Perception of Parents Towards Sex Education in Junior Secondary Schools
Chapter One
The purpose of the study is to investigate the perception of parents on the issue of sex education in junior secondary school curriculum in Aba urban of Abia state.
Specifically the study intends to determine the;
- Perception of parents towards the acceptance of sex education in junior secondary schools
- Perception of parents towards the method of teaching sex education in junior secondary schools and
- Perception of parents towards the benefits of teaching sex education in junior secondary schools.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Sex education among the youth has been the central focus of a number of previous studies. Sources and nature of sexual information were analysed in different societies. School, media, peers, discussion with parents etc. are the most sexual information providers, but the extent to which they are used varies from a country to another, following the socio-cultural, political and economic realities. This section is aimed at exploring sexuality-related problems, the importance of sexual education and different sources of sexual education as described by previous research.
CONCEPTAL FRAMEWORK
Teacher, Attitude, Adolescence and Sex education are the four concepts that made up the topic under study.
Akubuilo (2010) defined a teacher as a person imbued with extensive innate teaching abilities and has been exposed to an approved academic and professional training in education, thereby equipped with the knowledge, attitude and skills required to impart knowledge to the learner.
Teachers are very important as such requires adequate training as they serve as knowledge reservoirs to learners. According to Ccharn (2010) opined that a teacher is carries a big responsibility in the classroom and one of the reasons why the students depends on them is that everything the teacher says will have an impact on them.
Attitude is a predisposition or tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain idea, issue or situation at a particular given them.
Authorities have combined various element to describe attitude as follows:
Thomas and Znanieki (2010) maintained that attitude is the process an individual’s consciousness which determines real or possible activity of the individual in a social world.
North (2013), defined attitude as the totality of those states that lead to or point towards some particular activity of the organism, altitude therefore is the dynamic element in human behaviour.
According to Wolfe (2010), attitude is a type of sentiment which an individual manifest upon the occurrence of a given situation.
It is a behaviour pattern with reference especially to the feeling “side of response”.
For Mike (2012), attitude is very much like a tendency to act towards or against an environment factor, it is either favourable or unfavourable to an object.
Vaughan (2010) opined that attitude represents both an orientation towards or away from objects, concepts or situation and readiness to respond in predetermined manner, to those or related object or situation.
Adolescence is a period which ushers male and female into a world of pleasurable experiences. It is a period filled with excitement and the desire for sexual release. It is also a period where adolescents are filled with curiosity and exploration about the world as well as their body (UNICEF, 2011). Esu (1990), in Isangedighi (2010) explained that cultural and religious beliefs have denied adolescents the opportunity of receiving enough information about human sexuality. They opined that the inclusion of sex education in the curriculum of Nigerian secondary schools is necessary to provide information which will assist adolescents to channels their sexual drives to other creative activities until they are fully matured and prepared to engage in sexual activities. Pre-marital sex is viewed in Nigeria as a sign of immorality. It brings disgrace to those families whose adolescents are discovered to have engaged in pre-marital sex (Oloko & Omoboye, 1993; in SIECUS, 2010).
According to Calderome (2010), the World War II marked the liberalization of many attitudes about sex as well as the beginning of changes in behaviour leading individuals all over the world to advocate for ‘telling the truth’ to children. The child study association of America in the 1920s by Calderome (2010), led the way toward an open approach to all topics including sex education. Though more emphasis was placed on reproductive education, since then, the concept has enlarged considering today sex education which encompasses a wide range of biological, sociological and psychological knowledge. Today there is the awareness of the need for sex education in schools, churches and other institutions due to the growing concern over teenage pregnancies, abortions, venereal disease, increased promiscuity, widespread martial and sexual difficulties.
Sources of initiatives are the sex information and education council of the United State (SIECUS), which was founded in 1963, professional groups and all levels, while Calder-Wood D. D. and Sloan (2010) added the Japanese Association for sex education.
More so, the knowledge of sex education will reduce the rate of casualty, which would have resulted from illegal procurement of abortion by quack doctors or nurses. Presently sex education programmes have been integrated into several secondary school education programmes.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHOD
This chapter comprised the method used in carrying out the study, it consist of the research design, area of study , population, sample and sampling technique, instrument for data collection and validation of the instrument. It also includes methods of data collection and method of data analysis.
