STUDENTS PERCEPTION TOWARDS TEACHING OF SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to determine whether and at what level of study sexuality education should be included in secondary school curricula. The study employed the descriptive survey research method. The sample population was made up of 500 participants who were chosen using a simple random sampling technique. A self-created and validated questionnaire was used as the research instrument.
This study raised and tested five (5) research questions and hypotheses. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages, as well as inferential statistics such as chi-Square (X) statistics for hypothesis testing. The findings revealed that all hypotheses were rejected.
The findings revealed a significant relationship between the content of sex education, teachers’ gender, societal norms, religious and cultural beliefs, and age in secondary schools in Lagos state. Secondary.
It was suggested that schools, governments, and society enlighten students on the importance of sexuality education to an individual’s overall development, as well as improve their perception of sexuality education as a subject. Schools and governments should ensure that adequate teaching aids related to growth and development are available, as this will help to improve sexuality education and students’ perceptions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The study’s context
Sexual education starts at home. Parents and caregivers are/should be their children’s primary sexuality educators. Every day, there are opportunities to discuss sexuality issues with children.
Sexuality education, according to SIECUS (2009), is a lifelong process of acquiring information and forming attitudes, beliefs, and values. Sexual development, sexual and reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image, and gender roles are all covered.
Children learn about love, touch, and relationships from the moment they are born. When their parents talk to them, dress them, show affection, and teach them the names of their body parts, infants and toddlers learn about sexuality. As children enter adolescence,
they continue to receive informal messages about sexual behavior, attitude, and values from their family. Sexuality is also learned from other sources such as friends, television, music, books, advertisements, and the internet, all of which are informal methods of learning.
The formal methods of acquiring sexuality education include planned opportunities such as faith communities, community-based sexuality education, and Abstinence-only in sex-related matters. School-based sexuality education is frequently comprehensive and as such provides certain guidelines in the form of objectives to be achieved at the end of the program.
School-based sexuality education provides accurate information about human sexuality, allows people to develop and understand their values, attitudes, and insight about sexuality, and assists young people in developing relationship and interpersonal skills, among other things.
These characteristics, as well as others such as human development, relationships, decision making, abstinence, contraception, and disease prevention, distinguish school-based sexuality education from other types of sexuality education.
Despite the fact that we are aware of the importance of sexuality education in human development, maturation, family life, and all forms of relationship. However, sexuality education is not currently taught at the secondary school level, which is a transitional level in nature, from childhood to adulthood.
The reason for these decisions by the federal government, state governments, local governments, and the ministry of education is unknown to the average citizen of this country, but it is certain that it is not because sexuality education is irrelevant or that students do not want to learn about it.
Because of their different levels of development and maturation, the content for a junior secondary level on sexuality education may differ from that of a senior secondary school level. To that end, the study intends to solicit student feedback on sexuality education and determine whether or not they would like sexuality education to be a core subject at the junior or senior secondary levels.
The problem’s statement
The researcher discovered that most secondary school students have divergent views on sexuality, and this lack of information has led many teenagers to engage in sexual activities without caution, resulting in a higher rate of unwanted pregnancies among females and sexually transmitted diseases. To that end, the researcher wishes to learn about secondary school students’ attitudes toward sexuality education.
The study’s objective
The goal of this study is to determine whether and at what level of study sexuality education should be included in secondary school curricula.
Research Issues
The following research questions will be addressed during the course of this study.
1. To what extent will the content of sex education influence students’ attitudes toward sexuality education in schools?
2. Will the gender of the teacher influence students’ attitudes toward the teaching of sexuality education in schools?
3. Will societal norms influence students’ attitudes toward the teaching of sexuality education in schools?
4. To what extent will religion and cultural beliefs influence students’ attitudes toward sexuality education in schools?
5.Will students’ perceptions of sexuality education in schools be influenced by their age?
Hypotheses for Research
The following research hypotheses were developed and will be tested during the course of the study.
1. The content of sex education will have no significant impact on students’ attitudes toward the teaching of sexuality education in schools.
2. The gender of the teacher has no significant influence on students’ perceptions of sexuality education in schools.
3. Societal norms will not have a significant impact on students’ perceptions of sexuality education in schools.
4. Religion and cultural beliefs will have little influence on students’ attitudes toward sexuality education in schools.
5. Age has no significant influence on students’ attitudes toward the teaching of sexuality education in schools.
The Study’s Importance
This work will provide relevant clues to schools, ministries of education, parents, communities, and other education stakeholders on whether or not sexuality education should be included in secondary school curricula and at what level it should begin. It will provide feedback to schools and parents, in particular,
on how students feel about sexuality education, and finally, it will recommend a veritable pathway toward changing the attitude that may be noted during the course of this research work, while also providing hints on how sexuality education textbooks can be adjusted to suit the relevance of secondary school students without overexposing them psychologically.
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The Study’s Limitations
The scope of this research will be limited to ten (10) schools in Lagos State.
Surulere Girls Secondary School is located in Odi-Olowo, Mushin.
Ajigbeda Girls Junior High School is located in Surulere, Lagos.
Lagos City Senior Secondary School is located in Sabo-Yaba, Lagos.
Ijero Secondary School is located in Ebute-metta, Lagos.
Gbaja Girls Secondary School is located in Surulere, Lagos.
Obele High School is located in Surulere, Lagos.
Ogunlade Senior Secondary School is located in Surulere, Lagos.
Surulere, Lagos, Onitolo Community High School
Longford Secondary School is located in Ebute-metta, Lagos.
Iponri Grammar School is located in Surulere, Lagos.
The study will be conducted solely through the use of a questionnaire. The study will include 500 students from junior and senior high schools. It will be based on two hundred and fifty (250) male students and two hundred and fifty (250) female students who will be chosen at random from various schools.
The study’s limitations
1. Efficient questionnaire administration
2. Reluctance to participate in the questionnaire filling
3. Obtaining access to the relevant participating students
4. Difficulty in retrieving the questionnaire
Key Terms Explained
Abstinence: The act of avoiding danger.
Adolescence: This is a person who is a teenager or has passed the puberty stage.
Contraception: The act of preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
Possibility: Capable of being done, effected, or achieved.
Gender: A person’s specific sex.
Insight: A realization of the true nature of something.
Intimacy: A close, familiar, and affectionate relationship.
Complete or total: complete or total.
Puberty is a period of growth change.
Veritable: Sincere or very much so.
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