PARENTS’ PERCEPTION ON CREATING AWARENESS OF SEXUALITY EDUCATION ON PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Sexuality education is the process of obtaining information and creating attitudes and beliefs regarding sex, sexual identity, relationships, and intimacy.   It enhances the abilities of young people to make make well-informed judgments about their behavior and feel confident and confident in carrying them out. It also helps children prepare for developmental challenges and empowers them to defend themselves from problems like bullying, exploitation, and unintended pregnancies.

Sexuality is not only biological, but also sociological and metaphysical, encompassing cultural, political, legal, moral, ethical, theological, spiritual, and religious considerations.However the social convention, not to mention sexuality, has created a discourse around it, thereby making sexuality pervasive.  (O'Sullivan, L. F, Heino, F., Meyer-Bahlburg, & Beverly, X. W. 2012 quoted in Christine M. 2015).

In Nigeria today, sex education has yet to be incorporated into secondary school curricula. Many Nigerians are hesitant to talk freely about sexuality and sexual well being. In most African countries, especially Nigeria, issues of sex and sexuality are usually kept under wraps. Neither the teenage boy nor the adolescent girl has unrestricted access to the sexual details they need. Sexuality and girl-boy relationships are frequently kept under wraps and regarded as taboo subjects. As a result of this behavior, Nigerian teenaged boys and girls are more inclined to seek solutions to sex-related concerns on their own, frequently from dubious sources that may provide them with inaccurate information, leading them to engage in risky and unprotected sexual experimentation. To negotiate safer sex, some adolescents lack basic communication and assertiveness skills.

Adolescents are also unable to make sound decisions when it comes to refusing unwanted sex or even being forced to exchange sex for money. Young people are prone to experimenting with and engaging in sexual behavior that can lead to harmful consequences that will have an impact on their future. Because of the negative repercussions of youngsters engaging in indiscriminate sexual behavior, it is vital to implement sex education programs aimed at enlightenment and appropriate teaching about sex and human sexuality.

However, parents' attitudes on sexuality education are tenacious, and it is difficult for parents to address sexuality education with their children. The primary factors affecting parents from having an in-depth talk on sexuality education with their children have been identified as culture and parents' degree of education. Along with obtaining sexuality education at school, it is crucial to examine the sexuality education that parents provide their children at home. The majority of adults (88%) agreed that parents should speak to their children about sexual health, but they frequently don't know what to speak about, how to say it, or when to start (O'Sullivan et al., 2012, quoted in Christine M. 2015). Since they are the first socialization agent, it is thus vital for parents to educate their young children about sexuality education, as this will go a long way toward shaping their children's sexual knowledge and behavior, minimizing the likelihood of them being sexually attacked or engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior. Therefore I upon this premise that this topic is set to examine Parents’ Perception of Creating Awareness of Sexuality Education on Primary School Children.

1.2 Statement of the problem

It has been documented in literature that the social and cultural landscape of most African cultures is dominated by a "culture of silence" when it comes to addressing sexual matters, due to the fact that sexual related topics are considered taboo in African culture. The silence culture established a contact divide between children and their parents in the home, which explained why children were disciplined for misbehavior and did not challenge their parents. Parents never permitted or empowered their children to interact with people of the opposite sex, and their children are instinctively unable to pose questions about sexual problems for fear of being seen as rude and disobedient. Sexual issues were labeled as adult-only problems, and whenever an inquisitive teenager dared to inquire regarding his or her sexuality, he or she was either dismissed or mocked. The misconception that children need not be taught about their sexuality remains a difficult problem since the social milieu of many conservative cultures also restricts such contact.

Parents are the major sources of norms and values for children. In the context of permissiveness, the sexual norms of parents are the first to which children are exposed, laying the groundwork for eventual sexual growth. SIECUS (2015) conducted a study on parent-child sexuality communication and discovered that the gains of such communication may not be seen in the actual substance of the communication as well as in the behaviors expressed by parents. He went on to say that if parents impact their children's views regarding sexuality, it is most likely via the transfer of attitudes and values.

These results, according to Christine M. (2015), explain why children who can communicate to their parents about their sexuality are less likely to participate in sexual activity and are more responsible in their approaches to sexual engagement.

A substantial amount of children encounter significant misinformation regarding sexuality problems from their classmates, and parents give relatively little clear sexuality knowledge to their children. Since children do not learn about sexuality through interactions with their parents, all of the knowledge they get from them is observational and indirect. According to research, parents are reluctant to recognize that their children are maturing and feel intimidated by their children's sexual development, making it difficult to address sexuality-related concerns with their children. As a result, many parents, including the best of parents who are committed to their children's future, feel incompetent, unable, and ill prepared, either factually, emotionally, or both, to teach their children about sexuality development, sexuality relations, and reproductive health in all of its physical, social, and ethical implications and consequences, which is harmful to the child by exposing them to this information. However it is upon this premise that this study is set to examine Parents’ Perception of Creating Awareness of Sexuality Education on Primary School Children.

1.3 Objective of the study

The broad objectives of this study is to examine Parents’ Perception of Creating Awareness of Sexuality Education on Primary School Children. Specifically it seeks

1. To examine the aspect of sexuality information parent will want to give to their adolescents.

2. To examine factors that hinders parents from sexually educating their children.

3. To investigate if parent level of education influence their perception on creating sex education awareness in primary school children.

4. To investigate the implication attached to parents failure in educating their children.

1.4 Research Question

The following research question guides the study

1. what the aspect of sexuality information parent will want to give to their adolescents?

2. What are the  factors that hinders parents from sexually educating their children?

3. Does parent level of education influence their perception on creating sex education awareness in primary school children?

4. What are the implication attached to parents failure in educating their children?

1.5 Significance of the study

This study will be helpful to parents, teachers and curriculum planners. To parent, the study will enlighten them on the importance of sexually educating their children. Therefore the findings from this study will create awareness for parents to engage themselves in providing sexuality education for their adolescents; children in order for them not to take part in risky sexual behaviour such as indiscriminate in choice of sexual partner. This also will help to create educational strategies to enlighten parents on the vantage of sexuality education, which will foster efficient parent-child communication on sexuality issues. To curriculum planners it will enlighten them on the need to inculcate sex education on their curriculum and see that trained teachers implement such instruction effectively at the primary level of education. This research will contribute to the body of knowledge, serve as reference material and also create a platform for further research which will provide parents with greater understanding of how to provide access to sexuality information and how to reduce misinformation, increase correct knowledge, clarify and strengthen positive values and attitudes, increase skills to make informed decisions and increase communication with their adolescents.

1.6 Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on  the Parents’ Perception of Creating Awareness of Sexuality Education on Primary School Children. This study is limited to selected local government in Oyo  State.

1.7 Limitation of the study

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

However in the midst  above mentioned limitation the researcher devotedly ensured that the purpose of the study was actualized.

1.8 Definition of terms

Human Sexuality: This is a broad concept that includes aspects of the physical, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual make-up of an individual and the constitution of an individual in relation to sexual attitudes or activity.

 Sexuality education : This is a lifelong process of acquiring information and forming attitudes, beliefs and values about gender towards building a strong foundation for sexual health.

Perceptive: Perceptive is the idea, knowledge, insight a person have about a subject. It refers to one having or showing sensitive insight about a matter.

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