TEENAGE MOTHERS’ SOCIAL REPRESENTATION ABOUT EDUCATION

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed at understanding the social representations of teenage mothers about education. Method: A qualitative research was used, along with the Focus Group Technique to collect data that were submitted to thematic analysis, based on the Social Representation Theory. Results: The results showed that the teenage mothers described their school history as a period with intellectual difficulties, and the symptoms of pregnancy made it hard to stay in school. The young mothers emphasized that education provides better conditions of life, employment and consumption of expensive products for their children, and pointed out the lack of public policies to allow them to be in school. Conclusion: Nursing can perform a relevant social role in building public policies to motivate these adolescents to stay in and/or go back to school, as a way to guarantee their insertion in the society, avoiding low education and unfavorable social-economic conditions in their life.