EFFECTIVE WAY OF TEACHING THE ADOLESCENT ABOUT SEX EDUCATION: THE ROLE OF ADVENTIST WOMEN
1.0 Introduction
The largest generation of young people between 15 and 24 was at 1.05 billion and their number is quickly expanding in different countries. With this, it is vital for all the societies to address the educational, health and employment needs of these young people (overpopulation.org n.d.). This is because of the fact that adolescents are prone and expose to different sexual issues and problems such as young pregnancy, early marriage and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (overpopulation.org n.d.). Thus, in order to prevent this, it is important to focus on proper education, in order for the teens to know about their options in dealing with sex.
This paper will focus on studying the effectiveness of curriculum and methods being used in teaching sex education towards adolescents in Adventist schools by woman.
2.0 Background of the Study
Adventists focuses on healthful living, programs and schools. With Adventists opened schools in different parts of the United States, thus in the beginning of 1897, the growth of the said schools started and continued up to the 20th century. Thus, Adventist schools focuses on reflecting the common core principles and pertains on the curriculum which focus on the needs of the society, such as nursing, medicine, social work and education. In 2006, the global Adventist Church has already educated about 1,436,290 students in 7,284 schools, from elementary through university levels (Lasley II & Hunt 2010).
Sex education is considered as intensely debated issue in contemporary Western society. This is particularly because of the fact that, religious and political issues will be considered. For the Catholic Church which considered itself as pro-life, using contraceptives will be a big no, while for the government, due to economic and social impact of sexual activities of teens, this is important. There are also some studies which show that sex education can boost the level of sexual intercourse (Fahlbusch & Bromiley 2005).
3.0 Objectives of the Study
The main aim of the study is to evaluate and present the effective ways of teaching the adolescent about sex education, focusing on the role of Adventist women. In line with this, the following are the objectives of the study:
- to present the different methods, approaches, procedures and strategies being implemented by Adventists in their sex education programs;
- to analyze and asses the roles of Adventist women in educating the youth or adolescent about sex education; and
- to evaluate the effectiveness of sex education programs of Adventists from the perspectives of the parents, students/adolescents and the teachers.
4.0 Methodology
The research design used in this study is the descriptive approach. A descriptive research intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study (Creswell, 1994; Saunders et al, 2003). It is also concerned with relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt, or trends that are developing. In addition, such approach tries to describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research (Creswell, 1994; Saunders et al, 2003), while, new researches suggested that comprehensive sex education can lead to less teen pregnancy (Kohler & Manhart 2008).
4.1 Data Collection
The survey method, also known as the questionnaire method, will be used in gathering the data for this study.
Surveys are the most common form of research method for collection of primary data (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000). One of its purpose is to describe, e.g., to count the frequency of some event or to assess the distribution of some variables such as proportion of the population of different age groups, sex, religion, castes and languages, knowledge, attitude and adaption of practices about particular issues, and other information of similar nature about the population (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000).
4.2 Sample Frame
The target sample of this study will be 50 Adventist woman sex education teachers, 250 students (100 adolescents and 50 young adults (graduated from the school/alumnus)) and 100 parents.
4.3 Data Analysis
The data results of the study will be analyzed by determining their corresponding frequency, percentage and weighted mean. The following statistical formulas will be used:
1. Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.
n
% = -------- x 100 ; n – number of responses
N N – total number of respondents
2. Weighted Mean
f1x1 + f2x2 + f3x3 + f4x4 + f5x5
x = --------------------------------------------- ;
xt
where: f – weight given to each response
x – number of responses
xt – total number of responses
4.4 Timetable
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Problem
Identification
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Choice of
Methodology
Data
Sources
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis
Writing up
Draft
Editing
Final
Document
Binding of
Document
5.0 References
Commonwealth of Learning 2000, Manual for Educational Media Researchers: Knowing your Audience, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), Vancouver, Canada.
Creswell, J W 1994, Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, Sage, California.
Fahlbusch, E & Bromiley, G W 2005, The Encyclopaedia of Christianity, Volume 4, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Kohler, P K, Manhart, L E & Lafferty, W E 2008, ‘Abstinence-Only and Comprehensive Sex Educatioin and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy’, Journal of Adolescence Health, vol. 42, no. 4.
Lasley, T J, II, Hunt, T, Raisch, C D & Carper, J 2010, Encyclopaedia of Educational Reform and Dissent, SAGE.
Teen Pregnancy, overpopulation.org, http://www.overpopulation.org/teenpreg.htm (access 26 May 2010).
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