Social Studies Teachers’ Teaching of Sex Education: Effect of Cultural Belief

Sex education is an education concerning problems of human sexuality namely human sexual structure, sexual reproduction and intercourse, procreative well-being, psychological relations, the right to reproduction, abstinence from illicit sexual act, birth control, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, and other facets of man’s sexual behaviour. In the opinion of Orji & Anikweze (1998), teaching related sex and sexual issues include the teaching of the human sexual organs and their functions, human reproduction, gender equality, cleanliness during menstrual periods, and vulnerabilities of unwholesome sexual acts. Sex education introduction in Nigeria schools’ curriculum has been met with vehement demonstrations and disapproval by parents and the public who because of their traditional belief felt sex education is a way of acquainting school children to early sexual relationship and sexual intercourse and subsequent pregnancies. Teachers of sex education, Social Studies teachers inclusive, feel uncomfortable to efficient and effectively teach it due to the simple reason that it is against the culture of the people to talk and discuss sex and sensitive organs of the human person openly (Ogwu, 2001). In nearly every Nigeria society, due to cultural belief, pre-marital sexual relationship is a forbidden, open discussion are bottled-up or suppressed, this no doubt affects the instruction or effective teaching of sex education (Adunola, 2005). Sex education is understood and seen as a taboo to be talked about even by teachers because of cultural standard, norms and tradition. This is due to the societal perception that the teaching of sexual issues is unethical. Thus, instruction in sex education would make the child too familiar with sexual issues and be exposed too early to sexual intercourse and sexual relationship. Sex education was received with mixed feelings when it was introduced in schools in 2002. Its introduction in schools was not well received by the people in northern Nigeria. It thus, created raging controversy particularly in Northern Nigeria (Akande & Akande, 2007). Sex education is an education that is value based. Thus, it is a value full education. However, due to cultural, religious and ethnical diversities, its acceptance as a tool for answers in mostly in controversial areas of sexuality remains challenging (Akande & Akande, 2007). Nigerian culture share disapproval of nonmarital sex and taboos surrounding sexuality (Okazaki, 2002) hence, affecting sex education teaching in schools. ABSTRACT