Sex Education in the Schools 3

Sex Education in the Schools: Perceptions/Attitudes

Among Students, Parents and Teachers

In December 2012, the Philippine government passed a landmark law called the

Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, also known as the Reproductive

Health (RH) Act. This act provides for government funding for contraceptives and sex education

in the public school curriculum. According to this bill, sex education should be age-appropriate

and be taught to students ranging from ages 10 to 19. The RH Act also provides for subsidized

contraceptives, which will be stocked at government health centers and be made available to the

poor.

Even though the bill is now a law, the government is faced with fierce opposition to this

act and its implementation. One of its strongest opponents is the Catholic Church. The Catholic

Church believes that sex education in the school system will, among other things, promote

promiscuity. Promiscuity and sex outside of marriage go directly against the core values of the

Catholic belief system. Regardless, the bill was passed and the government attempts to decouple

the act from the religious grip that is still pervasive and preventing it from getting implemented.

I did my research on one of the important aspects of the RH Act --- sex education. I

wanted to find out what are the perceptions/attitudes of the students, the parents, and the teachers

of sex education in public high schools. I believe it is important to find out what they believe and

if they believe it is important and beneficial to them. Hence, my research was focused on the

perceptions/attitudes of the students, the parents, and the teachers towards sex education in

public high schools. The absence of research on the perceptions of the necessity and benefits of

sex education in public high schools is what convinced me that research on this topic is
 Sex Education in the Schools 4

necessary.

Two different forms of sex education are described --- the Comprehensive Sex Education

and the Abstinence-until-marriage Sex Education. Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE)

encompasses a wide-ranging and multi-faceted debate on whether sex education should be taught

as early as the primary school up until high school. It is a rights-based and gender-equitable

educational form of sexuality, gender, sexual and reproductive health, and sexual behavior. It

highlights the notion that sexuality plays an important role in personal development, and it

empowers young people to make autonomous and informed decisions, without undermining the

idea that young sexual desire is natural and normal. It encourages students to withstand the

pressure to have sex by helping develop personal attributes such as self-esteem, personal

responsibilities, relationship skills, and respect for self and others (Simson & Sussman, 2000).

Abstinence-until-marriage Sex Education (also known as Abstinence-only), on the other

hand, encourages the abstinence of sex until marriage and often avoids the discussion of the use

of contraceptives and disease-prevention methods (Dailard, 2001; USDOH, 2002). The goal was

to emphasize the notion that abstinence until marriage was the morally right thing to do and that

premarital sex could lead to destructive and uncontrollable results (Simson & Sussman, 2000;

Wellings et al., 2006). Moreover, abstinence-only sex education claims that condoms and other

contraceptives have no use, could fail to provide the anticipated protection, and could even lead

to health risks, whilst also asserting that they do not protect emotional and/or psychological

problems derived from having premarital sex. It teaches that abortion is both morally and

medically irresponsible, highlighting physical complications that can result from it. Finally, it

supports the concept of dating as a means to get to know one another better before marriage.
 Sex Education in the Schools 5

The influence of parents on the education of their children is quite significant. It is often

difficult for them to come to terms with the idea that their child will need to learn about

reproductive and sexual health. The perceptions and rationale that justify why parents prefer their

children not to learn about sex at a young age is often logical. However, it is not always practical

in a world where teenage pregnancies are rampant and population growth is ever increasing

(UNFPA, 2012).

Fentahun et al. (2012) conducted a study that measured the perceptions/attitudes of

parents when recognizing the benefits of sex education curriculum. After having a thorough

understanding of what exactly this program would entail, and the implications it would have on

their child, parents would be much more likely to allow their child to take part in sex education

program.

Meanwhile, teaching social skills relevant to sexual behavior in classroom setting

requires special expertise in program design and delivery by teachers (Schaalma et al., 2004). It

is absolutely pertinent that those who teach these skills are confident and are able to create an

atmosphere of trust and safety. The teacher should be open to the different experiences and

insights that students express, and can use these as the bases of learning. Teachers should have

confidence and knowledge base that can be deployed when necessary (Bernstein, 2000;

Schaalma et al., 2004; Goldman, 2012). The challenge, however, is whether teachers can be

attributed with such capabilities that make them able and suitable to teach in social contexts that

may be intimidating in a debate about sex, or to see entirely in terms of imposing the prevailing

norms (Bernstein, 2000; Francis, 2010).

 Sex Education in the Schools 6

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to acquire knowledge of the under-researched perspective

for the necessity of sex education in public high schools. This study sought to identify what

students, parents, and teachers believe the needs, challenges, and potential outcomes are of sex

education in public high schools. Further, it sought to find out what the different stakeholders’

recommendations are for future improvements.

Research Questions

The research questions for this study include the following:

1. What are the perceptions/attitudes of students, parents, and teachers of sex education

in public high schools in relation to:

a) Needs?

b) Challenges?

c) Potential outcomes?

2. What are the different stakeholders’ perceived recommendations for future

improvements of sex education in public high schools?

Relevance of the Study

The Reproductive Health Act (RHA) was finally passed in 2012 and has since become a

law. Because this is such a new law, not much research has been done on the perspective of the

implications of integrating sex education in public high schools. The RHA was made into law to

empower women from the poorest sections of the society to be able to access facilities operated

by DOH or the local government, to request information on family planning products or

contraceptives of their choice. The Philippine government wants to make an indigent married
 Sex Education in the Schools 7

woman to become aware of her reproductive rights and provide her with the opportunity to make

informed decisions concerning responsible family planning.