RESEARCH DESIGN
The ex-post facto research design was used for this study to investigate parents’ perception of the teaching of sex education to adolescents in secondary schools. The ex-post facto design which means after the effect was adopted because certain factors had already been identified as having possible influence on parental perception of the leading of sex education. This is in line with Kerlingers’ definition of ex-post-facto research design which he said is a systematic enquiry in which the scientist does not have direct control of independent variables because their manifestations have already occurred. The information the researcher needed already existed in its natural state and was obtained through the use of a questionnaire. The ex-post-facto design was used for the purpose of evaluation.
Data Analysis: Data analysis was done according to each null hypothesis that directed the study. To ease this procedure all the questionnaires that were retrieved from the respondents were first coded to yield numerical values. The codes were then extracted and stored in a data bank (a person-by-item-matrix table); it was from this data bank that the codes were extracted and summarized into means (x) and standard deviation (SD). Hypothesis one means comparison was carried out between the hypothesized means of 12.50 and the observed (or field work mean), while for hypothesis two the independent t-test was employed in determining the difference in perception of teaching introductory sex education between literate and illiterate parents. Hypothesis One: Parental perception towards the introduction sex education to adolescents in secondary school is not significantly negative. In analysing this hypothesis data for mean scores on parental perception was summarized from the data bank and compared with the hypothesized mean (MU-U) which was 12.50; and then subjected to population test analysis, and the result presented on table 1. Hypothesis Two: There is no significant deference between literate and illiterate parents in their perception of the teaching of sex education to adolescent in secondary schools. The dependent variable in this hypothesis was parental perception of sex education, while the independent variable was the educational status of parents. The summarized data on the means (x) and standards deviations (SD) were subjected to statistical analysis, using the independent t-test procedure. The result of the analysis is presented in table 2.
AREA OF STUDY
The research area covered was the geographical expression known as Aba urban of Abia State, located in the South East geo-political zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The target population was parents from three local government areas of Aba Urban of the state.
POPULATION FOR THE STUDY
The population for the study comprised all the 3,870 parents and guardians who attended parent teachers association (PTA) meeting in the junior secondary school in Aba urban of Abia state.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
SUMMARY
Majority of the respondents were of the opinion that sex education be taught at all levels (87.0%); it is not too early to teach sex education (65.6%) and that it should not be taught secretly (67.3%). But that it should be taught alongside other subjects in the school(71.8%);that parents are in the best position to teach sex related issues to their children(79.6%) but that the government should employ better trained personnel to teach sexuality education(88.5%) because it is the also the responsibility of the school to teach it (79.5%). The Parents were also of the opinion that sex education will expose children to experiment with sex (55.1) but that it would also reduce the rate of abortion in the society (77.1%).
CHAPTER FIVE:
SUMMARY, RECOMMEMDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
This chapter consists of the summary of the study and conclusion. It also include the recommendation and suggestion for further studies
SUMMARY
The findings of this study show that the Parents were in support of teaching sex education to students starting from the junior secondary school class one which is currently the lowest or first level in the secondary schools. Though in some studies parents were of the opinion that sex education can start early in life, from the primary or elementary schools with emphasis on abstinence only lesson or after attaining menarche for girls.
The parents agreed that sex education would reduce the rate of abortion in the society like the parents agreed in a similar study that it is the backbone of preventing and controlling several sex related problems.
Most of the parents agreed to the inclusion of all the aspects related to abstinence and delaying sex as against those related to the use of contraceptives. It was reported in a previous study that parents are overwhelmingly in favour of abstinence until marriage education to comprehensive education. Instead of trying to deter or frightening young people away from having sex it is better to work on their attitudes, beliefs and develop skills in them that will enable them to choose whether or not to have a sexual relationship taking into consideration the potential risks of any sexual activity Also attempts to impose narrow moralistic views about sex and sexuality in young people through sex education and the current wave aimed at promoting abstinence have failed.
Parents are of the opinion that the school guardian counsellor, the health education teacher and the school nurse should teach sex education in schools. This is different from the finding that the school teachers and doctors are the most appropriate persons for providing sex education. Parents who participated in a similar study were also not of the opinion that teachers in schools are better trained to carry out the sex education lessons. People who provide sex education have their own attitudes and beliefs about sex and sexuality but it is important that they do not let these influence the sex education they provide negatively. A person may believe that young people should not have sex until they are married, but this does not imply withholding important information about safer sex and contraception.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- During parents and teachers association (PTA) meeting, the counsellor should liaise with the principal to introduce talks on adolescents’ sexuality and the need to teach sex education to adolescents in secondary school.
