"She Fought to Stay": Institutional Barriers and the Schooling Experiences of Young Puerto Rican Mothers

• In Event: 41.084 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 41.084-9 - Notions of Parental "Support" and Schooling

Abstract

Early parenting discourse is grounded in the idea that becoming a teenage parent will likely result in dropping out of school and a lifetime of poverty (Rios, 2013). Yet research suggests that school achievement prior to childbearing is generally consistent with achievement after childbirth (Kane et al., 2013) and that adolescent parents often leave school due to the stigmatization associated with early parenting, and lack of supports (Zachry,2005.) This study examines the schooling experiences of young Puerto Rican mothers. Study participants expressed the importance of an education for both themselves and their children. However, for many participants, their lived experiences elucidate how their desire to “get an education” is strenuously labored under policies in practice that are perceived as hostile.

Authors

• Melissa Colon, Tufts University

• Jayanthi Mistry, Tufts University