This study is relevant because I believe this could be a basis to recognize the importance

of sound sexual/reproductive health care. Many have perceived that those with influence refuse

to acknowledge the need to educate people about sexual/reproductive health. Many have

perceived such negative attitude as cruelty to the poor. Some even argue that the reason for poor

people’s misery is that they just have too many children (Sales, 2012). Providing information

about sexual/reproductive health through government intervention by way of sex education is the

most humane thing the government could do for the poor (Padilla, 2010). Government

intervention could aid the poor in escaping the vicious cycle of poverty. Providing awareness of

sexual/reproductive health care and responsible parenthood and family planning gives the poor

options to manage their sexual behavior, plan the size of their families, and control their

procreative activities. Moreover, through this study people may become aware of their

reproductive rights to include the idea of being able to make sexual/reproductive decisions free

from discrimination, coercion, and violence.

According to statistics (DOHPhil, 2012), the mortality rate of poor mothers during

childbirth increased over the past few years. This finding suggests that not only women but also

children suffer from the lack of reproductive health care and awareness of access of maternal

care (GMA News, 2012; Padilla, 2010). Children remain undernourished and uneducated

because of their parents’ lack of empowerment, ignorance, and unawareness of their reproductive

rights and health care choices. Hopefully, through sex education all these necessities could be

satisfied. For poor women and children to feel empowered, as this study would show, sex
 Sex Education in the Schools 8

education is essential to combat unplanned teenage pregnancies, high abortion rates, marriage

and/or live-in at a very young age, and the contraction of HIV/AIDS and other sexually

transmitted diseases.

Since sex education is more or less a new topic to research, this study could be used as

basis towards more researches to substantiate findings to further contributions in the research

field. There is still a great need for sex education. I hope this study opens up the eyes of many to

continue doing researches about what the needs are and developing ways of meeting those needs.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical foundation of this study is mainly based on research in psychology and

education. These researches are applicable as they explain the underlying psychology behind the

need for sex education in public high schools and its importance in helping individuals make

informed decisions. I address three main categories of my framework --- the Role of Education,

Theories on Perceptions of Sex Education, and the Global Sex Education Debates. These three

main categories combined could give an overall understanding of how the perceptions/attitudes

of the stakeholders --- the students, the parents, and the teachers --- of the need, of the

challenges, and of the potential outcomes of sex education in public high schools can be formed,

and which practical approaches could later become recommendations for future improvements.

The Role of Education

This study honed in on the implications of improving sex education and on the

importance of a sound approach through incorporating sex education in public high schools.

Education in general should be used to empower children and adults to become active

participants in the transformation of society (UNESCO, 2013). Sex education in particular

 Sex Education in the Schools 9

should empower individuals to make informed decisions about their reproductive health, as

responsible family planning, the availability and use of contraceptives, respect for their bodies,

prevention of HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies.

Education is a fundamental human right and promotes individual freedom and

empowerment, provides large developmental gains. Investing in education would lead to a long-

term increase in economic growth (Cordoba & Ripoll, 2007). Sex education, in particular

promotes freedom and empowerment in individuals because it helps them make educated choices

about their reproductive health, their bodies, and the size of their families. Investing in sex

education would most likely lead to a decrease in the population growth rate which seems to be a

necessity to combat poverty. This may potentially help close the gap in knowledge of

reproductive health among the rich and the poor. Therefore, it is inevitable that the role of

education is highly important, mainly as a long-term investment in human capital and benefits in

economic stability. Education plays an important role in developing a nation, and sex education

in particular would play an important role in developing a nation where individuals are

empowered to make educated decisions about reproductive health.

Theories of Perception

Different learning and development theories could shape the way in which one perceives

the world and his/her surroundings. I would relate them to sex education and how these

perceptions could be accounted for in the transformation of people’s minds as they go through

different stages of cognitive development. I would apply these concepts as they relate to my

study.

Social Learning Theory. Social Learning Theory (SLT) was developed by Albert
 Sex Education in the Schools 10

Bandura (Bandura et al., 1961 as cited in Myers, 2008) and claims that individuals learn within

the social context by watching and imitating the behaviors of others. People learn behaviors from

the surroundings and environment in which they find themselves. SLT focuses mainly on the

social influences of the individual’s behavior and claims that behavior is learned through

interaction with and observation of others. Certain reinforcements, such as reward and

punishment, and the individual’s attitudes enhance behavior. Its practical application is that an

individual’s sexuality can be seen as a learned and socially constructed behavior (Gabb, 2004).

By teaching the youth how to modify sexual behavior and providing them with choices,

individuals may learn how to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and in turn influence those around

them through interaction and observation. Applying SLT, it is merely accomplished by observing

and interacting with people in the social context.

Relating SLT to this study, it is assumed that children learn gender-based promiscuous

sexual behavior through the media and through observing other individuals in their gender group.

By integrating gender-based sex education in public high schools may encourage children’s

exposure to a different angle of sexuality, one of preventing sexual promiscuity and another of

developing healthy relationships among genders. It is assumed that the youth would most likely

imitate what they learn and observe about prevention (e.g., HIV and unwanted pregnancy

preventions), healthy relationships, and saying ‘NO’ to peer pressure, and become much better

equipped to deal with real-life situations and be able to make informed decisions.

Cognitive Development Theory. Piaget developed the Cognitive Development Theory

(CDT) which categorizes cognitive development into four pre-determined stages (Piaget, 1955 as

cited in Myers, 2008). CDT claims that individuals become more aware and understand things
 Sex Education in the Schools 11

and concepts more intricately as they pass through these stages. The two stages that Piaget

identified as relating to this study are concrete operational and formal operational stages. In the

concrete operational stage, an individual is able to identify different features of objects and is

able to order them in series along a single dimension (e.g., according to size). In the formal

operational stage, an individual becomes aware of and concerned with hypothetical issues, as the

future and ideological problems.

Piaget suggests that an individual reaches a certain stage of cognitive development at a

specific age. Hence, educators need to be fully aware of what aspect of sex education needs to be

taught at these stages of cognitive development. Moreover, according to Buston and Wright

(2004), there is a direct correlation between the level of maturity of a child who engages in sex

education and the level of participation in sex education. They claimed that when integrating sex

education in the public schools, the educators must tailor-fit their subject matter to the level of

cognitive maturity of their students. The more mature the individual, the more likely he/she

participates.

