Sex Education: Review of Related Literature

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Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the researchers will be presenting an order from the Department of Education, articles; write-up’s and related readings about how this study is conveyed. Moreover, this chapter presupposes about how sex education is being taught in high school curriculum and how sex education is taught inside the classrooms. Furthermore, this chapter will also inform what the contents of the sex education lessons are and how the classes about Sex Education brought new learning to the students. Researchers will also be presenting various write-ups, articles and studies related to the research that will link previous assumptions about Sex Education and its present picture in the Education sphere in the Philippines. Lastly, the researchers will present and confirm given contents of the sex education course and what are the perceptions of the High School Students about the class as stated in the collected articles, interviews and statements.

Facts about Sex Human beings are “social animals.” Their behavior, knowledge, and perception are influenced by the societies where they are born and nurtured. This statement is also true when speaking of sex and sexuality (Haeberle, 1981). According to Planned Parenthood in 2013, sex can be defined in various ways. It can be defined as “the physical and behavioral difference that distinguishes individual organisms according to their functions in the reproductive process” (Encarta, 2009). The Merriam-Webster

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dictionary defines it as “sexually motivated behavior.” On the other hand, sex can also be referred to as the various sexual activities, including sexual intercourse or penetrative sex, oral sex and mutual stimulation. Sex is not just physical sexual contact; it can also involve emotions and feelings. When people talk about sex, they usually incorporate it to penetrative sex, where a man inserts his erect penis into the vagina of a sexual partner (Avert, 2012). Specifically, human sexuality as defined by Encarta (2009), is

The general term referring to various sexually related aspects of human life, including physical and psychological development, and behaviors, attitudes, and social customs associated with the individual's sense of gender, relationships, sexual activity, mate selection, and reproduction. Sexuality permeates many areas of human life and culture, thereby setting humans apart from other members of the animal kingdom, in which the objective of sexuality is more often confined to reproduction. This article discusses the sexual anatomy, development, physiology, and behavior of human beings.

There are differences in human sexual characteristics whether the individual is a male or a female. For example, in females, their primary sexual characteristics include the external genitalia (vulva) and the internal organs that make it possible for a woman to produce ova (eggs) and become pregnant. In males, on the other hand, the main organ for copulation is the penis. The sperm cells are produced in the testes, and are stored and nurtured in the epididymis (Haeberle, 1981). As the individual matures, his/her sexual characteristics develop as well. According to DeLamater and Friedrich (2002), “human beings are sexual beings throughout their entire lives.”

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At certain points in life, sexuality may manifest itself in different ways. Each life stage brings with it pressures for change and sexual development milestones to be achieved if sexual health is to be attained or maintained. The stages of sexual development are a human developmental process involving biological and behavioral components (p.10).

Furthermore, the period in human lifespan during which the organs of sexual reproduction mature is called puberty. This occurs in males between the ages of 13 and 16, and in females between the ages of 11 and 14 (Encarta, 2009). This period has something to do with the sexual awakening that comes with biological maturation. This means that high school students are already in the stage of “sexual awakening” and biologically mature.

This maturation is evidenced in females by the onset of menstruation, in males by the production of semen, and in both by the enlargement of the external genitalia. Rapid growth marks a range of physiological changes. Various secondary sexual characteristics also appear for the first time during puberty; in males, production of body hair increases markedly, particularly in the pubic, axillary, and facial regions, and the voice usually changes and becomes deeper in tone; in females, hair also appears in the pubic and axillary regions, and the breasts become enlarged. Accelerated development of the sweat glands in both sexes may trigger acne.

Given that, with the integration of sex education in the curriculum, high school students will be able to understand the changes that they are experiencing. Questions that may arise given these changes may also be answered during and after the discussion on matters about reproductive health and puberty. In addition, Andres (1974) also stated that “the experience of sexual capacities that come with puberty is not the same for boys and girls (p. 46).” He said that for boys,

