Collaboration of stakeholders in the prevention of pregnancy amongst teenagers in secondary schools: a study of South Africa

Abstract

The high pregnancy rate amongst teenagers in schools in the Libode District that has been experienced over years, followed by a sudden and sharp decrease in the pregnancy rate in 2013, triggered the researchers' interest in investigating factors associated with such a sharp decline. What could be the reasons for this decline in teenage pregnancy in schools in a short space of time? The paper investigates the nature of the roles played by stakeholders pertaining to the prevention of teenage pregnancy in the participating secondary schools. The study adopted the pragmatists??? mixed-methods approach using the sequential explanatory research design in order for the researchers to ascertain the ???what??? and the ???how??? of the phenomena. The findings showed that the introduction of a programme that adopted a strategy involving collaborative roles amongst stakeholders in secondary schools, overseen by school managers was the reason behind the sudden and sharp decline in teenage pregnancies in the area. A collaboration programme succeeded despite one of the schools following different approaches from some other schools in the area. All stakeholders knew their responsibilities and those of one another. It was recommended that stakeholders in schools where there were similar problems must put more effort into trying to motivate all parents who were not members of the School Governing Body to be actively involved in collaboration. Based on the finding, compromise in the ???how??? to achieve the goal was also recommended.