Brown and Eisenberg (2005) claim that cognitive development in the adolescent years is

strongly linked to behaviors that result in unintended pregnancies. They compared unintended

pregnancy rates among different age groups and determined the level of cognitive development

of individuals in these groups. They concluded that in order to combat unwanted pregnancies, it

is important to teach sex education to individuals who are approaching these particular stages of

cognitive development so that they could make informed choices and prevent unwanted teenage

pregnancies.
 Sex Education in the Schools 12

Psychosocial Development Theory. Erik Erikson (1959 as cited in Myers, 2008)

developed the Psychosocial Development Theory (PDT) and discussed eight stages he called

psychosocial stages. Erikson believed that individuals should pass through these eight stages

from infancy to late adulthood in the life cycle. Each stage is characterized by the individual

learning new skills and overcoming difficulties. Each stage builds on the successful completion

of the previous stage. If the individual has not completed the previous stage, the individual

encounters unexpected problems at a subsequent stage. Two directly opposing outcomes are

expected in each stage.

The psychosocial stage that relates to this study is the fifth stage which addressed identity

and role confusion that takes place around the period of adolescence. Individuals who constantly

look for their identity would have a bigger chance of getting excluded from the ‘mainstream’.

These are the individuals who are more likely to drop out of school. Gest et al. (1999) argued

that this pattern of behavior was strongly associated with teenage pregnancy. Their conclusion

was that individuals who fit the ‘non-mainstream’ norm were more likely to engage in risky

sexual behavior at an early age. Following Erikson’s theory, it would be important to include

issues of identity, roles, and relationships in sex education. It is also important to include gender

roles. Experiencing gender roles could help adolescents achieve a sense of well-being which

could contribute to their adjustment as adults (Measor, 2004).

Global Sex Education Debates. This study is framed between two major opposites in

global sex education debates --- the Comprehensive Sex Education and Abstinence-until-

marriage Sex Education.

 Sex Education in the Schools 13

Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) highlights the notion that sexuality plays an

important role in people’s personal development and empowers young people to make

autonomous and informed decisions, without undermining the idea that young sexual desire is

natural and normal. However, it is still up to the individual to decide whether or not he/she

chooses to engage in sexual behaviors and activities. Simson and Sussman (2000) state that

children should begin receiving sex education as early as kindergarten (about 5 years old) until

grade 12 (about 18 years old) so that they can be provided with opportunities for developing

skills as well as learning information that fits contextually the current needs of youth today.

Abstinence-until-marriage Sex Education (also known as Abstinence-only) encourages

the abstinence of sex until marriage and often avoids the discussion of the use of contraceptives

and disease prevention methods. This exaggerates health risks related to abortion, or the risks of

pregnancies despite the use of condoms, in order to deter individuals from sexual activity, and by

doing so, they actually disseminate misinformation. It supports the concept of dating as a means

to get to know one another better before marriage, but also asserts that a return to the traditional

arranged marriages could be beneficial, claiming such marriages could likely put together two

individuals of similar educational and economic backgrounds, and could therefore be more

‘harmonious’ rather than mixed marriages (SIECUS, 2001). Finally, it provides little information

about homosexuality, mentioning it explicitly in relation to HIV/AIDS, thereby warning people

to avoid homosexual behavior in order to prevent the spread of the disease (USDOH, 2002;

Kirby, 2001).
 Sex Education in the Schools 14

Conceptual Framework

I decided to do my research on one of the important aspects of the RH Act --- sex

education in the public schools. I wanted to find out what the perceptions/attitudes are of the

students, the parents, and the teachers. What exactly are the perceptions/attitudes of these

stakeholders of sex education as part of the public school program? What are the perceived

needs, challenges, and potential outcomes of sex education in public schools? What do these

stakeholders perceived the recommendations to be for future improvements? Since the youth

would be most affected of sex education, I believe it is important to find out what these

stakeholders believe and if they believe that sex education is important and beneficial to them.

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the study

 Sex Education in the Schools 15

Methodology

At this juncture, I would discuss my research methodology and the strategies I used to

collect my data and the different techniques I employed throughout the process. In addition, the

limitations of the study, particularly in the collection of data, and the ethical considerations are

also discussed.

Research Design

My study was primarily descriptive and exploratory to gain understanding and insight of

the perceptions and attitudes of students, parents, and teachers on the issue of sex education in

the public schools. It looked and described information in themes and patterns exclusive to the

participants. My techniques consisted of analysis of related documents regarding sex education,

questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussion. Data collected from interviews and

focus-group-discussion were probed and content analyzed. They were given more emphasis

throughout this study.

Research Techniques/Instruments

Analysis of documents. The documents that were analyzed consisted of reports from

DOHIligan, DepEdIligan, the RH Act of 2012, social media websites/webpages, as well as local

newspapers containing information on sexual/reproductive health. These documents served as

integral parts of the techniques in that they provided reliable information and supported

communication among all stakeholders.

Interview. Semi-structured interviews were conducted alternately in groups of five --- one

group consisting 5 parents (male and female parents), another group consisting 5 teachers (male
 Sex Education in the Schools 16

and female teachers), another group consisting 5 female students, another group consisting 5

male students, and the last group consisting 5 students (male and female). Overall, a total of 25

participants willingly underwent the interview process. During the process, each group was

asked a set of 6 questions. Responses to each question were further probed for clarification and

validation. All that transpired were cautiously recorded in a voice recorder. On average, each

interview lasted for 60 minutes.

Focus group discussion (FGD). FGD was conducted with student-participants only.

