Exploring Academic Barriers of African American Teen Mothers at NCU

This report, submitted to North Central University, examines the academic barriers faced by African American teen mothers in the United States. It explores the multifaceted challenges these young women encounter, including school policies, family support, socioeconomic factors, and community perceptions. The study investigates the impact of teen pregnancy on educational attainment, employment opportunities, and psychological well-being, highlighting the need for comprehensive support systems. The research employs a qualitative approach, incorporating group discussions with teen mothers to identify key obstacles and potential solutions. The report addresses research questions related to barriers at home, school, and within the community, and proposes recommendations for educational stakeholders to foster academic success. It also includes null and alternative hypotheses related to academic, financial, and social barriers. The report concludes with a call for collective action to remove these barriers and empower teen mothers to achieve their educational goals.

Running head- ACADEMIC BARRIERS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
ACADEMIC BARRIERS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
Prospectus
Submitted to North central University
School of Education
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
by
MERVIL TINKER
San Diego, California
December 2017

1ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
Table of Contents
Background................................................................................................................................2
Statement of the Problem...........................................................................................................3
Purpose of the study...................................................................................................................4
Research questions.....................................................................................................................5
Hypotheses (quantitative studies only)......................................................................................6
H10.............................................................................................................................................6
H1a.............................................................................................................................................6
H20.............................................................................................................................................6
H2a.............................................................................................................................................6
Research method and design.....................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8
Appendix A: annotated bibliography.............................................................................................12

2ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
Introduction
Teenage pregnancy among the African American teens is a matter of great concern all
over the USA. The factors leading to this crisis are several which will be discussed in the
paper. Due to unwanted teen pregnancies among the African American teens in United
States, they are facing many hurdles and barriers on the path to their success (Haberland &
Rogow, 2015). They face problems in going back to their daily lives and they fall back in
pursuing their academics as well. This acts as a great barrier in the progress of the entire
community as a whole, which leads to various social factors like unemployment, low job
wages, low higher education and so on. This lack of progress among these teens often leads
to psychological and social repercussions, which affect them and the community as a whole.
Background
A large part of the African American community in the United States is undergoing a
common crisis of unwanted pregnancies among the teen girls. Due to a high rate of teenage
pregnancies among the African American teens, these teens are facing hindrances to continue
higher education, which again leads to a lack of job opportunities and the progress of the
community (Barr et al., 2013). This is a major social problem that affects the country and a
important barrier for the African American community as a whole. Over the last two decades,
this problem has been steadily decreasing due to various social and legal efforts taken to curb
the problem. However, even then, compared to the white American teens the African
American teen pregnancy rate is high. A major reason for teenage students facing in school
is the school’s rigidity with attendance policies and inadequate opportunities for leaves for
teenage mothers. These young mothers find it difficult to juggle their new responsibilities and
school academics. The insensitivity and humiliation faced by these young mothers from the
school authorities push them into further depression. Among the African American teenagers,

3ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
especially education rates are low which results in poverty, unemployment and backwardness
among them (Haberland & Rogow, 2015). The schools serve an extremely role in
contributing to removing these barriers for the students by preparing and teaching these
students about the evil effects of early pregnancy and school dropouts (Butler et al., 2013).
They can arrange for special classes for the young mothers at regular intervals so that they do
not miss out their daily academic classes. Teen mothers face various discrimination by the
community and undergo severe isolation and humiliation at home and the community
(Childs, Knight & White, 2015). Low financial power of the community further stops these
students from pursuing academics (Gardner III & Mayes, 2013). To meet the extra expenses
after the childbirth, the mothers have to work extra shifts and devote time to both work and
home. This stops them further from attending colleges and pursues academics geography
plays a major role in teenage pregnancies too (Edwards et al., 2015).
Statement of the Problem
The study is done to examine and identify the problems and factors revolving around
African American teenage mothers and the barrier in their academic pursuits. These teens are
too young and immature to deal with all the responsibilities that come with the baggage of a
teen mother. Teen pregnancy is a problem that plagues many societies. Beside their added
responsibilities of being a mother, they also face several hindrances and barriers in continuing
with their academics. Being young mothers at a tender age increases the chances of academic
dropouts among girls leading to low educational qualifications and low rate of employment.
Many researches argue that teenage childbearing leads to several psychological issues like
depression, low educational achievement, lower opportunities for job and low socio-
economic status. A majority of these teens comes from lower financial strata with low
financial capabilities. Due to unplanned teen pregnancy, they are unable to overcome the
barriers and expand their income and their financial options.

4ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
These teen mothers face various social stigmas and stereotypes, which further creates
psychological barriers for them. Some mothers can rejoin school after pregnancy whereas
some face several issues in going back to academics. Most teens do not get sufficient support
from families and societies to overcome the barriers. The rural and suburban states have
higher rates of pregnancies due to lack of education, awareness and preventive techniques
(Chandra et al., 2014). The southern states have higher rate of teenage pregnancies as well as
higher HIV infection as compared to the other states. Education and availability of
contraceptives are important factors in eradicating teenage pregnancies. Many researches find
out that teen pregnancies in many cases occur in generational cycles (Penman et al., 2013).
Depression and psychological stress affect these mothers and they become mentally crippled
to go on with normal academic life (Goesling et al., 2014).
African American mothers who have achieved success professionally even after
childbearing prove that if they get a chance they can achieve success. Thus to overcome and
eliminate the barriers measures need to be taken collectively by the society and government
collectively. Teen mothers must be helped to continue their academic life and deal with their
newly added crisis. Hence, the problem statement of the research is to identify the factors that
are hindering the academic progress of young teenage mothers.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of the study is to find out the barriers that are posing a threat to young
teen African American mothers. The study will focus on the areas at home, school and
society as a whole to see how these factors affect the academic progress of these mothers.
The study will aim to find out how educational stakeholders can help in the academic success
of these teen mothers. The study is conducted on 20 teenagers between the age group of 14-
18 who would participate in 10 group discussions. The participants are from the African
American background representing the teenagers and, after studying them, it would be easier

5ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
to understand the subject matter in the study (Atkins & Wilkins, 2013). Since the study
focuses on African American teen girls, the participants in the study represent that section of
the community. Adolescents between the ages of 13-19 are termed as teenagers. Those
teenage girls becoming pregnant within the age of 13-16 are called early teen pregnancies and
those under 17-19 are counted under late teen pregnancies. The participants belong to the
African American community and are either pregnant or have been through early
pregnancies.
All the participants have taken part in the study voluntarily and selected based on a
form that they fill up. These group discussions will be held in the school conference room
and each discussion will last for one hour. The response of the participants will be videotaped
and analyzed for next week’s session.
Research questions
 What are the barriers that hinder the academic success of African American teen
mothers?
 What barriers do the home and community pose on the path of academic success of
African American teen mothers?
 What are the various individual barriers that these teen mothers face that hinder their
academic success of African American teen mothers?
 How can administrators, teachers, parents and society leaders eradicate the barriers to
the African American teen mothers?
 What support can administrators, teachers, parents and community leaders render to
promote the academic success of teen mothers of African American background?

6ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
Hypotheses (quantitative studies only)
H10. Null hypothesis- Academic barrier students’ face at school is the most important barrier
for teen mothers.
H1a. Alternative hypothesis- Academic barriers are not the only barriers African American
teen mothers face but financial barriers are also an important barrier that hinders their
academic success.
H20. Null hypothesis- Family barriers constitute a big hindrance for teen mothers.
H2a Alternative hypothesis- Family barrier is not the only barrier but barrier by the society
towards these teen mothers can also be the major reason why teens drop academics.
Research method and design
The research method the study attempts is by attempting to conduct a survey of the
participants to study and understand the reasons and factors leading to the African American
teen pregnancies. The participants are chosen after they satisfied the stratified sampling
method. All the participants in the survey belong to the teenage category. Secondly, the
participants have a history of teenage pregnancies. All the participants have undergone
pregnancy at a young age. Third factor before choosing the participants was that they must
have undergone some sort of academic barrier after pregnancy and childbearing and all the
research participants must come from the African American background. There are 20
research participants are selected from the category of teenagers belonging to the age group
of 13-19 and belong to the African American community. This age group is targeted for the
research because the study here deals with teen pregnancies and therefore the 13-19 age
groups are counted under the teenage. With the research of these participants, it is expected
an overall understanding of the scenario around the crisis can be achieved.

7ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
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Appendix A: annotated bibliography
Barnes, K. (2013). Psychosocial support for teen mothers.The Journal of Chi Eta Phi
Sorority, 57(1), 5-10.
Teen pregnancy has become a common occurrence in school and healthcare setups.
These young mothers face severe threat of poverty, multiple pregnancies, school dropouts,
health issues and several psychological problems. This article focuses on understanding the
qualitative outcomes of the students and provides recommendations that would prove
effective in promoting a healthy life for these teens.
During the study, researchers recruited seven mothers between the ages of 14-19. The
mothers participated in six sessions within a two-month period. During the teen mothers’
non-instructional time, they completed pretest surveys, participated in semi-structured
interviews, and made journal entries twice each week. Participants were encouraged to
include in their entries any problems or decisions that occurred throughout the week. The
qualitative data were collected by way of the entries, interviews, and surveys. Because of the
study, one of the participants decided to withdraw from the study. The remaining participants
completed at least three of the sessions and four participants did not complete the journaling
sitting time constraints as an issue.
Although the study’s sample size was small and it was a pilot, it yielded research
outcomes of interventions targeted towards teen mothers. The findings in this study were
consistent with findings of other literature as it relates to the psychosocial challenges faced by
teen mothers. The findings also suggest that there are deficits in bringing the services needed
for these mothers. Addressing these mothers’ needs could eliminate health disparities.

11ACADEMIC BARRIER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN MOTHERS
Barr, A. & Simons, R. (2013). College aspirations and expectations among new African-
American mothers in late adolescence. Gender & Education, 24(7), 745-763.
doi:10.1080/09540253.2012.712097
For many years, researchers have debated factors that adversely affect the likelihood
that teen mothers will experience success. In the United States, the pregnancy rate among
African American teens is nearly twice than that of Caucasians, and African American
teenage pregnancies are less likely than those of their white counterparts to end in abortion
(AGI 2006; South & Baumer 2001). A plethora of additional literature supports the findings
that adolescent mothers are less likely to graduate high school and further their educational
endeavors when compared to adolescents who do not have children. Most recently,
researchers argue that teen motherhood may have positive implications. During motherhood,
the researchers’ findings serve as a positive turning point in their lives. Pregnancies for teen
mothers sometimes cause the teens to reevaluate their goals and priorities and enhance their
desire to improve their lives. During an examination of the study, the following questions
were generated:
Do structural constraints experienced by young mothers slowly erode expectations?
Do expectations begin to deteriorate immediately upon knowledge of a pregnancy, perhaps
due simply to cultural discourses and the anticipation of future constraints?
This study as part of an ongoing longitudinal research project examines the positive
social and psychological factors of African-American families’ well-being and health. 867
African-American families participated in the study in which their perceptions about college
expectations, college aspirations, and mother status were assessed. The participants were also
provided with a 6-question survey. Based on the review of the literature, a rise in educational
aspirations for teen mothers after the birth of their babies was expected. It was also found that