Adolescents attitude towards sex education; a study of senior high schools in Kumasi Metropolis

Abstract

Morality of the young is of perennial concern to educators throughout the world. As a result numerous studies have been conducted and various suggestions have been made in order to educate the young people about their sexual functioning. The study was conducted specifically to find out about adolescents attitude towards sex education and their opinions on various sexual issues that are incumbent on development to adulthood sexuality. It was also to establish the need for sex education in schools. A descriptive design was used with a sample size for the study being 320 comprising respondents selected from form two students in eight senior secondary schools in Kumasi Metropolis. The schools were obtained from a stratified, purposive and random sampling. The research revealed a number of findings in respect of the adolescents‘ opinions about the sexual issues involved in their growth to adulthood. These findings which have significant implications are summarised below. Respondents were overwhelmingly in support of the view that sex education should be introduced in the senior high school curriculum. It was also evident that sex education can be improved in the SHSs by establishing counselling centres and also by forming virgin clubs in the schools.