This chapter includes the introduction, the background of the study, the theoretical and

conceptual frameworks, statement of the problem, scope and limitation, significance of the study

and the definition of terms used.

Introduction

The controversy surrounding the teaching of sex education has ranged the world over,

with different schools of thought imposing their attitudes and perception towards sex and the

teaching of the same with little if any consideration of the views and needs of youth in dynamic

society. This dynamism has propagated divergent perception ranging from reactionary to liberal

thought. Consequently, the youth have been left at crossroads regarding issues of sexuality with

no choice but to scavenge for information on sex from their peers, graffiti, the media and other

sources, as others rather than themselves debate their fate.

Sex education involves more than sexual development and reproductive health; it

encompasses interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image, values and gender roles.

Moreover, Education on sexuality can come from a wide range of sources including home, school,

peers, media and religious institutions. Of major importance is the sex education that takes place

in the home. Parents are a child’s first source of sexual health learning. Daily occurrences in the

home provide opportunities for discussions on sexuality, making parents the primary sex educators

of their children. This important role begins in infancy and as children go through each stage of

growth and development, parents can provide the vital education and guidance that is needed to

make healthy sexual choices.

School is a privileged setting for formal, articulate sex education as children and

adolescents spent a considerable amount of their time at school and other agents of sex education

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like the internet and other media can often provide non-structured education. First love experiences

occur at school age, and school has human and material resources for providing education. Sex

education at school also contributes to its promotion in the home environment.

Background of the Study

According to World Health Organization (WHO), Sexuality education encompasses

education about all aspects of sexuality including information about family planning, reproduction,

body image, sexual orientation, sexual pleasure, values, decision making, communication, dating,

relationships, sexually transmitted infections and how to avoid them, and birth control methods.

Sexuality is a central aspect of being human throughout life and encompasses sex, gender identities

and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is

experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors,

practices, and relationships. While sexuality can include all these dimensions, not all of them are

always experienced or expressed. Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological,

psychological, social, economic, political, ethical, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors

(WHO, 2016).

In many countries in the world, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) (2011) showed the obviously important role that is played by friends in

sex instruction at a time of conflict, instability, communication barrier and mistrust that

adolescence is. About 68% of adolescent boys declared that they had exchanged opinions on the

subject and problems that were dealt with neither at home nor in school, half of which involved

sex. In the case of the girls, the proportion of them who had spoken with their girlfriends and

companions about sex and other juvenile problems totaled to 70%.

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 In United States, Sex Education is widely supported by the vast majority of people. In

Planned Parenthood’s most recent poll on sex education, 93 percent of parents supported having

sex education taught in middle school, and 96 percent of parents supported having sex education

taught in high school. The vast majority of parents’ support sex education in middle school and

high school that covers a wide range of topics, including STDs, puberty, healthy relationships,

contraception, and sexual orientation. Other national, state and local polls on sex education have

shown similarly high levels of support. Sex education is supported by numerous prestigious health

and medical organizations including the American Medical Association, the American Academy

of Pediatrics, and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Over 150 organizations are

members of the National Coalition to Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Sex Education

programming varies widely across the United States.

Currently, 24 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education and 34 states

mandate HIV education. Although almost every state has some guidance on how and when sex

education should be taught, decisions are often left up to individual school districts. Planned

Parenthood plays an important role in advocating for federal funding for evidence-based

programming such as the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP) and the Personal

Responsibility Education Program (PREP). The gap between the sex education students should

receive and what they receive is wide. According to the 2014 CDC School Health Profiles, fewer

than half of high schools and only a fifth of middle schools teach all 16 topics recommended by

the CDC as essential components of sex education. These topics range from basic information on

how HIV and other STDs are transmitted - and how to prevent infection - to critical communication

and decision-making skills. In fact, today fewer young people report receiving any formal sex

education at all. A recent study published by the Guttmacher Institute found that fewer teens now

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than in the past are being exposed to important and timely information about a range of sex

education topics. Overall, in 2011–2013, 43% of adolescent females and 57% of adolescent males

did not receive information about birth control before they had sex for the first time. Despite these

declines in formal education, there was no increase in the proportion of teens who discussed these

same sex education topics with their parents.

