Omayeletumbulo [wisdom sayings] as a Pathway to School Engagement for Young Mothers in Rural Namibia

Abstract

School leaving is a significant social problem that undermines the short and long-term developmental goals of young mothers and their children. Informed by the ubuntu perspective, an Afrocentric philosophy, I employed a qualitative, postcolonial indigenous research paradigm to explore the experiences of young mothers who successfully reentered school, postpartum, in rural Namibia. My aim was to better understand their experiences of challenges and facilitators to school engagement to inform culturally relevant interventions. This study was conducted in two, rural, public high schools with a sample of 13 young mothers (17-23 years), of the Aawambo ethnic group, in 8th to 12th grade levels. A personal history questionnaire characterized participants and talking circle interview guide identified omayeletumbulo [wisdom sayings] for school engagement. The conversational individual interview guide elaborated, contextualized, and provided in-depth understanding of school engagement experiences. Using thematic analysis, adolescent and emerging adult young mothers revealed common and culturally distinct experiences. They described school engagement challenges across sociocultural contexts including vulnerabilities due to lack of caregiver support, loss of ohungi [evening-talk], sexual coercion, and othering through stereotypes. Young mothers’ descriptions included sources of resilience facilitated by extended family including fathers of the baby, educators, and peers. Subsequent analysis focused on wisdom sayings as a pathway to school engagement through four emerging themes: self-efficacy around school engagement, assertion of identity, successful parenting, and spirituality. I conclude with a discussion of implications for culturally relevant social work to promote high school completion of young mothers who reenter school following childbirth.