Parental Perception Of Sex Education And Effective Teaching Of Sex Education In Primary Schools

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background to the Study

Sexuality education can be traced back to our ancestors who laid much emphasis on the care of self and the act of procreation. However sex education came into being in different countries at different times. In Nigeria, the evolution of sexuality education and its introduction to the Nigerian schools become apparent as there was an urgent need to address adolescent’s productive health, sexual rights and sexuality issues. The Nigerian government approved the inclusion for comprehensive sexuality education in Nigeria in August 2001 since it has a very devastating effect on the individual in our society (Madunaga 2015). Some people have wrong ideas about sex education; this is not surprising considering the fact that many old people have their respective viewpoint about life.

According to Obi (2017) the bringing together of boy and girls into the same school creates problems of physical contact and emotional involvement which eventually culminate in arousing sexuality. A majority of Nigerian parents and teachers believe that sex education of their children is the parent’s responsibility while same others would welcome it introduction into the school curriculum. Simply put sex education deals with the processes and problems of reproductions designed to provide the individuals with understanding and control of their sex impulses and behaviour. It also deals with principles of both individual and group problems stemming from the biological fact that there two basic types of human being – males and females. 

According to Okoro (2018), sex education is a comprehensive and systematic development programme extending from infancy to maturity. It is planned and directed to produce social and moral desirable sexual attitudes practices and personal behaviour. Sex education aims to reduce risks of potentially negative outcome from sexual behaviour, equips learners with life skills and reduces the high level of drop out and unwanted pregnancies. It provides knowledge on how to prevent transmission of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other health problems.

 

Parental Perception Of Sex Education And Effective Teaching Of Sex Education In Primary Schools

Historically, the task of instructing about sex has been seen as the responsibility of parents. Today the term usually refers to classroom lessons about sex taught in schools. Sex education also aims at contributing to young peoples’ positive experience of their sexuality by enhancing the quality of their relationship. It aimed at providing accurate information about human sexuality for young people to develop and understand their values, attitude and beliefs about sexuality. This according to Ahmend (2019) is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unwanted pregnancies and sexual transmitted diseases.

Sexuality education according to International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is an education process designed to assist young people in their physical, social, emotional, and moral development as they prepared for adulthood, marriage, parenthood and ageing, as well as their social relationship in the socio-cultural context of family and society (IPPF, 2017). In another vein Action Health Incorporated (AHI) explained sexuality education as a planned process of education that foster the acquisition of factual information, the information of positive attitudes, beliefs and values as well as the development of skill to cope with the biological, psychological, socio-cultural and spiritual aspect of human sexuality (AHI 2013).

The need for the teaching of sex education cannot be overemphasized. The need to actualize these sexual feelings became evidence when the children are among themselves. But the forceful preventive warning of the parent only serves temporary check on sexual tendencies amongst these youth. With these children sent to schools without prior knowledge of sex life encountered problems easily as they jumps into their game of uncontrolled emotion. Since present generation involves themselves in promiscuity and corruption there is the need for them to be taught what sexual relationship is with a lot of changes that will occur in the life of the children, parents and community at large. 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.

Parental Perception Of Sex Education And Effective Teaching Of Sex Education In Primary Schools

1.2    Statement of the Problem

Ignorance about sex and its associated problems is prevalent in and among young children. The lives of children are shattered with the passing of incorrect information among themselves thereby get misled by others. Today, the problems resulting from the lack of sex education among our youth are numerous; they are unwanted pregnancies, high rate of abortion, high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and high rate of sexual promiscuity. All these have led to inability to concentrate, poor school performance, determination of mental health, high rate of school drop outs, increase in illiteracy and over population. Consequently the educational opportunity of Nigerian youths is greatly affected and this poses a greater loss to the society.

However, despite the increasing sexual problems parents and schools are still not providing teenagers with proper knowledge of sex. This phenomenon has prompted the researcher into investigating parental perception of sex education and effective teaching of sex education in primary schools in the study area.