M.Ed. / A great deal of concern is being expressed about the high teenage pregnancy rate as well as the leaping AIDS and sexual disease figures. There are programmes in place which aim to bring these numbers down, but it appears as if neither the abortion rate nor premarital sexual experimentation have been affected. This situation is cause for concern. The question thus arises - why have these programmes not made any headway on the statistics? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that most researchers have not asked the children themselves about their needs with regard to sex education. It is for this reason that this study has been undertaken. In this study a qualitative research method has been followed, where focus group interviews with Standard 7 pupils have been conducted. The original question posed by this researcher was as follows: "What are the needs of Standard 7 pupils with regard to sexual education and what guidelines could be suggested in order to provide a workable pupil-orientated education programme for high schools?" In turn, the posing of the above question led to the following aim: To gauge what the needs of Standard 7 pupils are with regard to sexual education in order to design guidelines for the development of a sex-education programme for high schools. The qualitative research which flowed from this is exploratory, descriptive and contextual. The analysis of the data indicate that there is a need for sexual education in schools, more than is at present available. Pupils would like this subject to be compulsory and that it be taught during stipulated times/periods. There is also a need for a cumulative curriculum in which enough time for discussions is allowed. The children believe that sexual education at school should be presented by a person whom they can trust. Boys and girls differ as to whether this person should be attached to the school or not. The girls are especially critical of the teacher as sex educator. The parent as sex educator has also been criticised. The children would prefer someone out of their peer group to guide them. They also feel that adequate training, openness and neutrality are important characteristics in a sex education specialist. The boys feel that this type of education should not be over-emphasised. Another need expressed is that the sex educator should work from a holistic perspective, thereby putting sex education in a natural context. The requirements with regard to the content of the sexual education programme include the following: knowledge of sexual responsibilities, as well as an understanding of anatomy and physiology, knowledge of the sexual act and premarital sex, as well as an understanding of pregnancy, rape and the way the opposite sex experiences sexuality The children also believe that the way sex is presented in the media should be put into perspective. Knowledge of deviant sexual behaviour, the availability of source material, for example where one would obtain a supply of contraceptives and where to go if one suspects that one is pregnant, are also needs which teenagers expressed with regard to programme content and sex education. From the study it became apparent that, even though the girls maintained that they all receive sex education at home, there are nevertheless many questions which still require addressing. A number of misconceptions were also apparent. Information which is highlighted by these themes and which is furthermore supported by the other research includes aspects such as parent and teacher involvement. A number of guidelines based on the themes identified by the analysis of the focus group interviews, have been developed for exposure and for possible use by compilers of sex education curriculi. A shortfall in this study has been identified and the following recommendations have been suggested: Further research should be undertaken as to the need for sex education o fpupils of other cultures and standards as well as the teachers' views about sex education.

Secondary analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is used to examine possible explanatory variables for sexual health outcomes. Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between sexual health outcomes and topical content in sexuality education, controlling for race, biological sex, low socioeconomic status, and religiosity. Results indicated increasing topical content in sexuality education had a positive effect on knowledge acquisition and confidence, but no statistically significant effect on engagement in sexual risk behavior or likelihood of reporting sexual coercion. Control variables were significant predictors and overall model fit was low, indicating topical content in sexuality education is minimally important in creating adolescent sexual behavior. Further exploration of differing aspects of sexuality education is suggested.

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Life skills are coping skills taught to learners, with the purpose of developing self-reliant and confident people with skills, to cope with important life's challenges in times of change. Where life skill education initiatives are being set up, much time and resources are channelled into training teachers, promoting, disseminating and implementing life skill education. For life skill education to be effective and continue to be relevant, research needs to be undertaken as an integral part of the whole process. This study focuses on the 'Life Skills Train the Trainer Programme'. The aim being to evaluate the success of this programme in empowering teachers to teach life skills. It was found that although life skill education has been found to be an important area in every learner's life, there are obstacles that may affect an effective implementation of life skill education in schools. These obstacles need to be attended to. / ewensvaardighede word aan leerlinge onderrig met die doe! om selfstandigheid en selfversekerdheid te ontwikkel, sodat hulle in staat is om lewenseise te midde van veranderende tye te kan hanteer Wanneer lewensvaardighede-onderrig gelnisieer word, word baie tyd en hulpbronne gekanaliseer in die opleiding van onderwysers, asook in die promovering, verspreiding en implementering van sodanige onderwys. Vir lewensvaardighede-onderrig om effektief te wees en relevant te bly, moet navorsing 'n integrale dee! van die hele prose vorm. Hierdie studie is gerig op die "Life Skills Train the Trainer Programme". Die doe! was om vas te stel tot watter mate hierdie program bydra tot die bemagtiging van onderwysers in die onderrig van lewensvaardighede. Die bevinding was dat alhoewel erkenning gegee word aan die belangrikheid van lewensvaardighede-onderrig, daar tog struikelblokke is wat effektiewe implementering in skole kan belemmer Hierdie struikelblokke moet aangespreek word. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Life skills are coping skills taught to learners, with the purpose of developing self-reliant and confident people with skills, to cope with important life's challenges in times of change. Where life skill education initiatives are being set up, much time and resources are channelled into training teachers, promoting, disseminating and implementing life skill education. For life skill education to be effective and continue to be relevant, research needs to be undertaken as an integral part of the whole process. This study focuses on the 'Life Skills Train the Trainer Programme'. The aim being to evaluate the success of this programme in empowering teachers to teach life skills. It was found that although life skill education has been found to be an important area in every learner's life, there are obstacles that may affect an effective implementation of life skill education in schools. These obstacles need to be attended to. / ewensvaardighede word aan leerlinge onderrig met die doe! om selfstandigheid en selfversekerdheid te ontwikkel, sodat hulle in staat is om lewenseise te midde van veranderende tye te kan hanteer Wanneer lewensvaardighede-onderrig gelnisieer word, word baie tyd en hulpbronne gekanaliseer in die opleiding van onderwysers, asook in die promovering, verspreiding en implementering van sodanige onderwys. Vir lewensvaardighede-onderrig om effektief te wees en relevant te bly, moet navorsing 'n integrale dee! van die hele prose vorm. Hierdie studie is gerig op die "Life Skills Train the Trainer Programme". Die doe! was om vas te stel tot watter mate hierdie program bydra tot die bemagtiging van onderwysers in die onderrig van lewensvaardighede. Die bevinding was dat alhoewel erkenning gegee word aan die belangrikheid van lewensvaardighede-onderrig, daar tog struikelblokke is wat effektiewe implementering in skole kan belemmer Hierdie struikelblokke moet aangespreek word. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.