PARENTS’ VIEWS ON SEX EDUCATION IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The term “sex education” is broad and refers to the study of human sexual anatomy, reproduction, sexual activity, and other aspects of sexual behavior. Sex education, according to Anibueze (2001), is a field of study that aids a person in developing a positive and healthy attitude toward sex, enabling that person to live a full life, take pleasure in it fully, and mature into a responsible member of the community to which they belong. Like other forms of education, sex education aims to get kids ready for a better world. In order to learn about sexuality and foster a positive attitude toward sex, sex education is a concept. Sex education necessitates a similar course of action by the school, claims Kearney (2008). calibrated to protect the person as a human and the family as a social institution by instilling in kids and adults the socially acceptable attitudes, behaviors, and personal behaviors. According to Nwafor (2006), the main goals of sex education are to promote sexual health by giving students the chance to form an accurate and positive opinion of sex as well as the knowledge and skills they need to maintain their health. Sex education benefits men significantly, but it is not part of the junior secondary school curriculum in Ebonyi State despite this. For young people in the area, the threat of sexual difficulties, such as ignorance, bad behavior, immorality, and infections, is constant (Sophia, 2005). Because of this, it is more crucial than ever for educators to focus on all aspects of education by updating and improving school curricula in the area of sex education (Jenny, 2004). To prepare the next generation for the challenges that lie ahead, sexual education is necessary. The inclusion of sex education in the junior secondary school curriculum may not be supported by parents, even if society acknowledges its importance. It’s important to emphasize that students from different backgrounds and ethnicities socialize with one another in a school environment. In a variety of settings, including those inside and outside of the classroom, sex education can take place. The school plays a crucial role in preparing teenagers to deal with the challenge of becoming an adult through the establishment of awareness. Future generations will have moral individuals (Helen, 2006). Kehily (2002) asserts that different people have the ability and duty to provide sex education for young people in this varied environment. As a result, parents’ attitudes can have an effect on their children’s lives. For instance, some parents may purposefully avoid their children or refuse them appropriate answers even when they are aware of their children’s interest in sex. When we talk about perception, we’re talking about behaviors or attitudes that need to be challenged. Denga (2002) defined perception as the act of becoming aware of an object’s characteristics or connections through the use of sense organs. Haggai (2000) defined view as the method by which we organize and comprehend the pattern of inputs in our environment. Perception is the process by which an individual uses his sense organs to transform the various environmental stimuli into knowledge of things and their meanings. A pattern of awareness that demonstrates the quality and interrelation of objects and meanings is created by organizing one’s own, recent, sensory, and prior experiences into a pattern of consciousness (Denga, 2002). A person’s attitude is responsible for the entirety of his perspective on a circumstance. Whether a person responds positively, neutrally, or negatively to a particular event depends on their attitude (Mallum, 2000) How parents view and react to the need for sex education in junior secondary schools is referred to as parental perceptions of sex education. An investigation into how parents feel about sex education It is necessary to implement this in junior secondary schools in the Ebonyi urban area because it will show students’ awareness and importance of this aspect of education. In order to redefine how sex education is introduced in junior secondary schools, school administrators will need to support this. This will either result in acceptance or resistance. According to Izugbara, children in Nigeria are raised with distorted views of sex and sexually absurd behavior (2001). Teenagers and society at large may experience problems if sex education is denied, as it primarily aims to provide accurate factual information and understanding of sex-related issues. Additionally, youth are perpetually caught in a web of uncertainty and unable to discern the direction of societal development (Malli, 2007). Specifically, our educational system, which is
Since sex education is not covered as a subject in school, it is challenging to teach our kids about the changes that take place in their bodies and why they happen. What caused the implementation to be delayed is unclear. It is impossible to start developing strategies to promote sex education among Junior Secondary schools in the Ebonyi urban region of Ebonyi State without first understanding the root causes of its absence. This is because the opinions of parents have not been ascertained. In light of this, the researcher made the decision to look into parents’ perceptions of sex education in junior high and high schools in Ebonyi City, Ebonyi State.
