Teenage pregnancy and child education in Ghana: Implications for counselling.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to examine the perceived influence of teenage pregnancy on the academic performance of female students at a Senior High School (SHS). Descriptive survey methodology was used. There were 1,200 pupils in the pool of people who could participate. A total of 100 students were selected through a snowball sampling procedure. A modified questionnaire was used to compile the data quantitatively, and its reliability was calculated to be .85. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the demographic data collected from the respondents and the data collected to answer the four study questions (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations). Teenage pregnancy is not caused by parents' incapacity to provide for their children, according to the study's findings. Girls are more likely to go to school if there is no teen pregnancy, according to the study. As a result, it is crucial to implement effective policies that prevent pregnancies among adolescents. Research indicated that interventions such as advising parents to support their daughters, passing laws to protect them, creating a welcoming school climate for girls, etc., were effective. It was suggested that Ghana Education Service (GES) update curricula to make basic sex education mandatory, and that it be taught with more emphasis and by subject matter specialists.

Keywords: Teenage, Pregnancy, Education, Counselling, Ghana