Fifteen students (8 females and 7 males), whose ages ranged from 11-18 years old, willingly

participated. Each student was given paper and pen and was asked to write down all related

terms that came to mind about sex education. A wide variety of teenage appropriate questions

that dealt with dating relationships, anatomy, contraception, and the sex act were asked about.

The point was to test their knowledge on what they were taught and where they learned them.

Their perspectives on each topic differed greatly, which was probably due to the co-ed

environment and the wide age difference.

Questionnaire. The questionnaire is composed of two parts. Part 1 consisted of items that

describe the demographic profile of the participants. Part 11 consisted of 6 open-ended questions

translated into the Visayan and/or Tagalog dialect for easy comprehension. The questionnaire is

the main research tool used in this study. It is self-constructed which underwent the process of

item analysis employing a panel of experts. All participants were requested to answer the items

in both parts.
 Sex Education in the Schools 17

Research Locale

My study was conducted in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. Three randomly selected public

high schools of the city provided the necessary data --- Iligan City National High School, Iligan

City East National High School, and MSU-IIT Integrated Developmental School.

Iligan City is located in the northeastern part of Mindanao and facing Iligan Bay 800

kilometers southeast of Metro Manila. It covers an area of not less than 813.37 sq. km.

comprising 44 barangays. It has a type C climate characterized by short, low sun dry season.

Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year. It is located outside the typhoon belt, relatively

an earthquake-free zone. It is considered a highly industrialized city with a population of more or

less 308, 046 (August 2014 Census) which is predominantly Roman Catholic and speaks the

Cebuano dialect. (www.iligan.gov.ph)

Iligan City National High School (ICNHS) was the former Iligan City High School

(ICHS) established on July 1, 1963 by the Honorable City Mayor Camilo P. Cabili. It started to

offer the first and second year high school with an initial enrollment of 264 students and 13

teachers. Twenty years later, the school’s enrollment increased tremendously and the budget

skyrocketed to Php4million from Php64thousand in 1963. In November 1983, ICHS was

nationalized upon recommendation of Mayor Cabili by a bill sponsored by Assemblyman

Abdullah Dimaporo. The bill was signed into law, and ICHS became ICNHS. ICNHS pursues

the educational goals and objectives of DepEd and directs all efforts to contribute towards the

attainment of national development. It is one of the biggest public high schools in Region X in

terms of student population. (www.iligan.gov.ph)

 Sex Education in the Schools 18

Iligan City East National High School (ICENHS) is the former Regional Science High

School. It is a public/state high school located at Brgy. Sta. Felomina, Iligan City established in

1985 and use English and Filipino as the media of communication. ICENHS offers a curriculum

based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines --- science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics. It is conducted in interdisciplinary and applied approaches. Its

Supreme Student Government is the foremost co-curricular student organization authorized to

operate and implement pertinent programs, projects, and activities in school.

(www.iligan.gov.ph)

MSU-IIT Integrated Developmental High School (IDS) is the high school department of

MSU-IIT in Iligan City. It was established in 1946 as the Iligan High School (IHS) to respond to

the need of the Iligan constituents to have their own high school. Later, it was named Lanao

Technical School (LTS) specializing in vocational and technical courses, but was never

implemented. It became Northern Mindanao Institute of Technology through RA 4626. In July

12, 1968, under RA 5363, it was annexed to MSU-IIT and was renamed Developmental High

School (DHS). Currently, under BOR Resolution No. 147 s 1992, it is known as Integrated

Developmental School (IDS), a laboratory school of the College of Education of MSU-IIT. It is

located at Saray-Tibanga, Iligan City and has a population of 2635 students and 30 teachers.

(www.iligan.gov.ph)

Research Participants

Two hundred twelve participants from three randomly selected public high schools

provided the necessary data for this study. They were randomly chosen and further clustered into

90 students (29 males and 61 females), 90 parents (20 males and 70 females), and 32 science
 Sex Education in the Schools 19

teachers (9 males and 23 females). Student-participants’ ages ranged from 11-18 years old (mean

age is 14.3 years); parent-participants’ ages ranged from 32-50 years old (mean age is 35.8

years), and teacher-participants’ ages ranged from 26-35 years old (mean age is 29.2 years).

Majority of the participants are Roman Catholics and are females. Participants were more or less

evenly distributed in the three randomly selected public high schools. In addition, parent-

participants were actually the parents of the student-participants. For a more descriptive

demographic profile of the participants, please refer to Table 1.

Table 1

Demographic profile of participants (N=212)

Participants Location/School Sex Religious group Frequency

Students (N=90) ICNHS (N=30) F Roman Catholic 20
M Roman Catholic 4
UCCP 3
Evangelical Christian 3
ICENHS (N=30) F Roman Catholic 8
UCCP 2
Evangelical Christian 10
M Roman Catholic 7
UCCP 3
IDS (N=30) F Roman Catholic 11
Evangelical Christian 10
M Roman Catholic 9
Parents (N=90) ICNHS (N= 30) F Roman Catholic 20
UCCP 2
M Roman Catholic 4
Evangelical Christian 4
ICENHS (N=30) F Roman Catholic 23
M UCCP 7
IDS (N=30) F Roman Catholic 15
UCCP 10
 M Roman Catholic 5
Teachers (N=32) ICNHS (N=11) F Roman Catholic 7
M Roman Catholic 4
ICENHS (N=9) F Roman Catholic 6
M Roman Catholic 3
IDS (N=12) F Roman Catholic 4
UCCP 6
M UCCP 2
Note: Mean age--- students: 14.3 years; parents: 35.8 years; teachers: 29.2 years

Limitations of the Study

There were quite a few limitations in this study. To start, the sample was too large to

accommodate every opinion of the participants due to lack of time. This is the reason why only

the willing participants were included in group interviews and focus group discussion. Further,

the notion of sex education is a highly sensitive topic and many were not very comfortable

discussing such a taboo topic. For example, religion and gender limitations often prevented a

participant from answering completely, or feeling like they were allowed to talk about a sexual

issue without going against their faith. Boys and girls did not like to discuss their answers in the

presence of one another. Moreover, very unfortunately, some interviews were conducted in a

noisy environment, and there might be some information being missed in recording. Most of all,

participants might be supplying only ‘socially acceptable answers’ and were not being honest

and truthful in their responses. Furthermore, findings hold true only to participants of this study.

