Teachers' reflections on menstrual management among urban and rural schoolgirls in South Africa.

Abstract

Menstruation affects all aspects of an adolescent schoolgirl's life, including her educational journey. Experiences of menstruation within the school environment can either positively or negatively affect a girl's schooling career. The purpose was to investigate the role of teachers in the school setting regarding addressing young girls' experiences with menstruation in Cape Town, South Africa. We conducted a qualitative, exploratory study to purposively select six teachers from three, two urban and one rural. Six individual interviews were conducted by the researcher per school and data was transcribed and refined into themes. The main findings included, school attendance, culture, experiences and perceptions of teachers, and recommended key resources. Findings illustrate that there is a direct association between menstruation and school attendance. Challenges such as a dearth of sanitary products create a barrier for school attendance of adolescent girls. An improved understanding of culture and the challenges that menstruating adolescent schoolgirls face is needed to provide proper and adequate support. A language barrier may exist between teachers and learners, including a cultural unwillingness to speak openly about menstruation. Educational policies are needed to address the need for sanitary resources in schools to establish best practice for teachers in dealing with menstruating young schoolgirls.