| dc.description.abstract | The controversy surrounding the teaching of sex education has ranged the world
over, with different schools of thought imposing their attitudes and perception
towards sex and the teaching of the same with little if any consideration of the views
and needs of youth in dynamic society. This dynamism has propagated divergent
perception ranging from reactionary to liberal thought. Consequently, the youth have
been left at crossroads regarding issues of sexuality with no choice but to scavenge
for information on sex from their peers, graffiti, the media and other sources, as
others rather than themselves debate their fate.
It is in this light that this study investigated students' perception of sex education in
Kikuyu Division. Particularly, the study sought to establish the extent to which
students in secondary schools were exposed to sex education, the extent to which
students in secondary schools considered the teaching of sex education appropriate.
Additionally it sought to identify students' sources of knowledge in sex education,
the perceptions of sex education held by students from various socio-cultural
backgrounds and finally assess if boys and girls differed in their perception of sex
education
The literature reviewed gave remarkable insights into the concept of perception. In
addition, sexuality was 'presented as a factor affecting all area of life including
relationships and academic performance. Signals got from external stimuli on
sexuality and sex education were also presented as a factor that influenced and
coloured perception through out life, leading to certain behaviour more so III
adolescence.
A sample of 360 students, was utilized in the study. Three methods of selecting the
sample were used. These were stratified, purposive and simple random sampling.
The research instrument employed for the study was a students' questionnaires.
Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis of data obtained. In
particular, descriptive statistics used included frequencies, percentages and means
while the inferential statistic used was the t-test.
From the findings, it was revealed that :students were not adequately exposed to an
organized school based sex education and that though some aspects of sex education
were being taught in carrier subjects, like biology and SEE, the students got the bulk
of sex information from other sources apart from the school.
Additionally, peers and media were identified as the most popular source of sex
information, in comparison to parents, church and teachers. Moreover, married
teachers of 30 to 40 years of age were ranked highest in a list of the preferred sex
educators. It was also established that school based sex education was regarded
appropriate by an overwhelming majority of the students. Moreover, it was noted
that different socio-cultural backgrounds and gender difference were not responsible
for difference in perception, towards of sex education
In view of the above, certain recommendations were made based on the findings of
the study. Among them were:
1. A review of the existing sex education curriculum should be done to ensure
relevance to students in a dynamic society.
2. A component of life skills be incorporated in the school curriculum to
approach to empower the youth in having a positive perception towards
their sexuality
Finally, the researcher presented some suggestions for further study among them
were:
An investigation on the perception of pupils in primary schools to the teaching of
sex education needs to be carried out.
An evaluation of the existing sex education curriculum in terms of content and
methodology needs to be carried out.
An investigation into 'the possibility of a life skills approach toward the teaching of
sex education in schools. | en |