The lack of a comprehensive sexual education (CSE) in the Philippines remains the main

reason for the increased number of teenage pregnancies which is the highest in Asia, the Family

Planning Organization of the Philippines. The youth, instead of having the capacity to protect

themselves from unwanted pregnancy and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), don’t get the

information from their parents and teachers, rather, they get the information from their peers, who

also doesn’t know any better. According to the National Demographic and Health Survey, one in

ten young Filipino women age 15-19 has begun childbearing: 8 percent are already mothers and

another 2 percent are pregnant with their first child. Early pregnancy and motherhood are more

common among young women age 15 to 19 with less sex education. Early childbearing is also

more common in Caraga (38 percent) and Cagayan Valley (37 percent) than other regions. The

survey also reveals that one in five (19 percent) young adult Filipino women age 18 to 20 years

had initiated their sexual activity before age 18. Some of them would have had their first intimate

sexual act before marriage. The Philippines has been ranked as the country with the fastest growing

number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases in the world, the percentage of HIV

spread caused by male-to-male sex in 1984 to 2009 increased in 2010 to 2017, according to

UNAIDS. From only 40 percent in the first wave of epidemic, 80 percent of PLHIV population

was spread due to male-to-male sex in the second wave and the other factors that affect the HIV

epidemic among the youth are the low level of knowledge on how HIV is transmitted and

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prevented and low participation or engagement of the youth to sex education. Studies show that

sex education keeps young people informed and enables them to delay engaging in sexual activities

to a much later age.

In Philippine education system, The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health

(RPRH) Law mandates the Department of Education (DepEd) to design a Comprehensive

Sexuality Education (CSE) which is a curriculum-based process of teaching about the cognitive,

emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality. It intends to impart age-appropriate and

medically accurate information to equip the learners with knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values

that will empower them to realize their health, well-being, and dignity. As stipulated in the

DepEd’s Order No. 31 s. 2018, the integration shall be based on the identified learning areas and

are made congruent to the learning objectives and competencies in Music, Arts, Physical

Education, and Health (MAPEH), Araling Panlipunan (AP), Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP),

and Science. However, it is a sensitive subject for the people of Mindanao, because of the

conservative culture of most Muslim societies. In the absence of sex education and due to their

immaturity, adolescents may have divergent sexual attitudes and commit irresponsible practices.

This quantitative descriptive-correlational study was conducted to discover the sexual attitudes

and practices of Muslim adolescents towards the several aspects of sexual relationships: courtship,

heterosexual relationship, dating, and pre-marital relationship before and after the implementation

of the sex education program in different high schools in the Philippines.

In Bataan, Sex education is a major source of learning about sexual health related issues

which are not extensively explained in the average science classes. In relation with this, paired t-

test analysis was used to test if there is a significant relationship between the sexual attitudes and

practices before and after the implementation of the sex education program. The findings reveal

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that the implementation of the sex education program resulted in the general decline of activities

that could lead to sexual relations, as well as a significant decrease in the participants’ sexual

attitudes and practices. This research concludes that there is a significant difference in the sexual

attitudes and practices of the respondents before and after the implementation of the sex education

program.

In Saint Nicholas Catholic School of Mariveles, Sex Education has significant roles in

preparation of student’s effective participation in society. However, it prepares the Nicholasians

to be competitive as well adaptive to changes that may occur without changing the values learned

to our culture and tradition. This role has a big impact on the learners with the current issue that

arises from the community. In addition, school as institution of learning, carries the burden on how

to at least enlighten the mind of the students with the pressing issues that the society is facing. This

study aims to know if Saint Nicholas Catholic School of Mariveles is the right venue to educate

the young minds about sex education.

Theoretical Framework

Individual Differences Theory

The individual difference theory has been used mainly in social communication to

highlight the influential role of individual’s characteristics and qualities (also referred to as

individual context) on perception of information or any other stimulus and on the behavior of

individuals (Redmond, 2000; De Fleur, 1970). The psychological context represents the sum of

one’s experiences- one’s upbringing, education, previous interactions. It is the product of one’s

collective encounters with the world (Redmond, 2000). It includes psychological qualities

(individual needs, values, beliefs, attitudes, and personality), and personal characteristics (age, sex,

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race, ethnic background and culture). Human beings vary greatly in their personal psychological

organization. These variations in part begin with differential biological endowment but are due in

greater measure to differential learning. From different learning environments, people acquire a

set of attitudes, values and beliefs that constitute their personal psychological make-up and set

each somewhat apart from his/her fellows (De Fleur, 1970:121). Redmond, (2000:28) his

experimental study of human perception highlighted that “the individual’s values, needs, beliefs

and attitudes played an influential role in determining how he selected stimuli from the

environment and the way he attributed meaning to those stimuli within his acquired frames of

reference once they came to his attention”. What constitutes one’s personal psychological context

is anything that “you bring to a communication situation that affects the way you interpret, analyze,

encode, or decode a message. However, the individual difference theory focuses more on the

