Exploring Challenges to Education by Young Mothers in an Urban Slum Through Visual Participatory Methodologies

• In Event: 18.012 - Challenging Dominant Narratives of Sexual Violence Through Participatory Visual Methodologies

Abstract

Background and Objectives:
This paper presents the findings from a Photovoice study with young mothers living in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya to explore the challenges to their school continuation. In Kenya, 23% of girls drop out of school annually and do not return, despite the presence of a “return to school policy” in Kenya since 1994 (Onyango, Kioli & Nyambetha, 2015). The paper answers the question, “What challenges do young mothers in Korogocho face in continuing with schooling?”

Theoretical Framework:
The study is conceptualized within: i) Participatory Action Research; ii) Feminist Perspectives; and iii) Participatory Visual Methodologies. Participatory Action Research seeks to understand the world, its process and the lived experiences of research participants with the aim of empowering them (Baum, MacDougall & Smith, 2006). Feminist perspectives highlight the fact that women and other disenfranchised groups should not be exploited by research and that their “voices” should not be silenced in either the research process (Sutton-Brown, 2014). Participatory visual methodologies have emerged as ways to shift decision making power from top-bottom to ground-up, while building local capacity and providing support for community members and stakeholders to act on the generated knowledge and ultimately lead to social change (Baum, MacDougall & Smith, 2006).

Methods and Data Sources:
This study uses Photovoice (Sutton-Brown, 2014) to investigate the challenges to school continuation for young mothers in an urban slum. Data is drawn from: (1) Photovoice activity by 15 young mothers between 13 to 15 years, where they made a choice of what to photograph; (2) participant analysis of the photos taken and creation of captions to give meaning to each image; (3) participant group analysis of the common themes across their photo narratives; (4) follow-up interviews with the young mothers, parents, community leaders and policy makers; (5) audience responses to the community exhibition through community conversation; and (6) the researcher’s field notes. IRB approval was obtained prior to data collection.

Findings:
Analysis of the photos taken by the young mothers to represent their voices exposed the following challenges for school continuation: a lack of safe, supportive social and physical environment, insufficient daycare facilities and multiple responsibilities on the young mothers. From the study, poverty, lack of parental support, and lack of finances to pay for conducive and reliable daycare are identified as barriers to young mothers’ school continuation.

Scholarly Significance:
The findings of this study will start local community conversation and policy dialogue about the importance of using the lived experiences and voices of young mothers to inform intervention designs and policy formulation and that would support school continuation for young mothers.

Author

• Milka Nyariro, McGill University