Implementation and Evaluation of a Teen Mothers' Empowerment Program in a Local Atlanta High School: A Pilot Implementation of a Curriculum Open Access

Okocha, Adaobi Ndidiamaka Chinonyelum (2017)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/0c483k06z?locale=en
Published

Abstract

Teen pregnancy and adolescent parenting poses costs not only economically (costing taxpayers $9.4 billion annually) but also on the teen mother themselves. This includes but is not limited to causing a strain on their income, educational attainment, healthcare costs, and also putting their children at a greater risk of entering into the foster care system or incarceration ("Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," 2016). Many programs have been developed to both prevent teen pregnancy and also provide resources and education to help facilitate increased maternal and child well-being to decrease the likelihood of the mother and child ending up in one of the aforementioned life situations. The Helping Other Mothers Excel (HOME) Program is one such program, developed to provide the necessary resources and education to teen mothers to help them work toward increased well-being and empowerment. By the end of the program, the mothers were expected to identify at least one of the provided resources to assess a child's development and also identify at least one of the provided resources to increase self-knowledge. The purpose of this study was to conduct a process evaluation of the program to assess the perceptions of the mothers about the program, its structure, and content. The evaluation was conducted following each session using a program evaluation form, distributed following each session. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from surveys. The results from the evaluation were used to inform program adjustments where deemed necessary.

Table of Contents

Contents

Executive Summary 1
Chapter 1: Introduction 4
Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescents 4
Justification 7
Theoretical Framework 8
Shame Resilience Theory 9
Formal Statement of Problem 10
Chapter 2: Literature Review 11
Introduction 11
History of Programs 11
Successful Teen Pregnancy Programs 14
The State of Current Teen Pregnancy Programs 16
Program Description 18
Background 18
Need and Context 21
Expected Effects 22
Activities 23
Resources 25
Stage of Development 26
Logic Model 26
Evaluation Question 29
Potential Significance 29
Key Stakeholders 30
List of Stakeholders 30
Chapter 3: Methods 32
Participants 32
Measures 32
Procedures 33
Analysis 34
Quantitative Data Analysis 34
Qualitative Data Collection 34
Qualitative Data Analysis 35
Ethics 36
Chapter 4: Results 37
Demographics 37
Survey Results 40
Qualitative Findings 54
Relationships 55
Timing 55
Experience 56
Needs/Barriers 57
Motivators 58
Pregnancy/Motherhood Effects 58
Long-term Goals 59
Resilience 60
Evaluation Findings 60
Chapter 5: Discussion 63
Strengths 64
Limitations 65
Lessons Learned 67
Recommendations for Programmatic Implementation 68
Implications 71
References 73
Appendix 78
Appendix A - Program Photos 78
Appendix B - Demographic Questionnaire 80
Appendix C - Post-Session Survey 84
Appendix D - Interview Guides 88
Administrators/Staff 88
Students 90
Appendix E - Codebook 92
Appendix F - IRB Determination 94

About this Master's Thesis

Rights statement
  • Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.
School
Department
Degree
Submission
Language
  • English
Research Field
Keyword
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor
Committee Members
Partnering Agencies
Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Actions
Implementation and Evaluation of a Teen Mothers' Empowerment Program in a Local Atlanta High School: A Pilot Implementation of a Curriculum () 2018-08-28 13:19:15 -0400

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Actions