The Education of Teenage Mothers in New Zealand: A Policy Vacuum and a Practical Example of Assistance

Susan Baragwanath

Young teenage women who have had their schooling truncated due to the birth of a baby generally have less education, less work experience, less earned income, are more dependent on welfare and are more likely to be single parents than their peers who delay having their first child.

As the labour market imposes increasing demands on students to finish their basic formal education through to Form 7, even for unskilled and semi-skilled work, pressure is on young parents to get back to school. There is currently no government policy covering the education of such young women in New Zealand unless they can make expensive arrangements for child care, or go to Correspondence School - thereby losing contact with their peers.

In 1997 there is only one school that is entirely dedicated to furthering the formal school education of students who cannot attend normal school because of their responsibilities as parents. He Huarahi Tamariki - A Chance for Children operates in one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged suburbs of New Zealand.

This paper discusses the lack of comprehensive legislation and policy to fund the education of young mothers, and summarises the successes of a practical school-based project to help such mothers.