programs. Programs fall into two categories: "inclusive curriculum" programs offer pregnant students regular education plus services at separate sites; and "non-inclusive" programs offer them services that supplement the regular school program and continue after pregnancy. Considering the strengths and weaknesses of both models, the report concludes that while non-inclusive programs are generally better suited to the long-term needs of adolescent mothers, no single program model is appropriate for all communities or teenage mothers. Program choice should reflect community attitudes, dispersal of students, and number of pregnancies. Federal and state agencies can improve local education agency response by providing support and technical assistance.

Reconceptualizing Curriculum, Literacy, and Learning for School-Age Mothers offers a portrait of classroom literacy practices and learning opportunities that are provided for school-age mothers in two different schools. Through a series of case studies of school sites, teachers, and students, this book presents evidence of how these at-risk students use literacy in complex ways in the classroom and in their everyday lives. Attuned to the struggle for school-age mothers’ access to meaningful and challenging curriculum in public schools, as well as to the relative dearth of scholarly research on the topic, this volume demonstrates how educators can rethink the issue of schooling for this population of students.

Since the 1980s, the relationship between social class and education has been overshadowed by scholarship more generally targeting issues of race, gender, and representation. Today, with the global economy deeply immersed in social inequalities, there is pressing need for serious class-based analyses of schooling, family life and social structure. The Way Class Works is a collection of twenty-four groundbreaking essays on the material conditions of social class and the ways in which class is produced "on the ground" in educational institutions and families. Written by the most visible and important scholars in education and the social sciences, these timely essays explore the production of class in and through the economy, family, and school, while simultaneously interrogating and challenging our understandings of social class as linked to race, gender, and nation. With essays by distinguished scholars and questions for further reflection and discussion, The Way Class Works will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars in education, sociology, and beyond.

Focusing on fifty girls enrolled in a model public school program for pregnant teens, Luttrell explores how pregnant girls experience society's view of them and also considers how these girls view themselves and the choices they've made. Also includes an 8-page color insert.