psychological patterns and seems therefore to not give much credit to the sociological and cultural

patterns. In fact, research has revealed that, beyond the psychological context, people with some

common social, economic, demographic and cultural characteristics are likely to perceive and

respond to a stimulus in an equal way (De Fleur, 1970). This is further highlighted in the social

categories’ theory below. The individual difference theory is therefore relevant in this study in that

it highlights how individual difference influences the way in which people perceive, interpret and

utilize the message they receive from different sources of information. The interpretation and the

utilization of the message differ from an individual to another depending on his/her psychological

qualities and personal characteristics. This theory is used to test whether young people in Impala

district are influenced by their personal psychological context or other factors while interpreting

the information received from different sources operating in the program of sexual education in

Impala district. The latter (factors) have been considered.

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Social Categories Theory

Like the individual differences’ theory, the social categories theory has been largely

applied in social communication to investigate people’s preferences of media content, and

perceptions and behavior towards a given information or stimulus. The basic assumption of the

social categories theory is a sociological one and claims that “in spite of the heterogeneity of

modern society, people who have a number of similar characteristics will have similar folkways”,

and 34 also suggests that “there are broad collectivities, aggregates, or social categories in urban

industrial societies whose behavior in the face of a given set of stimuli is more or less uniform”

(De Fleur, 1970:122-123). As examples of such characteristics, the same author gives sex, age,

income level, educational attainment, rural-urban residence, and religious affiliation. In a social

communication perspective, the social categories theory highlights the fact that people with similar

characteristics (age, sex, education level, income, religiosity, etc.) tend to consume similar media

content, and are likely to have more or less same perceptions and behavior towards the information

received (De Fleur, 1970). Obviously, the individual difference theory and the social categories

theory have an important common feature. In fact, several psychological qualities (needs, values,

beliefs, attitudes) are gradually acquired during the socialization/learning process, and people with

one cultural background (religion, education, gender roles) are likely to have such psychological

qualities in common. Similarly, due to other common personal characteristics such as age and sex,

people are likely to have some similar needs. For example, in mass communication, fashion

magazines are not often bought by males; and fishing magazines are seldom read by females (De

fleur, 1970). The same author highlights therefore that “knowledge of several very simple variables

– age, sex, and educational attainment- provides a reasonably accurate guide to the type of

communication content a given individual will or will not select. The social categories theory is

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relevant to the current study in that it is centered on the way members of different social categories

select perceive and utilize the media content depending on whether they (members) have common

characteristics. In this study, 35 theories are used to understand how members of different social

categories of the youth involved in the study interpret the message conveyed to them by different

sources of sexual information. By doing so, it has been possible to understand youth’s attitudes

(depending on each social category) toward the message they receive on sexual topics discussed.

To conclude this section, it highlights all of those theories that are complementary in that the first

talks about the sources of sexual education for young people; the second talks about the content

while the third and the fourth talk about the interpretation. This theory stated that enumerating the

sources of sexual information for young people is relevant, but it is also important to know what

they provide as information and how consumers react or interpret the information, they receive

from each of those sources.

The Primary Socialization Theory

One of the frameworks of this research is grounded in the primary socialization theory

which according to (Oetting and Donnermeyer, 1998) looks at family, peer groups and school as

the primary sources of sexual education for youth. The primary socialization theory also sees

media as one of the primary sources of sexual education for youth in that it says that the primary

socialization agents that play a significant role in consumer socialization include parents, peers,

schools and Media (Bush, Smith, & Martin, 1999) .These agents influence the psychological,

emotional, and understandings of young people as they become consumers in the marketplace

(Moore, Raymond, Mittelstaed & Tanner, 2002). Their influence extends to specific consumer

skills such as product selection, brand comparison, price comparison, attitudes toward products

and brands (John, 1999; Moore et al., 2002). Research suggests, however, that the relative

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influence of these socialization agents (parents, peers, schools, and mass media) can change,

particularly as the young person ages and matures (Clark, Martin, & Bush, 2001). It has been

evidenced by (Oetting & Donnermeyer, (1998) that while any of these groups (school, family and

peers) are capable of transmitting both prosocial and deviant norms, family and school are seen as

being primarily prosocial and peer groups carrying the main risk of transmitting deviant norms.

Peer groups, according to the above authors, form the last primary socialization group, and have

the greatest impact on those alienated from the first two groups. However, in the case of sexual

education for youth in some societies, parents, school, and media who were expected to be the

primary sources of sexual information of youth may be likely not to be so because of many reasons.