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sexual desire appears in earlier in boys, highly specific, and is centered in the genital organs. For girls, on the other hand, Andres added that “desire” is not the proper word to use, since it is better to speak of “sexual stirrings.” Furthermore, for girls, love takes priority over sexuality. The factor of intellectual curiosity is greatly intensified at this time. During the puberty stage, boys and girls are craving for factual information about sex and sexuality. They may be able to obtain it from various sources, such as the books, internet, etc. Adolescents may also seek advices to their peers which might give them wrong information. Young people’s craving for knowledge about sex is not merely a desire to find out what sex does or should feel like to them, but equally what it is like for the opposite sex (Andres, 1974). According to Adewale (2009), the adolescents’ curiosity and lack of knowledge, may often lead to premarital sex, which, in effect, will be unwanted pregnancies. Given that statement, the cases of unwanted pregnancies in the United States and other countries are skyrocketing for the past years. Slowinski (2001) said that there are a number of risk factors that have been linked to teenage pregnancies. These include “early sexual activity, poor use of contraception, low economic status, poor school performance, and low self-esteem” (p. 2). Also, the University of the Philippines Population Institute professor Dr. Josefina Natividad, as cited by de la Cruz (2012), said that “several factors are driving increasing rate of teen pregnancy in the country, such as lesser parental supervision, increased

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acceptance of pregnancies outside of marriage, earlier sexual activity, and inadequate life skills.” In the Philippines, the National Youth Commission (NYC) as cited by SunStar Cagayan de Oro (2012) said that the rate of teenage pregnancy in the Philippines has reached alarming proportions, having increased 70% over the past years, from 14,205 in 1999 to 195,662 in 2009. Furthermore, the annual report of the United Nations Population funds in 2011 as cited by Philippine News Agency (2012) said that “at 53 births per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 19, the teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines is the highest among Asean's six major economies…” Furthermore, the National Statistics Office, as cited by de la Cruz in 2009, presented figures in which 26.7% of women who give birth to their first child in 2010 are 15 to 19 years old. The National Youth Assessment Study, as cited by Sunstar Cagayan de Oro (2012), said that “unplanned pregnancy is one of the main reasons why young people do not finish their education.” In addition, it is claimed that the only way to stop this debilitating trend is to reduce risky behavior of the youth, that is, through sex education. The National Youth Commissioner Perci Cendana as cited by Sunstar Cagayan de Oro (2012) said that “age-appropriate reproductive health education is the key to influencing the lifestyle of young people so that they can be more responsible for their actions. Because if there will be no education, the rates will continue to rise.”

Sex Education Sex education is a broad term used to describe education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, and other aspects of human sexual

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behavior (Science Daily, 2012). According to the US Universal Declaration of Rights as cited by Avert (2012), sex education is a “right for every young people, because it is a way of helping them protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS.” Furthermore, Avert also said that “sex education aims to reduce the risks of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behavior, such as unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infection with sexually transmitted diseases. Former Department of Education secretary Mona Valisno stated that that sex education “focuses on the science of reproduction, physical care and hygiene, correct values and norms of interpersonal relation to avoid premarital sex and teenage pregnancy. The education secretary also said that sex education is being integrated in different subjects in the basic education curriculum of the Philippines (Malipot, 2010). In addition, the teaching of sex education in the Philippines is under the National Population Education program of DECS in 1994, which is designed to integrate population education courses of the curricula of public schools. The DECS order No. 62 series of 1994 stated that

The Population Education Program shall continue to perform its functions of curriculum and instructional materials development, teacher training, research/monitoring/evaluation, and networking with local and international organizations on the population education concerns for the elementary, secondary, tertiary and non-formal education levels.

In this order it is evident that population education programs are already offered since 1994, and with the rising number of unwanted pregnancies, persons infected with

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sexually transmitted disease, and misconceptions and superstitions about matters on sex, the Department of Education would want to continue implementing it through integration on different subjects. Moreover, according to the Statement on Population Policy and Program of the Commission on Population as cited by Andres (1974), one of the policies of the population program is “to make family planning part of a broad education program oriented toward the harmonious development of the individual personality, the family, and the nation.” In accordance with the Declaration on Population, family planning is not to be considered as simply as a technique for avoiding pregnancies, but rather as one element in a rational and disciplined way of life, a means of realizing genuinely human values for the individual and the community. Efforts must be made to form proper and mature attitudes toward family life through a responsible program of sex education in the schools, and through the provision of marriage and family counseling services for adults (p. 143).

Different groups have also views on sex education. According to Balane (2008), coalition of churches and faith-based organizations in the Philippines has given their support to the House Bill 5043 also known as Reproductive Health Bill, which seeks to address high population through the promotion of the reproductive health, responsible parenthood, and population development. Contrary to the Catholic church’s position that the RH Bill is pro-abortion, the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines (CMACP), United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), Office of the Muslim Affairs (OMA), Apostolic Catholic Church, and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches said that it seeks to provide mothers the right to have safer pregnancies by giving them access to information and services.

