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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND STUDY Sex education, broadly defined; any instruction in the processes and consequences of sexual activity, ordinarily given to adolescent . Today the term usually refers to classroom lesson about sex taught in primary and secondary schools. {Redmond,W. A 2008}.
Illinois sex education advisory board (2002) defined sex education as a cooperative effort; home, school, church and community to provide selected learning experiences and guidance for young people concerning the needs, interests, problems and goals that arise out of human psychosexual development primarily as related to love, in marriage, parenthood and family life. Teenage pregnancy on the other hand is the pregnancy between the age of 13-19 years and it may be wanted among married teenagers or unwanted due to mistakes.
Since the 1960s, however sexual activity has increased among adolescents; recent studies shows that almost 50 percent of adolescent under age of 15 and 75 percent of adolescent under ages 19 report having had sexual intercourse. Despite their involvement some adolescents are not interested or knowledgeable about birth control method or symptoms of sexually transmitted disease. Consequently cases of unwanted pregnancy, abortions, illegitimate births and sexually transmitted disease have been a common phenomenon in the society.
The problem of teenage pregnancy is common in developing countries and considerably worse in developed countries. A detailed study comparing incidence of unwanted pregnancy in different countries suggested that the problem of teenage pregnancy can be related to less sex education in schools and lower availability of birth control services and supplies to adolescents. This counters the view of some people who argue that sex educations in schools or making birth control available to adolescents promotes sexual activity.
Historically, the task of instructing adolescent about sex has been seen as the responsibility of the parents. But parent-child communication in sexual matters may be hindered by parental inhibitions or by various intergenerational tensions and studies have shown that rarely children receive their first information on sexual matters from their parents. In the late nineteenth century, all attempts by educators and social workers to supplement parental sex instruction concentrated on what was then known as “social hygiene”- basically, biologically and medical information about human reproduction and venereal disease.
In the mid twentieth century schools in the developing countries established sex education programs that ranged from a few lectures given to secondary schools students to integrated and comprehensive lesson beginning in the kindergarten and extending through twelfth grade or junior college. The varieties of subjects covered include: ? The physical process of human reproduction ?The workings of male and female sex organs ?The origin of dissemination and effects of venereal diseases ? Family roles and structures ?The emotional and psychological causes and consequences of sex, marriage and parenting. Redmond,W. A 2008}. Surveys have shown that many parents approve of some type of public school sex education; but in practice there have always been oppositions to such programs. Given the early ages at which at which young people are initiating intercourse, responsible and medically accurate sexuality education can help prevent teenage pregnancy. In view of this, I have the opinion of carrying out a comprehensive research work on the opinion of secondary school teachers on sex education as a means of preventing unwanted pregnancy in adolescents.