Knowledge Of Sex Education Among Adolescent In Selected Senior Secondary School In Irrua, Edo State
ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to investigate the Knowledge of adolescents towards sex education in Edo State. The study raised four objectives as well as four research questions and four null-hypotheses. A survey method was employed by the study with a population of 20,385 adolescents and a sample of 2,035 drawn from the population using multi-stage random sampling technique. The main method of data collection was through the use of a self-designed questionnaire which was structured with 25 items. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the four null-hypotheses formulated. The major findings from the study among others showed that the sex education was very popular amongst adolescents in Edo state and the rate of unwanted pregnancies, change in the immoral behaviour and community dropout level had drastically reduced in Edo state. Based on the major findings the study therefore recommended that parents should be actively involved in discussing sex related matters with their children and the teaching of sex education should be made compulsory to all adolescents at secondary community level.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Teaching sex education has been in existence from the creation of man when man continues to expand with children. The whole subject has been distorted by teachers, media, parents, Pastors, Imams and even friends have shirked their resistibility by not presenting the many side of the subject, the good, the lies told to exploit others. Increasing number of people across the ideological spectrum believe that our society is in deep moral trouble. The disheartening signs are everywhere. The breakdown of the family, the deterioration of civility in everyday‟s life, rampant greed, omnipresent sexual activities at very early ages; the enormous betrayal of children through sexual abuse (Taku, 2009).
Sex education is the education that is given to individuals on sexuality behaviour. It is the process of acquiring information, attitude and belief about sex. It is education for education especially our adolescents about sex related issues. Sex education does not encourage early initiation of intercourse but instead can delay first intercourse and lead to more consistent and understanding what the concept is all about. It is the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sex identity relationship and intimacy. It involves developing young people‟s skills so that they make informed choices about their behaviour. It is widely accepted that young people have right to sex education, partly because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs) and understand their body mechanism in general, (World Youth, 2000, in Nwahizu, 2006).
Sex and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) education that are based on a written curriculum and that implemented among group of adolescents in communities setting are a promising type of intervention to reduce adolescent sexual risk behaviours, transmission of various diseases among other things that place adolescents at risk of infectious diseases. However, not all youths ever attend community and not all youth remain in community until they initiate sex. Thus, it is also important to reach youth who are out of community. Curriculum and group-based sex and HIV education programs can be introduced to the adolescents to ensure completion and retention in communities. Throughout the world, they have been implemented in youth-serving agencies, housing projects, faith communities, community centers, juvenile detention centers and elsewhere. Notably, some of the sex and HIV education programs that have been found to reduce sexual risk-taking behaviour should be implemented in both community and community settings with only minor modifications of the curricula. (Jemmott, Jemmott and McKaffree, (1994); St. Lawrence, (1998). Sex and HIV education programs can increase knowledge about how to avoid HIV and STD infection and unintended pregnancy.
Integrated teaching is defined as organization of teaching matter to interrelate or unify subjects frequently taught in separate academic courses or departments. Shoemaker (1989) stated that an integrated curriculum is education that is organized in such a way that it cuts across subject-matter lines, bringing together various aspects of the curriculum into meaningful association to focus upon broad areas of study. It views learning and teaching in a holistic way and reflects the real world, which is interactive. Shoemaker, (1989) opined that using an integrated curriculum to teach is a strategy based on the premise that learning is a series of connections. The integrated curriculum can be beneficial to teachers and adolescents, using team teaching, projects, and units to cover a variety of material and effectively teach many concepts and skills. This approach allows children to learn in a way that is most natural to them.
Teachers can create a good deal of their curriculum by building webs made up of themes of interest to the children, with benefits for all. These benefits include more adequate coverage of curriculum, use of natural learning, building on children’s interests, teaching skills in meaningful contexts, more flexibility, and an organized planning device (Krogh, 1990).
Ongwu (2010) pointed out reason why sexuality education should be taken seriously. Since our today has become just a global village events occurring in parts of the world that are previously remote are now becoming instant influence on pattern of behaviour in other parts, that every population are well informed and have involved the appropriate behaviour to cope with life. Peer group influence in sex related issues and discussion can affect the adolescents in communities.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The researcher observed that a lot of youths in Nigeria in most adolescents especially in North Central zones of the country are victims of sexual molestation and other vices, some have dropped out due to unwanted pregnancies, stigma from Sexually Transmitted Diseases and infections (Edo State Ministry of Education Annual Report, 2010). These might be due to little or no education of sex education in Irrua Local Government Area. Sex education is however integrated into other subject such as Civic Education, Health Science, Home Economic, Home Management and Biology. These have not adequately prevented adolescents from unwanted pregnancies, dropping out of community and high rates of abortion.