In fact, this theory does not consider the differentials in socioeconomic development of societies.

It is commonly known that in some developing countries, the literacy level is still low, and many

children do not attend school or drop it out early for different reasons. Similarly, it is obvious that

in those societies, media such as television, radio, newspapers, film, books, etc. are likely to be

inexistence or insufficient because of rampant poverty, high rate of illiteracy and lack or shortage

of relevant infrastructure. In such societies, school and media are therefore unlikely to be the

primary socialization agents. The task of transmitting knowledge to children incurs to parents,

teachers, religious leaders and is under the community’s responsibility." Edelman cited by

Solomon (2001:15). Therefore, Impala district a combined effort from the mass media, schools,

religious bodies, peers, education program and so forth is useful and may be emphasized and

strengthened in educating and counseling youth about sexual matters.

Anderson and Krathwohl and Gardner's Inter-personal theory of Multiple Intelligences

This research provides an exploration and application of the theoretical framework of

Anderson and Krathwohl and Gardner's Inter-personal theory of Multiple Intelligences to some

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exemplars integrating Sexuality Education knowledge and understandings into the Health

curriculum, or HPE as it is called in Australia. While the matrix by Anderson and Krathwohl and

Gardner has been successfully used across the curriculum in two Australian schools, it has not yet

been applied to Inter-personal sexual knowledge and pedagogies in HPE. Gardner's Multiple

Intelligences theory has benefited schools, students and pedagogical practices in the United States.

The theoretical framework of Anderson and Krathwohl has recently been used to analyze primary

school teachers' conceptualizations of sexuality education; student-teachers' intentions to teach

knowledge/information on sex, puberty and sexuality; international middle school students' ‘lack’

of knowledge about sex, puberty and sexuality as evidenced by their online questions and student-

teachers' pedagogies for child sexual abuse protection. Knowledge is a very important part of

sexuality education, particularly considering the internal and invisible nature of many male and

female sexual processes, such as such as the growth and development of ova, conception and the

genetic determination of the sex of a baby. However, ‘… current sexual health education provision

is not providing young people with adequate knowledge regarding sexual health and

contraception’ or even about basic anatomy and body functions. For example, Goldman found that

some Australian primary school-age girls, ‘and a surprising number of [parents and] female adults’

do not even know that they have three openings between their legs rather than just two. Blake

argues that in order to address a broad aim of Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in the United

Kingdom, programs supporting students' interpersonal relationships through lesson planning ‘must

help pupils to … gain information about sex, sexuality, sexual health and relationships including

information about contraception, sexually transmitted infections and HIV that is, sexual

knowledge. In a study of the salience and utility of school sexuality education for young men,

Buston and Wight found that ‘… for most young men, school sex education appeared to be the

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only substantive source of information they had received on sexual matters’ Boys and girls

describe ‘… how worrying growing up can be if you don't have enough information’. Similarly,

Halstead and Reiss argue that one of the distinct roles of the school in values education in sexuality

is to ‘… fill in gaps in children's knowledge and understanding. The importance of knowledge for

middle school students, who are almost certain to be pubertal, has been identified as an important

focus for productive pedagogies. It has been observed by the author in primary, middle and high

schools in Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Canada and in other countries such as

Sweden, that pedagogies using class discussion or role-play appear to be far less effective when

students have lower levels of knowledge of a topic compared with those with higher levels.

Knowledge is accepted as the basis of much contemporary education, as it is in Queensland's HPE

Syllabusand knowledge is identified in many curricula as the starting point for planning and

objectives, such as in Queensland's Studies of Society and Environment Syllabus. Further, the

centrality of sexual ‘knowledge/information’ is recognized in a variety of significant global texts,

not only of UNESCO and SIECUS as detailed above but in policies and recommendations for

reproductive health provision and sex, puberty and sexuality education. Such

knowledge/information is acknowledged by authorities such as the World Health Organization,

the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the Joint United Nations

Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), major

Health and Medical Research institutions such as Australia's National Health and Medical

Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian (federal) Senate and Australian State and Territory

Departments of Health and of Education. Further, the Council of Australian Governments has

reoriented the nation's child protection systems to a public health model promoting such

knowledge and its education as a ‘universal support’. The UNESCO Guidance advocates sexuality

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education ideally as a separate and continuous school subject, which ensures ‘that competing

priorities do not prevent it from being taught at all’ but recognizes that ‘it may be more practical

to build upon and improve what teachers are already teaching, and look to integrate it within

existing subjects such as social studies, science/biology, health or civics’. That document also

advocates the integration of sexuality education with existing subjects, and therefore supports the

cross-curricular theorizing, planning and pedagogies that are discussed in this paper.

