Parental involvement in school-based sexuality education in primary schools in Nyimba district, Zambia.

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Date
2024
Authors
Masilani, Mweene
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Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
The study explored the involvement of rural parents in school-based Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) to learners in four rural Primary Schools in Nyimba district in Eastern Province in Zambia. The objectives of the study were to explore how CSE was taught in rural Primary schools in Nyimba District and establish the challenges faced by teachers in the provision of sexuality education lessons in schools in the district, determine parental involvement in sexuality education in the selected schools, and determine the challenges faced by parents when communicating with children on sexuality matters. A case study design which was supported by qualitative methods of data collection was used in the study. A case study was utilized to gain concrete, contextual, and in-depth knowledge about parental involvement in school based CSE program implementation. In addition, a case study was used to evaluate how school-based Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) program was being implemented and explore how successful the program was. The study relied on the interpretivist paradigm to comprehend the beliefs, motivations, and reasoning of study participants which in turn enabled me to decode the meaning of the data which was collected. The paradigm was also utilized to enable me to gain further depth through experiences and perceptions of participants regarding parental involvement in school-based sexuality education programs. Interview guides were used to generate qualitative data and 28 study participants were enrolled on the study. Purposive sampling was utilized to identify and select participants who were best suited to answer the research questions. The participants comprised of 12 teachers from the selected Primary schools and 16 parents from villages around the schools. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Thematic analysis was utilised to allow for an in-depth examination of the matters contained in the data by classifying and matching themes which were similar. The study found that CSE was being taught in the sampled Primary schools using an integrated approach. The study findings also revealed that the provision of school -based sexuality education was difficult due to lack of adequate teaching and learning materials. In addition, the findings revealed that some parents acknowledged that teaching sexuality education in schools was progressive and that parents talk to their children about sexuality education matters in their homes. However, findings indicated that some parents were concerned with the content of the curriculum which they view as not to be age appropriate for the learners. It was recommended that teachers who teach CSE be supported with adequate teaching materials to achieve success. It was also recommended that sensitization be carried out among parents to provide more information to parents and guardians to reduce misperceptions surrounding the teaching of Comprehensive Sexuality Education to Primary School going pupils. Key words: Comprehensive Sexuality Education, School-based programs, age appropriate, Children, Learners
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Thesis of Master of Education in Educational Psychology.
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