Influence Of Sexuality Education On Students’ Behaviour And Attitude Towards Sexuality Issues In Secondary Schools In Kosirai Division, Nandi County, Kenya

Despite the consistent offering of human sexuality education in secondary schools in Kosirai division, Nandi County, student pregnancies, sexual violence and reports of unusual sexual behaviours have been on the rise. In light of this, the current study purpose was to examine the influence of sexuality education on students’ behavior and attitude towards sexuality issues in Secondary Schools in Kosirai Division, Nandi County. Specifically, the study embarked to establish the influence of sexuality education on students’ perception of premarital sexual relationships, to examine the influence of sexuality education on students’ management of body changes at adolescence, and to establish the influence of sexuality education on students’ attitude towards aberrant sexual practices in secondary schools in Kosirai Division. The study was anchored on Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. The study adopted cross-sectional survey research design. The study targeted 2400 form three students and 24 guidance and counseling teachers. Students’ questionnaire and guidance and counseling teachers’ interview schedule were used for data collection. Content and construct validity of the data collection instruments were ascertained through scrutiny by two university supervisors while reliability was estimated by use of test retest technique. Quantitative data were analyzed by use of descriptive statistics such as percentages frequencies, means and standard deviations. Qualitative data were put into themes and analyzed according to objectives. The three formulated null hypotheses were tested through simple linear regression analysis. It was found that sexuality education had a statistically significant influence on students’ perception of premarital sex relationships (β = 0.382, t (239) =

5.284, p < 0.05), as well as students’ management of body changes at adolescence (β = 0.529, t (239) = 5.284, p < 0.05). However, sexuality education had no statistically significant influence on students’ attitude towards aberrant sexual practices (β = 0.278, t (239) = 3.728, p = 0.163). The study concluded that most of the students in secondary schools in Kosirai division have inadequate information on homosexuality, dangers of premarital sex, as well as safety measures. It was recommended that to enable students to acquire realistic perceptions towards premarital sex they need more comprehensive information in regard to their sexuality.