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Content of Sex Education As stated earlier, sex education is being integrated in different subjects in the Philippines’ basic education curriculum. According to Former Department of Education secretary Mona Valisno, as cited by Malipot (2010), sex education is integrated in elementary subjects such as Science, Edukasyong Pantahan at Pangkabuhayan (EPP), and Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, Sibika (HeKaSi). For instance, under Science is the teaching of the body parts, reproductive system, and puberty stage. Moreover, matters concerning proper behavior among or between peers of different gender are being taught in EPP. According to Andres (1974), sex education in the secondary level can be introduced in Physical Education & Health Classes, Home Economics, Biology, Social Studies, English and Literature, and Family Relations or Human Relations classes. In Physical Education & Health, topics such as the physiologies of the reproductive system, mental health as indicated by good personality, sexual adjustments, and how to acquire poise, good grooming, and personal attractiveness, are ways by which sex education is integrated. Moreover, integration of sex education in topics such as care and education of young children, marriage, pregnancy, etc. are being discussed in Home Economics subject. In a Biology class, sex education takes into an objective and in-depth discussion about reproductive system and its functions. In method of integration, “the students develop an appreciation of sex as the process by which life is carried on” (p. 135). In Social Studies, the students learn about sex education in the lessons of population growth, and the family as the basic units of society. In English and Literature, the teacher can help the students evaluate books,

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magazines, plays, movies, and thus offset much of the lure of the cheap and sensational. Lastly, the integration of sex education in Family and Human Relations Classes deals primarily with preparation for marriage and family life. Indeed, these subjects are designed to help young people plan and build happier family living (Andres, 1974). According to Mrs. Rosemar E. Bataller, Subject Area Coordinator (MAPEH) of the Ateneo de Davao High School, sex education is taught in MAPEH, Biology, and Christian Living Education under Morality. More so, she added that sex education is integrated in Health under Population Education. Furthermore, the teaching of sex education in Ateneo de Davao High School, being a Jesuit Catholic school, is incorporated with Ignatian values, that is, sex education with values integration. In the first year Health subject, since the K12 curriculum is being followed, the emphasis is on the care of the genital organs, hygiene, etc. For the second years, the integration is on Biology, in which the students are taught with the functions of the reproductive organs. Moreover, reproductive health, fertility, fecundity, and the human reproductive process are the focus of the third year health curriculum. Lastly, the fourth year students are taught about childbirth and responsible parenthood. Moreover, teachers in Health Education (MAPEH), with the integration of sex education, Mrs. Bataller added that they prefer teachers who are married will be the one to teach matters about sex and sex education to their students.

Knowledge and Perception After the thorough discussion of sex and sex education, and contents of sex education, this chapter would also like to know what the understandings of students are

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and how they perceive sex and sex education as far as their sex education classes are concerned. The researchers would like also to define what is ‘Knowledge’ and what is ‘Perception’ in these matters, and how would these definitions help us understand this study further. Perception, according to Babitski (2005), is the “process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information”. As Cherry (2012) said also that perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli. In order for us to understand and describe process of perception, we have to find all inputs and outputs of information about anything we what to discuss and perceive. On the other hand, “Knowledge” was discussed by Macmillan (2009) as something that a person knows about a particular subject. Where Boudreau (2012) also said that ‘knowledge’ are things that were held to be true in a given context, and that drive us to action if there were no impediments about it. Moreover, it is our perception towards agreeing or disagreeing of two different ideas. Hence, the above definitions of knowledge and perception must go together to know what the students really think about sex education. High school students say that they are not getting sex education soon enough. In addition, wanted topics related about it such as puberty and pregnancy discussed in primary school before discussing it in higher levels like secondary (McNileage, 2012). Until now, according still to McNileage (2012) a study was conducted and found out that most teachers of year five and six students are uncomfortable talking about the

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reproductive system in sex education class. And more than a half year, high school years 7, 8 and 9 students think almost all aspects of sex education topics should be introduced in primary school, in a survey of about 100 students. Furthermore, students feel awkward in discussing the above matters inside the class. Besides the fact that sex and sex education is a taboo in the Philippines, teachers, themselves also don’t want to discuss sensitive matters about this issue where another way around students and teachers should not feel that way. It is because still it cannot resolve issues involving around it especially if it will not be taught in schools, the Sex Education Program or subject. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t be the right attitude of both teachers and students and also parents about sex, sexuality and sex education issues because this will only worsen the current status quo of our society in terms of population, economic issues and unwanted pregnancies.