Chapter one introduces the whole study in terms of the general details and picture. In the chapter I share with the reader my motivation and circumstances under which I conceptualize the study. The chapter presents the rationale and significance of the study. I also present a brief discussion of the theoretical framework and the methodology that I use. The chapter also introduces the study by giving a short theoretical basis of the study through a review of the literature in relevant areas to the study.
Chapter two presents the context of this study. It introduces the country in which the study is located. I also introduce the women of Lesotho in relation to the political space they occupy in society. This chapter presents the historical, political and societal environment and the relationship with the situation of women and how the position manifests itself in the young women's pregnancy discourses. I point to the relationships of societal institutions like the family,churches,and schools in shaping these experiences. In the chapter I further point out how the existing climate influences the educational climate in relation to women and how young mothers' pregnancy fits in the bigger picture.
Chapter three covers the literature that I review in the study. I review work related to young mothers and pregnancy in relation to the language that prevails in every day
discussions and research. I present the studies that are conducted in the area from a different perspective. I attempt to deeply interrogate the studies in terms of methodology and presentation of the findings. I focus attention away from the young women to the environment of research,the home and schools. I indicate the possibility of learning from pregnant young women in order to bridge the established gap in most research.
Drawing on the previous chapter, chapter four presents the theoretical framework for the study. The study engages discourse analysis as a theoretical base to understand the experiences of pregnant young women. The framework interrogates the meaning of day- to-day language and research language and the interaction with the pregnant young women's experiences.
Chapter five presents the theoretical basis for choices I make in relation to methodology.
In addition, I present and rationalize the data collection instruments as well as techniques that I use in the study. I also present issues of sampling in relation to techniques, sample size, and criteria for the selection of participants in the study. I present the data collection process, procedures and actual processes in the field. Procedures that I employ to capture and edit data form part of the chapter. I also bring forward data analysis procedures as I engage in the study.
In the sixth chapter I present a qualitative analysis of the interviews of the participants. I use this to establish the context of young women and pregnancy in Lesotho. Here an analysis of interviews with school principals, parents, church representatives, partners, siblings and a government official is presented in order to establish the context of the study. The chapter also presents a qualitative analysis of a questionnaire that I sent to school principals in order to get the current practice in schools in relation to young women and pregnancy policy. I herein bring out the opinions of the individuals in relation to reasons for and against pregnant young women'spresence in the classrooms.
In chapter seven I present the stories of young women in two parts,namely, Part One and Part Two. Part One presents the testimonies of eight pregnant young women as I elicit
Karabo Mokobocho-Mohlakoana Chapter One: The Battle Field
through the one to one interviews. I present the narratives together with the analysis that the participants made of their experiences. The lived experiences are presented according to what the participants chose to share in the study, drawing on segments of their lives that they find applicable at the time. At the end of these stories, I present a short synthesis as I bring together the main points of the stories. Part Two on the other hand presents the analysis of Focus Group discussions with pregnant young mothers who were not able to participate in the one to one conversations due to limitations of time. The presentation of part two is a combination of my analysis of the discussions and snippets of the women's sharing in relation to specific issues.
Chapter eight presents my experiences of being a 'Mosotho' young woman growing up in a small village. In the form of autoethnography I present my self and my experiences together with evidence for part of my life as part of the analysis I make. I also relate my experiences as a pregnant young woman and as being pregnant within the school system in Lesotho. The presentation consists of bits of my life that I chose to present to indicate the relationship that I make with young women's pregnancy in relation to my career path.
I present experiences that I relate to the social construction in the area of young women's pregnancy as I interpret them and as I make an analysis of the events now.
Chapter nine presents a complete picture of the study. I pull together the threads of the research journey and present the relationships of the chapters as I tie the strands to establish the lessons I have learned. Due to the experiences of the research, I point out to what I observe as the possible way forward and suggest the direction for future studies in young black women's pregnancy.
Chapter Two
Young women's Pregnancy 'Problem': The setting
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter I present the context of the study that I conducted in Lesotho. In order to understand the experiences of young pregnant women I discover specific dynamics that outline the spaces within which the women negotiate their lives. I present Lesotho in relation to the national gender situation, family, and school environment and how young women's pregnancy fits into the picture. I use the events and occurrences of the past as a way to view 'historical and contemporary' experiences together in order to widen the understanding of life at a particular time (Cole and Knowles, 2001:80). I also use literature to bring about relational encounters of young women's pregnancy in Lesotho with other parts of the world. Considering that experience is highly context based, it is imperative that I describe the context of the study.