'It's no problem!': perspectives on inclusion, parenting girls and education

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores a number of themes concerning the way in which education discourses position, problematise and respond to pregnant and parenting girls. Much of the literature centres on a discourse which celebrates a certain type of parenting girl, who returns to school thanks to determination and a silencing of other identities. This idea resonates with concepts expressed by policy-makers within Kenya around gendered social norms and gender roles. Together, these enmesh to perpetuate ideologies which marginalise parenting girls who cannot conform to the redemptive narrative. In contrast, qualitative data identified girls’ concerns and solutions to be heterogenous, dynamic, relational and centred upon gendered notions of resilience and agency. The article proposes that listening to pregnant and parenting girls, including those out of school and those who express disinterest in school, is the only way to challenge deficit-based interpretations and create space for approaches which allow parenting girls to thrive.