Statement of the issue, in clause 1.2
A crucial aspect of a man’s existence is his sexuality, which can either bring him great joy or great suffering. depending on how it is handled, suffering It is evident that sex-related issues like illnesses, bad behavior, ignorance, and immorality pose a constant threat to young people, especially teenagers, in Ebonyi (Kehily, 2002). Teenagers’ access to necessary knowledge has been delayed as a result of the educational system’s failure to include sex education in the Junior Secondary curriculum, particularly in the Ebonyi metropolis, and as a result, they are less knowledgeable about sexuality-related issues. It comes as no surprise that young people in Ebonyi attempt to fill this void using strategies that aren’t always effective or trustworthy; the result is an increase in sexual danger and a high prevalence of STDs, particularly HIV/AIDS, which has spread globally and has no known cure. One group of teenagers in the
There are many disobedient people and social outcasts in the area (Micheal, 2007). Teenagers in the area frequently have early marriages, abortions, unplanned pregnancies, school dropouts, and acts of extreme indiscipline. This has posed a problem for Ebonyi State, especially in the Ebonyi urban area, where the state runs the risk of losing its working-age population and the next generation of this wonderful country. The absence of sex education in junior secondary schools in Ebonyi City, Ebonyi State, up until this point suggests that there are problems. The researcher is interested in learning what parents think about sex education in junior high schools in Ebonyi City, Ebonyi State.
1.3 OBJECTIVES FOR THE STUDY
This study’s objective is to learn more about
sex education in the junior secondary school curriculum in Ebonyi, Ebonyi State, and parents’ perspectives on it. This investigation’s objective is to:
i. Analyze the opinions of parents regarding sex education in junior high and high schools in Ebonyi, Ebonyi State.
ii. Examine the influence of culture on parents’ views on sex education in junior-senior schools in the Ebonyi metropolis.
Examine the curriculum developers’ initiatives in the city of Ebonyi to integrate sex education into the Junior Secondary School curriculum.
Research questions (1.4)
i. How do parents in Ebonyi, Ebonyi State, feel about sex education in junior high and high schools?
ii. How can the cultural influences on parents’ views on sex education in junior-senior schools in the Ebonyi metropolis be identified?
What are the curriculum designers’ initiatives in
the Ebonyi city’s Junior Secondary School curriculum to include sex education?
1.5 THE STUDY’S SIGNIFICANCE
This study aims to ascertain parents’ attitudes toward sex education in junior high and high schools in Ebonyi City, Ebonyi State. As a result, it matters to kids, parents, decision-makers in the field of education, the federal government of Nigeria, guidance and counseling professionals, and the general public. The results of this study may hopefully educate students on sex education-related issues. The study might also inspire students to practice responsible sexual behavior, keeping them away from early marriages, premarital sex, unintended pregnancies, increased abortions, the spread of HIV and AIDS, school dropouts, and other social services characterized in our society. society. The findings of this investigation could theoretically reveal the parents’ level of perception. If the results are positive or negative, they may be able to change their approach to addressing the issues and difficulties brought on by sexual issues among their kids, which have a big effect on them. Through church campaigns and community gatherings, parents can inform people about the suggested intervention program. In order to implement a policy on including sex education as a course of study in Junior Secondary schools’ curriculum and to promote its swift implementation in Junior Secondary schools, the findings of this study are expected to give education policymakers more clarity and guidance. The findings of this study may be useful to counselors and educators. Counselors create and oversee a crucial program for sex education. In order to include counseling intervention fields like student sexuality counseling, counselor education programs may need to be reorganized and expanded. The results of this study will assist school administrators in spreading awareness of sex education and the risks of negligence. This could be achieved using seminars, workshops, conferences, and public awareness campaigns, among other methods. Because teenagers are tomorrow’s leaders and cannot continue to be ignorant about sexual relations, school administrators will use well-planned and coordinated dissemination of reliable information through the mainstream media to foster more positive attitudes toward sex education concerns. The findings of this study may assist the federal government in expanding funding for sexuality education and counseling in junior high and high schools. To
if you do this, government education organizations and licensed counselors will work together. Finally, the study’s findings may provide an empirical education for this field’s improvement in education. This is so that the results may provide empirical data on how parents view sex education in junior secondary schools.
1.6 THE STUDY’S SCOPE
The Ebonyi urban area is the sole focus of this study. The junior secondary schools in the Ebonyi urban area are the subject of the study. In Ebonyi, Ebonyi State, junior secondary schools are now offering sex education. The research examined parents’ perceptions of this change.
1.7 THE STUDY’S LIMITATION
The research was limited to a single local government area in Ebonyi State due to time constraints and a lack of funding to carry out the study.
Leave a Comment