They could not be considered true to all others --- students, parents, and teachers in other

locations. Otherwise, results become unreliable. Hence, there is no generalizability of findings.

Ethical Considerations

Before data collection, a written proposal was presented to a professional in the field.

Lengthy discussions were carried out to ensure clarity and transparency of purpose. All collected

data were kept strictly confidential. A written informed consent was presented and participants
 Sex Education in the Schools 21

were requested to sign them. Before any interview and FGD started, participants were informed

that their responses would be treated with utmost confidentiality and their identities would be

anonymous. After all data collection activities ended, debriefing was conducted, after which

participants were treated to a food trip.

Results and Discussion

This section relates to the various perspectives of the participants when asked about sex

education in the public schools. Participants discussed their concepts of sex education and from

where they learned them, a diverse profuse needs, challenges, and potential outcomes that they

perceived to be of particular interest. In addition, they also provided recommendations they

perceived important for future improvements. To some extent, there were different responses to

some other items, although it was observed that some responses overlapped in relation to needs,

challenges, and potential outcomes.

A. Concepts and Sources of Information of Sex Education

This section presents the participants’ responses to the items in the questionnaire “1.What

is your concept of sex education?” and “2.What are your sources of information about sex

education?”

Table 2

Concepts and sources of information of sex education (N=212)

Concepts* Students (N=90) Parents (N=90) Teachers(N=32)

The sex act 79 85 17

A family concern 50 68 15

Reproductive health 20 60 21
Premarital sex 19 45 10

Unwanted pregnancy 15 43 10

Contraception (e.g.,condoms, 14 40 13
etc.)

Source of information*

Social media 85 80 25

Teachers 80 75 24

Health workers 78 68 22

Parents 61 81 15

*multiple responses

Results indicate that majority of students and parents have limited knowledge about what

sex education really is. They maliciously perceived and associated sex education to the sex act

itself. Both students and parents considered sex education as a family concern. Moreover, most

participants identified the social media as the primary sources of information. However, students

indicated that they also wanted to know more about it from their parents, and are willing to have

sex education in the schools. Parents, on the other hand, identified themselves, teachers and

health workers as responsible agents of sex education, and favored that it be taught in schools.

B. Perceived Needs for Sex Education

In this section, I illustrate the process how I organized and structured my data. To start,

all audio recordings from the interviews and focus group discussion were accurately transcribed

verbatim. Once all transcriptions were completed, I developed a code list which came through

the patterns I noticed in the interviews, focus group discussion and questionnaire. I especially

looked out for perceived needs, challenges, potential outcomes, and recommendations, which are
 Sex Education in the Schools 23

actually the main questions that this study aims to answer. It is important to notice that an item in

the questionnaire is presented before the findings.

Item 3: What are the perceived needs for sex education in public high schools?

Table 3

Perceived needs for sex education (N=212)

Participants Responses* Frequency

Students (N=90) Sex education should be taught in schools 85

Influence/guidance of parents 81

Information regarding sex and related issues 80

Learning assertive refusal skills 75

Gender-specific sex education 69

Socio-economic sex education 56

Parents (N=90) Sex education to transform children 79

Guidance of the Catholic Church 73

Campaign on reducing pre-marital encounters 70

Contraception use 68

Teachers (N=32) To educate individuals about sexual/reproductive 30

health

To attend sexuality sessions to learn more comfortable, 28

appropriate and effective teaching strategies

*multiple responses

As Table 3 indicates, majority of high school students expressed that they felt a need for

a sex education to be taught in schools. They claimed that this was mostly because of
 Sex Education in the Schools 24

experiences with friends or family members who had gotten pregnant early on. They discussed

what their personal feelings were regarding the content and subject matter they believed would

be most helpful to them as youngsters. They found the influence of parents to be very strong and

saw family bonds to be of utmost importance. One girl (13 years old) stated that:

“The guidance of parents is still the most powerful weapon against early teenage

pregnancies.”

Furthermore, the students felt strongly about discussing with their parents the potential

consequences and benefits from engaging in sexual acts. They reported a strong need for

information regarding sex and related issues to prepare them for real-life situations. In addition,

they felt a strong need for learning assertive refusal skills and other practical necessities.

Students felt that boys and girls should learn differently about sex and related issues. Girls and

boys should both learn about the reproductive systems of the opposite sex. Gender specific

teaching should be provided in a separate classroom setting. Gender-specific sex education was a

paramount concern because students felt that high school is the average age when they start

learning about their sexual orientation and preference. As one female student (15 years old)

responded:

“Everything happens in high school.”

Moreover, students felt that sexual and reproductive health needs tend to differ among

individuals based on socio-economic status. Women in lower social status do not think they need

contraception. The perception was that these women had less knowledge, which creates even

more of a need for sex education in these lower socio-economic areas.

On the other hand, parents felt that sex education is needed to transform children of a
 Sex Education in the Schools 25

society in order to turn around a society as a whole. The guidance of the Catholic Church was a

major perceived need. Nevertheless, they do not bother about becoming apprehensive of what it

does as it is not within their reach. They still considered contraception use as a major perceived

need. As one female parent (35 years old) stressed:

“The benefits of sex education are that individuals can care for their bodies and have

time for their families. Because when you are married and you are on early pregnancy, every

year will bring more things to worry about. So, even if you are using contraception, you still

need a plan for your next child, and with this contraception, that can be possible. Then

individuals can go to school if they would like, even if they already have kids. People can really

learn to plan with contraception.”