Precisely, the National Policy on Education (2004) has no provision for sex education in core, prevocational and non – vocational subjects on the requirements list for junior secondary community syllabus. The introduction of sex education in the communities would prevent social vices such as unwanted pregnancies, spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), adolescents drop out of communities and prevalence of HIV/AIDS being on the increase because of lack of education.
There has been a trend of daily media programmes which are loaded with sexual topics and images from where these teens learn things and want to experiment what they have watched without proper guidance. What is trending is that children turn on the television, read newspaper, or surf the internet to find sexual themed media. Often do not provide accurate information. This study therefore intends to investigate how sex education in Irrua Local Government Area can redress these ills amongst adolescents in the state.
1.3 Objective of the study
The main objective of the study was to assess the Knowledge of adolescents towards sex education in Edo State.
Specific objectives of the Study were to:
- determine the level of adolescents‟ sex education in Edo
- examine the extent to which sex education has helped in the prevention of adolescents from unwanted pregnancy, community dropout, moral behaviour and abortion amongst adolescents in Edo
- ascertain the impact of sex education on the adolescents‟ opinion and peer group influence and their moral behaviour in Irrua Local Government Area.
- determine the impact of sex education on the prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD‟s) among adolescents in Edo
1.4 Research Questions
This study sorts to provide answers to the following research questions.
- What is the level of adolescents on sex education in Edo State?
- To what extent has sex education helped in the prevention of adolescents from unwanted pregnancy, community dropout, moral behaviour and abortion in Irrua Local Government Area?
- What is the impact of sex education on the adolescents‟ opinion and peer group influence in Irrua Local Government Area?
- What impact has the sex education help in the prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD‟s)?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
Ho1 There is no significant relationship between male and female adolescents‟ opinion on their education of sex education among adolescents in Edo State.
Ho2 There is no significant relationship between sex education and prevention of adolescents from unwanted pregnancy, moral behaviour, drop out and abortion in Edo State.
H03 There is no significant relationship between the impact of sex education and the prevention of sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) among secondary community’s adolescents in Edo state.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The study will be of significant in the following ways:
The findings of this thesis will be of significance to the following if published: teachers in communities as well as primary and tertiary institutions, adolescents, curriculum planners and the society.
The teachers will teach the adolescents sex education in communities without fear or favour to enhance young people‟s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about sex relationship and intimacy. It will help the teacher to stress the consequences of risky sexual behaviour such as unplanned pregnancies and (STD‟s). It will also benefit the subject teacher to open channels of communication between adolescents and their teachers concerning the meaning, importance and potential values of sex in human life, so that adolescent will find it easier to seek information from liable sources rather than relying on hearsay or misconception. This will be mainly through workshops organized by the ministry of education in collaboration with other stakeholders in education of young girls and boys in the state.
1.7 Delimitations of the Study
The study covered the importance of integrated teaching sex education on the moral behaviour of adolescents in Edo State. The study focused on 411 public Irrua Local Government Area, and was delimited to a sample of 40 communities in Irrua Local Government Area. It was delimited to adolescents in communities in eight Local Government Areas because these adolescents are more vulnerable to sexual temptation and have little or some have no knowledge of how to take care of themselves when it comes to sex related issues.
1.8 Definition of terms
Sex Education: Sex education is high quality teaching and learning about a broad variety of topics related to sex and sexuality, exploring values and beliefs about those topics and gaining the skills that are needed to navigate relationships and manage one’s own sexual health.
Adolescence/adolescents: usually viewed as the period between childhood and adulthood for instance 10-24 years. For the purpose of this study it would be those aged 13-17 years.
Reproductive health: ability of the adolescent to have safe reproductive development free from undesirable consequence like pregnancy since they are well informed and therefore able to make informed decisions with regard to their sexuality
Effectiveness: ability of an intervention to achieve its main objective like in this case to reduce teenage pregnancy.
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