Conceptual Framework

You will see the independent variable and the dependent variable of this study which shows

the profile of the respondents, perception of the students when it comes to sex education, reasons

why sex education must be taught in the High School students of SNCSM.

1. The profile of the respondents when it comes

to their:
1.1 Name
1.2 Grade
1.3 Sex
1.4 Section
2. From the assessment test, how sure and
confident are you that your answer are
correct? The High School Students’
2.1 less than 50%
2.2 50% -60%
2.3 70-80% Perception in the Integration of
2.4 90% - 95%
2.5 100%
3. How does it feel upon answering the Sex Education in Saint Nicholas
assessment test?
3.1 it makes me feel confident to
learn more about English Catholic School of Mariveles
grammar
3.2 it makes me feel good because I
know I’ve answered the questions
well
3.3 it makes me feel uncomfortable to
know more about English
grammar
13 | P a itgmakes
3.4 e me feel bad because
some of my answers are not right
3.5 others (please specify)
 Process
 Data Gathering
 Analysis
 Interpretation of Data

Statement of the Problem

Scope and Limitation

This study focuses on the “The High School Students’ Perception in the Integration of

Sex Education in Saint Nicholas Catholic School of Mariveles.” This study is bounded only to the

perception of the High School students regarding the integration of sex education in SNCSM.

From Grade 7 up to Grade 12 students are the chosen to be the target respondents for this

research.

Significance of the Study

Students. To give them correct and factual information and understanding towards the teaching

of sex education. It will enlighten the students and prevent them from developing a sense of guilt,

horror, disgust or fear of sex especially when they perform sex act of the right time for right

purpose and with the right person. It will enable students to develop self-respect and self-control

with due consideration. Developmental tasks of becoming responsible men and women in future.

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Parents. To give them knowledge that includes ways of helping children develop self-respect,

sexual understanding, define the values of interpersonal relationships and strengthen

communication skills in sex and education. It is necessary for parents to acquire scientific, social,

and psychological understanding of the need for sex education.

Teachers. To teach and enlighten the students and develop knowledge and skills that will help

them to interact in positive, respectful, and supportive ways with others. Through learning about

sexuality, students also come to understand about the social and cultural influences that shape the

way society views gender and sexuality. They will serve as an access to information and

opportunities to think about, question, and discuss issues related to relationships, gender, sexual

identities, sexual orientation, sexual behavior, sexual and reproductive health, and societal

messages.

School. To open the eyes of the educational administrators to know the importance of sex

education as a course to be introduced with the curriculum so as to enlighten the teenagers and the

society at large.

Community. To educate everyone especially the young people in the community; it prevents them

from catching sexually transmitted diseases, having to deal with an unplanned pregnancy, and

confronting HIV/AIDS.

Researchers of this study. To investigate whether sex education should be inculcated into the

secondary school curriculum and at what level of study.

Future researchers. To give a broader understanding of sexuality education. It overviews

research in the area that may provide a valuable background against which to read and implement

the information in the guide.

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Definition of Terms

HIV. the human immunodeficiency viruses are two species of Lentivirus that causes HIV infection

and over time acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is a condition in humans in which

progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and

cancers to thrive.

Epidemic. a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a time.

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

1. I believe sex education should be taught in

secondary level

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 2. I think sex education is helpful towards

preventing teenage pregnancy among the youth

3. I don’t think teachers today are capable of

teaching sex education in an effective way to

students in secondary level

4. I think sex education is helpful towards

preventing sexually transmitted diseases among the

youth.

5. Sex education should be taught in school because

some parents are not capable of teaching their

children the topic

6. Sex Education is an important subject matter

7. Sex education should be taught at home, left to

the parents

8. I don’t feel comfortable discussing matters of

sexuality and reproduction.

9. Given an opportunity to vote with regards to

implementation of sex education, I will disagree on

its implementation.

10. I will be supportive of sex education whenever

implemented

Overall, how comfortable are you regarding having your child learn sex and sexuality in secondary school?

o Very uncomfortable
o Somewhat uncomfortable
o Neutral
o Somewhat comfortable
o Very comfortable
https://www.academia.edu/7569359/SEX_EDUCATION_AND_FAMILY_BACKGROUND

https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/etd/ucb/text/SilverioMarques_berkeley_0028E_14584.pdf

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https://academic.oup.com/her/article/26/3/526/739587?fbclid=IwAR1t-

aJuzifEqlUNkVrxIRycQFvshVeRgf1faRPK9hxr9w_yic3mEidQL2k

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