A 40-year-old father believed that a campaign on reducing pre-marital encounters to

avoid teenage marriages was needed. He reported that this should start on a practical school-

based level by restricting interactions of boys and girls. Some parents described the lack of

knowledge that women had of the possibility of using contraceptives to prevent pregnancies.

They reported that women often are against the use of artificial family planning methods due to

the influence of the Catholic Church. One parent, a respected physician in her community shared

her response to what the Catholic Church stated:

“We are a Catholic country. Our people listen to the Church for guidance. What the

press tells us is what people do. No questions asked. I am a doctor but I cannot help people to

understand the benefits of contraception unless they want to hear it. And when the Church tells

them they will get cancer if they use it, they do not want to hear it.”
 Sex Education in the Schools 26

The teachers differed in their perceptions of what the needs were concerning sex

education. Their perceptions were based on what they noticed and what they believed their own

needs were in effectively teaching subjects concerning sexual/reproductive health. One female

high school principal (33 years old) reported:

“In order for women to make money, they must prostitute their bodies every night. They

get their body used because their job is to provide sexual entertainment for the men. How are we

going to protect their health for them to minimize sexual contact with anyone, especially with the

men who have STDs and AIDS? If they are educated about having sex, and about the many

consequences of having a lot of sexual contact with different men, they can be able to protect

themselves from any health risk brought about by sex. As a teacher, I am here to educate. That is

the very reason why I do what I do.”

In the meantime, teachers perceived that they should be mandated to attend sexuality

education sessions where they can learn how to get more comfortable teaching strategies and

come to grips with their personal value system and with reality.

C. Perceived Challenges of Sex Education

Item 4: What are the perceived challenges of sex education in public high schools?

Oftentimes when a student would bring up a challenge, it would end up in real-life

example of a friend, or his/her own personal story. One of the students (16 years old) shared an

anecdote about her two friends who dated casually and ended up getting the girl pregnant. The

student informed that often kids do not realize what they are getting themselves into. It is very

difficult to teach healthy dating relationships when students are not interested in learning. One

male student (18 years old) elaborated:

 Sex Education in the Schools 27

“Rich kids learn more easily because they have better facilities and more opportunities.

But the poor kids are too hungry to even go to school, and when they are in school they do not

even care to listen during class.”

Another student said that creating a safe environment conducive to learning is difficult

because the whole class needs to be engaged in order for it to be effective. His experiences were

that other students would begin to feel awkward asking about sex, especially since it is still seen

as a taboo subject. Another student (15 years old) reported that girls lacked power over their own

bodies. She continued by saying that women are dying due to abortion complications, but the

government does not address these concerns. Thus, empowerment is seen to be a very important

challenge when dealing with sexual/reproductive health especially among women.

Table 4

Perceived challenges of sex education (N=212)

Participants Responses* Frequency

Students (N=90) Teaching healthy dating relationships 86

Creating safe environment conducive to learning 77

Women/girls lack power over their own bodies; 71

they should be empowered

Parents (N=90) Disseminating sexual information due to opposing 83

religious views

How to continue implementing sex education and 75

expediting it into the curriculum of educational
institutions

Lack of male interest in dealing with sexuality 70

Educating children about sex 62

Teachers (N=32) Fear of teaching sex education with neither in- 26
depth knowledge nor adequate instruction how to
teach it

Feeling of being unqualified and unequipped to 25

fully and effectively deliver sex education

*multiple responses

Most parents felt that more extensive and truthful media coverage was needed but it was

a major challenge to disseminate this information due to opposing religious views among people.

They stated that there should be a balance between other unofficial educators, such as them, and

the social media. The problem with unofficial educators and social media though is that what

they share with the youth might not be always relevant, or might be even misleading.

Another major challenge perceived by parents is how to continue implementing sex

education and expediting it into the curriculum of educational institutions. They fear that their

children might become more curious after learning about sex which might lead eventually to

more promiscuity. They felt that this is something that cannot be avoided and should be

addressed immediately. In addition, the lack of male interest in dealing with sexuality is one

more challenge that has to be addressed. Men often do not feel that this is an important topic to

learn because it is more about the woman and her body. Lastly, parents view educating their

children about sex as a challenge. Successfully educating children about sexuality issues should

be the result of parents and children learning together and breaking down the negative stigma

and taboo placed on sex. This could decimate the encumbrance of preventing the progress of sex

education in the public schools.

Teachers seemed to face the most pressure as they are the educators and felt more

responsible in shaping young minds to be able to make wise and educated decisions.

Interestingly, they faced the fear of teaching sex education with neither in-depth knowledge of
 Sex Education in the Schools 29

the subject nor adequate instruction on how to teach it. They felt unsure of their ability to teach

sexual health as elaborately as they believed the students were entitled to learn. They did not

want to teach a watered-down program as they personally felt they were taught as children. They

felt that they need to be fully equipped to deliver an effective sex education as they often did not

feel qualified enough.

D. Perceived Potential Outcomes of Sex Education

Item 5: What are the perceived potential outcomes of sex education in public high

schools?

Overall, the perceived potential outcomes of sex education in public schools were rather

positive, which are encouraging and hopeful. Table 5 illustrates them.

