R EASSIGNING THE I DENTITY OF THE P REGNANT AND P ARENTING S TUDENT

Abstract

Learning about students’ literacy practices at a school for pregnant and parenting teens is a tool for educators and scholars in rethinking the iden- tity of the pregnant and parenting student. Though this population of students has been historically marginalized in U.S. school settings, programs such as the one described here have the potential to provide unique, alternative learning spaces for students. Findings illustrate the salience of three themes in reconceptualizing the identity of the pregnant and parenting student: (1) positioning students as both mothers and students; (2) viewing the school as both a place of learning and a place of community; and (3) positioning the students’ young children as both the hope for the future and the hope for their mothers’ future. The findings contrast with research that has claimed separate schools for teen mothers are most often characterized by a “remedial” approach to learning.