Pregnancy and motherhood have profound impacts on girls' and young women’s education. Globally, the adolescent birth rate has decreased from 56.4 births per 1,000 adolescents aged 15 to 19 years in 2000 to 41.2 per 1,000 in 2020 (WHO, 2021). Nevertheless, it still accounts for a considerable number of girls giving birth as children. When the girls get pregnant, restrictive legislation sometimes prohibits them from attending school or taking exams forcing them to perform a full-time mother role, enroll in adult or evening classes, or isolate themselves from their peers for fear that they might influence other students (UNESCO and Right to Education Initiative, 2019, p.89).

In Europe, several countries, including Poland, Finland, and the Czech Republic, have enacted laws that explicitly protect the educational rights of pregnant students (UNESCO, 2025). However, many others still face significant challenges. For instance, in Bulgaria, 10.2% of all births were to teenage mothers, while Slovakia and Moldova each reported that over 5% of mothers were under the age of 20, highlighting persistent issues related to adolescent pregnancy (UNESCO, 2014). Despite these statistics, these countries lack specific legal protections to safeguard the educational rights of pregnant adolescents.

Research from Chile found that motherhood decreases a girl’s likelihood of attending and completing high school by 24 to 37 percent (Kruger et al., 2009; UNFPA, 2013). Furthermore, school policies and practices can create additional barriers. In many countries across Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southern Asia, pregnant students are often expelled or excluded from school, frequently based on moral judgments about sexual activity outside marriage (Onyeka et al., 2011). In contrast, boys involved in these situations usually face fewer consequences, often returning to school after a brief suspension.

Beyond institutional policies, social and cultural pressures from families, communities, and religious leaders further contribute to the exclusion of pregnant girls. These pressures often prevent them from returning to school after childbirth, making it difficult for them to return to school after childbirth and often forcing them to seek education elsewhere. (Onyeka et al., 2011).This lack of support not only deepens gender inequality but also hinders long-term development goals related to education and empowerment. These girls often encounter limited independence and mobility, which may discourage them from attending school or working outside the home (UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO), 2022). They miss opportunities to gain knowledge and skills, negatively impacting their future job prospects, economic participation, and income potential. 

In summary, without a thorough understanding and providing proper support for pregnant adolescents, could violate these girls’ rights, including the right to education and the social support needed for healthy development and a safe, successful transition to adulthood. The effects of adolescent pregnancy resonate throughout a girl’s life and influence future generations (Blum, 2015). Therefore, this research aims to focus on pregnant adolescents, recognising them as a vulnerable group that could significantly benefit from an inclusive educational system when integrated within the education framework.  

This research explores the complexities of social contexts and interactions of adolescent pregnancy in Thailand by asking, “How do intersecting systems of gender, class, age, and moral discourse shape the situated experiences and institutional response to pregnant adolescents’ access to inclusive education in Thailand?”. The study used intersectional feminist framework originating from Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work focusing on how overlapping identities (e.g., gender, race, class, age, sexuality) create interrelating systems of oppression and privilege (Crenshaw, 1991)—integrating into Situational Analysis methodology by Adele Clarke (Clarke et al., 2018) to a deeper exploration of power, voice, silence, and structural inequities within this complex situation of adolescent pregnancy and inclusive education in Thailand.

This article's main argument is based on PhD research: “Equity Access to Inclusive Education for Pregnant Adolescents in Thailand.” This project used a qualitative method called Situational Analysis, which shared some common foundations with Grounded Theory, such as being rooted in symbolic interaction, building upon constructivist epistemology, focusing on the complexities of social life, and emphasising the importance of reflexivity in the research process (Clarke et al., 2018). Even though they share some similarities, Situational Analysis aims to capture the messy complexities of social situations by mapping out various human, nonhuman, and discursive elements, and their interrelations by utilising three distinct analytic maps that lead to deeper understanding throughout the research trajectory to emphasising voices and experiences to uncover emerging themes among the various experiences of pregnant adolescents in inclusive education (Kamasak et al., 2020; Clarke et al., 2018). The Situational Analysis employs a nuanced approach to participant selection, focusing on the complexities of social context. Accordingly, theoretical sampling is often utilised in this methodology and in this research. The process begins with selecting participants who can provide insights related to the topic. Individuals, including pregnant adolescents, parents, teachers, and others, were purposefully selected for interviews that could help to understand the phenomenon (Clarke et al., 2018; Draucker et al., 2007; Bryant & Charmaz, 2019; Holton, 2009). The initial stage of theoretical sampling resembles purposeful sampling, in which the participants were selected from the highest possibility of obtaining data, leading to more data based on the research question (Gupta et al., 2019; Morse, 2007). This sampling method facilitates the researcher in collecting, comparing, coding, and analysing the data and deciding which data to collect next and where to find them to develop the theory as it emerges (Glaser, 1978). Before the interview, the researcher ensured that participants fully understood the purpose of the study, how their data would be used, and potential risks. The participants, under 18 years old, were asked for permission from their guardians before the interview, and their data were kept confidential and anonymous.

When a girl becomes pregnant, her present and future change radically, rarely for the better. Her education may end, her job prospects evaporate, and her vulnerabilities to poverty, exclusion, and dependency multiply (Kollodge, 2013). Without a thorough understanding of adolescent pregnancy in a specific context could bring some significant consequences to the girls’ life, including loss of educational opportunity and the basis of life skills, loss of economic opportunity, risk of experiencing gender-based violence, risk of sexual transmitted infections and health-related risks for the mother and her newborn baby (UNESCO, 2014). This research is expected to offer both theoretical and practical contributions. Firstly, it aims to comprehensively map the complex situation surrounding pregnant adolescents’ access to inclusive education in Thailand. By applying an intersectional feminist lens, the study will reveal how overlapping identities such as gender, age, class, and moral discourses create distinct educational barriers for pregnant students (Hess, 2012; Crenshaw, 1991). Furthermore, the research will identify significant gaps in current policies and practices, including the absence of clear legal protections, lack of institutional support mechanisms, and the invisibility of the silenced voices of pregnant adolescents (Clarke et al., 2018). By offering a grounded, situational understanding of adolescent pregnancy in education, can also inform comparative international dialogues, especially in countries for instance Poland and Finland, which have implemented laws to protect pregnant students' educational rights (UNESCO, 2025), and Bulgaria, where adolescent pregnancy rates remain high but legal protections are lacking (UNESCO, 2014). Drawing parallels and contrasts between the Thai case and these European contexts can deepen global awareness of how cultural, policy, and institutional arrangements shape educational inclusion. Such insights may support transnational policy learning, encouraging the adaptation of inclusive models sensitive to intersectional and structural barriers that pregnant adolescents face across different regions (Mitchell, 2005).

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