Table 5

Perceived potential outcomes of sex education (N=212)

Participants Responses* Frequency

Students (N=90) Feel more comfortable purchasing contraceptives in 84

a public store

Possibility of practicing safe sex 80

Positive about learning personal rights 80

Drastic decline in unwanted/unintended teen 76

pregnancies

Decline in promiscuity 72

Parents (N=90) Children become more open with parents about 83

personal concerns

Teaching children the benefits and consequences of 79

sexual/reproductive health
 Added pressure on them to perform in a good and 68
reputable manner

Teachers (N=32) Youth would become more responsible, more 27

cautious

Try to be supportive role models 23

Sex education would be a failure 19

Feeling empowered to stand up 18

*multiple responses

The perceived outcomes that students felt were unexpected. Overall, most girls reported

that they felt more comfortable purchasing contraceptives in a public store once people started to

learn about sexual/reproductive health and sex was no longer a taboo. Students felt good about

the possibility of practicing safe sex and about being able to better understand boys and how to

have a healthy relationship with them. They reported that they were positive about learning what

their personal rights were. One female student (18 years old) hoped:

“I am hopeful that we will start to receive proper sex education in school. However, I am

really concerned about how the education will be administered, as regards gender. Students

should be more aware about how normal sex is so that they won’t grow up to be bigots or

extremists like what the Church teaches. I also think a school-based sex education will teach the

truth about sexual health and other students will know that having sex without protection could

give you STDs or AIDS.”

Further, students believed the rate of unwanted/unintended teen pregnancies would

drastically decline. Many girls admitted that even with sex education in school, they still did not

feel the need to experiment with boys and test their bodies out. Being knowledgeable about

sexuality, many did not feel it would cause an increase in promiscuity. Through sex education in
 Sex Education in the Schools 31

schools the culture could shift from a taboo-based concerning sexuality to a culture where

sexuality is generally accepted as a normal part of life.

One male parent (a medical practitioner, 34 years old) opined:

“I introduced the kids to what family planning is. I have gained their trust and they listen

to me. I am educating them on things they are not learning in school. We are open with one

another about the sexual challenges we face and the unavoidable peer pressures. I told them to

invite their parents to our meeting, especially teenage mothers. The outcomes were that children

were able to be more open with their parents about their concerns, and were not faced with such

harsh criticisms from their parents like in the past.”

Further, a 43-year-old female parent who works as NGO volunteer asserted:

“We will overcome the challenges of sexual/reproductive health if we continue

monitoring and doing something because we are volunteering our time to do it. Our efforts will

likely create positive outcomes on the children because we plan to work with them alongside

their parents. Children are not the only ones who need to learn. They will start to be more

knowledgeable about what sex is and we expect fewer pregnancies.”

Parents felt that they could have a strong influence and are able to work with schools in

offering help to teachers who are struggling with teaching sex education. Although it could be

added pressure on them, they still believe that teachers will be encouraged to perform in a good

and reputable manner.

Teachers believed the youth would become more responsible as individuals if they

learned about sexual/reproductive health. The youth would become more cautious as they

learned about the consequences. Accordingly, the outcomes are uncertain and teachers felt that it
 Sex Education in the Schools 32

was not up to them to decide what the child would choose, but they could try to be supportive

role models regardless. Notwithstanding, teachers felt that sex education would be a failure. It

seems that teachers are more pessimistic about the possibility of sex education in the public high

schools. Still and all, teachers felt more empowered to stand up for what they believe in. They

want to learn to stand up against the controlling influence of the Church.

E. Perceived Recommendations for Future Improvements

Discerning my participants’ recommendations separately from my own provides a clearer

understanding of this section.

Item 6: “What recommendations do you perceive for future improvements of sex

education in the public high schools?”

Table 6

Perceived recommendations for future improvements (N=212)

Participants Responses* Frequency

Students (N=90) Learning about sexual/reproductive health as early 65

as first year high school

Academic institutions should not be the sole 61

teaching area

Implement sex education while keeping close to 60

religious beliefs

Healthy balance in transferring knowledge to a 56

household setting

Sex education should also be taught at home 53

Parents (N=90) Sex education must be especially taught 77

Take their own sex education course 76

 Learn to monitor their children 70

Keep the values of the Catholic Church 70

Change standards of the school 68

Social media should incorporate Q&A portion 65

about sex on free websites

Teachers (N=32) Sex education program should be taught every 28

year starting in grade 3 (8 years old)

Sex education program should progressively 25

increase in difficulty

Sex education must be accelerated to make 24

knowledge transfer more permeable between the
sexes

Creating and distributing a pamphlet about most 22

important points of sexual/reproductive health

*multiple responses

Students noted that learning about sexual health should start as early as the first year of

high school (about the age of 11 or 12 years). This age is recognized as the age when students are

most curious and parents have the least influence on their child. This is the age when girls

generally go through puberty. Further, students recommended that academic institutions should

not necessarily be the sole teaching area. To illustrate, one female student (18 years old)

suggested:

“I am against sex education in school. But I am for it if it were to be taught at home.

Because for me, our country is a Catholic country. It is part of our religion and culture that we

must respect our religion. If they do not want it taught in schools, then that is fine. But we still

need to learn. This is a good compromise, because for me, sex education must be taught at home

by parents and not implemented in schools.”

 Sex Education in the Schools 34

Moreover, students believed that sex education could be implemented while still keeping

close ties to one’s religion, and respecting the seemingly conservative nature of their values.

Students suggested that it need not be an either-or approach, but that a healthy balance in

transferring knowledge to a household setting would be appropriate. Students mentioned that sex

education should be taught at home. It is a family concern.

Most parents were very positive about giving recommendations and they seemed highly

interested in getting as involved as possible about improving sexual health standards in public

schools. They collaboratively agreed that sex education must especially be taught by parents,

teachers, religious officials, government officials, and most importantly, the social media. They

should all work together to teach age-appropriate sex education. Parents should be able to teach

their children by first taking their own sex education course. They should also learn to monitor

their children because apparently most sexual activities among children take place while the

parents are not at home or while the kids are playing promiscuous games on the school

playground. Religious officials should keep the values of the Catholic Church, but still agree to

allow contraception. Government officials should agree to change the standards of the school,

and work with educators to create visually creative and interactive teaching approaches. Lastly,

social media should interactively incorporate free websites and distribute these links where

students can learn on their own in a private setting, and be able to ask questions on a Q&A

board. Lack of exposure to extensive social media coverage may be what is preventing them

from learning the reality.

