Social Subsistence: The Case of Student Parents

Abstract

This qualitative research, which employed phenomenological approach, investigated the social lives of two (2) teen parents who were enrolled in the Senior High School program in a public secondary school in the Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya. It analyzed the social practices and academic behaviors of Mario (Case 1) and Lanie (Case 2). The themed information collected from the subjects themselves, as well as from the identified reliable informants, revealed that both of them are financially struggling for their education while struggling for their familial responsibilities and obligations. Both cases also experience difficulty in managing their time for their school and family work. In addition, they are also socially less active because of the demands of care and attention for their child, and life partner, too. As such, Case 1 and Case 2 need scholarships and other humanitarian programs for them to pursue and finish their education while showing up for their family obligations. Moreover, the teen parents, based on the narratives of the informants and the subjects themselves, need support groups which are genuinely willing to help them pursue their education and ease the academic challenges they are confronted with. It is therefore imperative for school managers and administrators, together with the teachers and parents, and the school community in general, to strengthen school partnership initiatives, to maintain scholarship, financial, and guidance programs for needy students, and to enforce youth activities such as sports competitions, leadership training, wellness programs, and others, to alleviate such social challenges among teenagers, especially young parents.