‘It’s the best thing I’ve done in a long while’: teenage mothers’ experiences of educational alternatives

Abstract

Pregnant and mothering schoolgirls have been identified as an educationally vulnerable group. Many are not welcomed in their mainstream schools and as a consequence, access a range of educational alternatives. This article presents the views and experiences of 14 young women in the English Midlands, who became pregnant while still of statutory school age, 12 of whom spent time in alternative educational settings. It is based on data gathered from repeat interviews over an 18-month period and shows that all who attended the educational alternatives rated them highly and benefitted from what they had to offer. Using the concept of ‘difference’ as a central analytic theme, the article examines how and why this was the case. The analysis shows that it was through recognising some differences but not others that the educational alternatives were successful in supporting young women’s learning and well-being. Importantly, those that were recognised were done so in non-stigmatising ways. The research also highlights some limitations of the alternatives, alongside the ways in which gender and class continue to impact the educational outcomes and career trajectories of this particular group of students.