One male science teacher (25 years old) recommended:

“The program should be taught every year starting in grade 3 (8 years old) together
 Sex Education in the Schools 35

with biology program that goes into detail on the reproductive organs and processes of fertility. I

think the program should progressively increase in difficulty and should have medium length

standardized test. The results should be tabulated in tandem with biology course 40/70 making it

impossible to pass biology without thoroughly understanding the content.”

Teachers seemed to share common view that sex education must be accelerated in order

to make knowledge transfer more permeable between sexes. They indicated that sex education

may also break the stigma of talking about sex and create an open forum that can increase

learning and can jumpstart the practice of safe sex. Moreover, creating and distributing

pamphlets about the most important points of sexual/reproductive health would allow students to

know the benefits and consequences of teenage sex practices.

The vast majority of participants were in accord with one another as regards having a

positive vision for change relative to sex education in public schools. Many felt that not only the

very rapid rate of teen pregnancies, early marriages, and abortions would decrease, but that also

individuals would be more likely to understand their gender roles. This is congruent to Erikson’s

PSDT (cited in Myers, 2008) as individuals who understand their gender roles have smaller

chance of feeling left out of societal mainstream. Those who cannot, however, find their identity

tend to struggle with experimenting in society, especially sexually. Sexual experimentation,

according to Gest et al. (1999), is a pattern of behavior that is strongly associated with teenage

pregnancy. Following Erikson’s PSDT, it would be important to include issues of self-identity,

gender roles, and relationship goals in sex education. I personally perceive that gender struggle is

very real and a very difficult situation for youth to be in. Without adequate understanding of
 Sex Education in the Schools 36

gender role in society, and how to fit into the norm, there can be many challenges to experience.

Fortunately, with sex education, these challenges could be addressed.

Moreover, participants perceived that sex education would not be an easy task. Practical

concerns should be taken into consideration, such as age of students and extent to how they

should be taught about sex. Older participants feared that if students were too young when

receiving sex education, they would more likely become promiscuous. This fear of promiscuity,

according to Bandura’s SLT (cited in Myers, 2008), could be a result of observing and imitating

behaviors of those in one’s environment. Children are more likely to imitate what they are

exposed to. Hence, it is very important that children would be exposed to as much positive

influence as possible, in hopes that they would mimic healthy and mature relationships.

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary

I focused my study on the perceptions/attitudes of students, parents, and teachers of sex

education in public schools. What did these stakeholders perceive were the needs, challenges,

and potential outcomes of sex education in public schools? What were these recommendations

for future improvements be? Moreover, I conducted my study by conveniently sampling 212

participants which were clustered into 90 students, 90 parents and 32 science teachers from three

randomly selected public high schools --- ICNHS, ICENHS and MSU-IIT IDS of Iligan City. I

employed document analysis, interview, focus group discussion and questionnaire in data

collection. I explored and described information in themes and patterns exclusive to the

participants.
 Sex Education in the Schools 37

Conclusion

This study showed that the participants indeed do want sex education to be taught in

schools. It particularly dealt with the perceptions/attitudes of the participants relative to needs,

challenges, potential outcomes and recommendations for future improvements of sex education

in public schools. Personally, I believe that sex education is a necessary component for the

education of the youth. The information imparted would result in more intelligent decision

making regarding the sex act, and allows people to know the options whether they have to avoid

pregnancy or to achieve it. Therefore, a strict curriculum that would provide sex education

should be in place. While eliminating the topic of sex as a taboo and also providing a conducive

and effective sex education program, it is important for educators to be fully aware of what

aspect of sex education needs to be taught at a particular age. Once sex can be openly discussed

on an age-appropriate level, students would soon find out that the negative stigma that sex has

will soon become more of an everyday topic rather than an awkward classroom-only subject.

Thus, teachers have the greater role and responsibility. Further, it is understandable that parents

are apprehensive towards allowing their children sex education. They felt that promiscuity would

still be inevitable as sex activities are even happening at school. Therefore, positive behaviors

should be taught so they can be imitated. This is where social media could have a great and

healthy influence on youth today. Once children observe great role models of women who

protect and respect their bodies, they would hopefully imitate similar behaviors. Participants

suggested that the social media should help educate the public, and that campaigns should take

place in the poorer areas where the media could not reach them.
 Sex Education in the Schools 38

Recommendations

Based from the results, I recommend that school attendance in sex education classes

should be mandatory up to age 19 years (since this is the oldest target age in the RH Act). This

mandatory school attendance would expose youth to sex education curriculum which is essential

in combatting teenage unplanned pregnancies, high abortion rate, marriage at very young age,

and contraction of HIV/AIDS and other STDs.

For those who are poor and hungry to want to go to school, a practical solution is to offer

free school lunches for them.

Moreover, classes should also be taught for women by skilled professionals on how to

protect their bodies and how to deal with violence, abuse, and other related issues. They need to

be empowered.

On the other hand, I believe Church and state should respect one another as regards sex

education. They should work together even if it means compromising values for the good of the

youth. This could be done by working closely together to show statistics and real-life scenarios

not only of early teen pregnancies but also of sexually transmitted diseases. Overcoming the

opposing strength of the Church by working together is an important goal that should be

achieved.

More research needs to be done to substantiate the findings of this study. This study can

be used as basis towards further contributions in the field, yet perhaps larger study design would

greatly benefit anyone who wishes to continue on. This study has demonstrated an urgent need

for drastic change in the educational system. The importance of an elaborate and effective sex

education has been emphasized, but more researches could still be done. It is hoped that this
Sex Education in the Schools 39

study opens up the eyes of many to continue researching what the needs are and developing ways

to meet those needs.

 Sex Education in the Schools 40

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