Exploring Mechanisms Used by Young Mother Learners in Striking a Balance Between Training and Child Care Demands at Bigwa Folk Development College in Morogoro Tanzania

Young motherhood is associated with several challenges to girls, among them being the attainment of educational goals while taking care of parenting responsibilities. Young motherhood is currently a common global problem. Many girls around the world with ages between 15 and 19 increasingly become mothers at this age instead of being at school. Consequently, fail to reach their intended dreams. The purpose of this study was to explore mechanisms used by young mother learners in striking a balance between training and child care demands at Bigwa Folk Development College in Morogoro, Tanzania. The study adopted an interpretive approach and a case study design, to gather insight and in-depth information on the subjective experiences of participants. The study employed purposive and snowball sampling techniques in which data were saturated at 16 participants. additionally face to face and documentary interviews were used as data collection methods, the data obtained were analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The study revealed that employees were leaving their children at home with caretakers, using the existing support systems, sacrificing other duties to study, registering their children at nursery school, and engaging in petty business. The researchers recommend some issues including establishing the special program and student group at the college where students will address their issues without fear, finding donors for young mother learners who will support them financially and other important materials, sensitizing parents on the importance of supporting young mother learners in attaining their education dreams.