Sex Education and Teenage Pregnancy in the Niger Delta: Implications for Secondary School Biology Curriculum in Nigeria

Abstract

Previous studies show that when Nigerian adolescent girls, especially those in the Niger Delta, become pregnant they drop out of school and may never go back again but become low level labourers or miscreants to the society. This study investigated the extent of teenagers involvement in sex, pre-disposition of females to pregnancy in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, the level of readiness of parents to help their teenage daughters if they become pregnant, the level of sex education in secondary schools, the content and context of sex education in the Biology curriculum and how it is reflected in the National policy on education and also examined the need to review the policy vis-à-vis sex education. The study adopted a survey design using Likert-response questionnaires to elicit responses from students, parents, secondary school teenagers and Biology teachers. The results of the analysis using frequency counts, percentages, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that teenage pregnancy is on the increase in the Niger Delta, sex education is not given a place of priority in the Education National Policy, teachers shy away from teaching it in schools, parents do not support sex education in schools but there is an urgent need to incorporate it into the Biology curriculum.

A Study of Special Education Teachers’ Knowledge, Perception, and Self-Efficacy in Implementing Sexual Health Education Programs for Youth with Special Needs

“…The findings contradict prior research, which found a low degree of self-efficacy among teachers when discussing the sexual health education component of the teaching process (Peskin et al, 2015;Rohleder, 2010). However, the findings are consistent with prior Malaysian studies that have emphasized that a teacher's knowledge of sexual health education will impact the success of the teaching process for youth with special needs (Salami, 2017). Furthermore, the findings indicate that the level of perception among the majority of the special education teacher in the Melaka Tengah district is moderate.…”

Pubertal Communication Between School Nurses and Adolescent Girls in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

“…Moreover, information on prevention of STIs and contraception is rarely communicated to adolescents in Nigeria as a result of societal norms contradicting sexual and reproductive education to children and adolescents (Salami, 2015). There is a misconstrued widespread view that discussion of such topics with adolescents will provoke premarital activities (Eko et al, 2013), which is similar to what is practiced in Saudi Arabia (Farih, Khan, Freeth, & Meads, 2014).…”

“…Bangladesh and Nigeria have similar religious values when considering reproductive health communication to adolescents. Certain aspects of reproductive health such as contraception and pubertal changes in adolescents are considered inappropriate to be communicated to adolescents (Alim et al, 2012; Eko et al, 2013; Salami, 2015).…”

Principal’s Involvement of Parents in Student’s Discipline; Assessing its Relationship with Teenage Pregnancy in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

“…Teenage pregnancy remains a persistent global crisis that profoundly impacts the socioeconomic wellbeing of nations, citizens and families since it contributes to high dropout rates, lower academic achievements, early marriages and decreased school attendance for female learners (Molisiwa & Moswela, 2012). Additionally, teenage pregnancy among schooling girls may lead to sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, increased mortality rates as well as effecting the school enrollment (Amadi, 2019). These undesirable impacts have forced nations of the world to adopt different policy initiatives and intervention measures to curb the vice and the prevailing consequences.…”