- Children preach against homosexuality and lesbianism among adolescents. The church should not also shy away from helping adolescents by organizing youth seminars for both adults and the youth on the importance of sex education.
- Government through the media should air programmes through the television on sex education and the need for parents to collaborate with schools to prepare adolescent mind on sexuality issues.
- During conferences and seminars, educators should present more papers on the teaching of sex education to adolescent in secondary schools. This will motivate parents as they listen to the plenary sessions to ask question for clarification on the aspect of sex education that conflict with their religious and traditional belief.
- Also there is need to educate parents about the concepts and areas that seem not to gain approval especially in topics related to sexual issues /problems of young people and the use of contraceptives and birth control methods. Thus ensuring that they have better understanding and support the teaching of these areas. This will make it possible for students who are experiencing sexual health problems to get help. It is also necessary for the Government to train and employ guidance counsellors, health education teachers and nurses in schools to teach sex education.
- There is also need to include or allow young people or students themselves in the developing and providing sex education as the practice can serve as a means of ensuring the relevance and acceptability what is provided. Hence it has been recommended that there is need to consult with young people at the point where programmes are designed as this will help to ensure that they are relevant to their needs.
CONCLUSION
The findings of the study revealed that the introduction of teaching sex education in the junior secondary school will provide relevant information about HIV/AIDS scourge, especially for the young people.
The study also revealed that the problems resulting from the lack of sex education to our youth are numerous. They are unwanted pregnancies, increase abortion, high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and high rates of sexual promiscuity. All these have led to inability to concentrate, poor school performance, deterioration of mental health of students, high rate of school drop outs, increase in illiteracy and over population. Consequently, the educational opportunity of Nigeria youth is greatly affected and this possess a great loss to the society.
The study also revealed that the introduction sex education in the junior secondary school will provide the panacea to sex related problems. Sex education emphasize the divine
importance of sex as the basis of reproduction and continuity of life on earth. It deemphasizes the moral and misconstrued use of sex in whatever form.
The objective of sexuality education is to promote the proper development of personality, sexual well-being and quality of life of the population as a whole and thus implies that its contents cover all aspects of life in society, namely economic, political, social, legal, health, cultural and spiritual, making sure that both individual and collective interests work in harmony for the goodness of individuals and the society as a whole.. This concept of education derives its contents from a vision of the world which incorporates aspects of cultural, cosmological, theological, biological, economical, political and psychological repertoires of knowledge.
IMPLICATIONS
This study was set to assertion the perception of parents toward the introduction education in the junior secondary school of Aba urban of Abia state.
For the purpose of the study, four corresponding research questions were formulated for the study. Literature was reviewed under five sub headings. A survey research design was utilized for the study and the population for the study was 3,870 while the sample for the study was 400 parents.
The questionnaire was the only instrument used for data collection and was validated by experts in health education, guidance and counselling and test and measurement. To ensure the reliability of the instrument the test-retest method was used. Twenty parents’ of secondary school students that were not included in the study filled the questionnaire twice within an interval of two weeks. The scores from two administrations yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.75 using Pearson Product Moment Correlation.
The results obtained were as follows:
Majority of the respondents were of the opinion that sex education be taught at all levels (87.0%); it is not too early to teach sex education (65.6%) and that it should not be taught secretly (67.3%). But that it should be taught alongside other subjects in the school(71.8%);that parents are in the best position to teach sex related issues to their children(79.6%) but that the government should employ better trained personnel to teach sexuality education(88.5%) because it is the also the responsibility of the school to teach it (79.5%).
The Parents were also of the opinion that sex education will expose children to experiment with sex (55.1) but that it would also reduce the rate of abortion in the society (77.1%).
A higher percentage of the Parents (43.3%) both among the male (37.4%) and the female (47.6) respondents were of the view that sex education should start from the first year in secondary schools (JSS1).
About 71.3% agree that sex education should be included from the junior classes while the remaining 29% were of the opinion that sex education should be included in the senior classes in the secondary schools.
The study revealed parents stand on the teaching of sex education to adolescents in junior secondary schools in Aba urban of Abia State. It was discovered that traditional and cultural beliefs have an overwhelming influence on parental perception of the teaching of sex education to adolescents in school. Parents (both literate and illiterate) believed in the preservation of sex knowledge until such adolescent are married. On the contrary, parents failed to consider the fact that technological development which they have embraced also meant that there should be a shift in their belief. The government, the church and the school have been counselled to work together in other to change parental perception and also help adolescent’s functions well in accordance with technological development.
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