RESULTS
7.11 EDUCATION
7.11.1 Sources of Information
The purpose of this analysis was to provide an indication of the level of exposure to various sources of information. Respondents indicated exposure to both media and community based sources of information, with the average number of sources of information being 2,8. There are high levels of media exposure to HIV/AIDS, with a total of 84% of respondents having received information about HIV/AIDS from television, which could be due to the disease being widely publicized through television
programmes, various documentaries and advertisements. While radio has also been an important medium for HIV/AIDS education, this group of adolescents has not reaped the benefits of this medium, with only 12% of respondents indicating that they have heard about HIV/AIDS from the radio. Although there has been widespread coverage in the print media in the form of newspaper articles, billboards and pamphlets, only 1 in 5 respondents (20%) reported print media as a source of information. This could be because of the relative lack of publications tailored to their reading level and the lack of availability and access to information from written materials.
It is evident from the above analysis that there has been significant penetration of information from the media to MMR adolescents. While this information may have increased awareness of HIV/AIDS, it has obviously had limited impact on improving knowledge, attitudes and producing sexual behaviour change.
Teachers were ranked second (39%) as sources of information. Further analysis showed that there was a difference across grades in receiving HIV/AIDS information from teachers, with the second year orientation students indicating that they have received such information from their educators, implying that some educators have been actively involved in HIV/AIDS awareness. Only 32% of respondents reported hearing of HIV/AIDS from peers, which may be because respondents perceive their peers as less knowledgeable than average and do not see them as good models of responsible behaviour. It was interesting to note that a significantly higher number of respondents viewed educators and peers as sources of information rather than sources of support,
probably because programmes involving educators and peer learners have not been established for this group of learners.
The analysis indicated that the home was hardly a source of information about HIV/AIDS, with 28% of subjects having heard of HIV/AIDS from parents and 11%
having heard of HIV/AIDS from siblings. This is in keeping with Zazayokwe's (1990) analysis of the responses of South African communities that showed that parents and siblings do not condone the open discussion of HIV/AIDS as it entails discussing sex. A further explanation is that parents often feel more insecure discussing sexuality with a disabled child (National Institute for People with Disabilities, 1995). While the African community has been found to display greater parental resistance to discussing sex than other race groups (Zazayokwe, 1990), no apparent difference in discussing HIV/AIDS with a parent or sibling across race was noted in the present study.
While it is apparent from the above analyses that respondents have received information from a broad range of sources, the issue of concern is whether these sources of information are adequate for individuals with mental retardation, who may be less capable of sorting out messages about sex. Further, they are more likely than other learners to believe myths and misinformation and-to misinterpret messages.
7.11.2 Sexuality Education at School
Two central issues were addressed in this scale viz. the school's involvement in sex education and respondents' suggestions regarding the delivery of suitable HIV/AIDS initiatives at school.
Over half of the respondents (59 %) indicated that their school does not play an active role in sex education. This is not surprising considering that until recently there has been little provision for sex education in the majority of South African schools, as a result of conservative community, religious and parental views (Reddy et al, 1992). The results of the present study are consistent with the findings of Gilles and Mc Evens (1981) who found that MMR adolescents do not receive the amount of sex education they want or need in schools. The lack of sex education for MMR learners could be attributed to the misconception that information regarding sexual practices and contraceptives will encourage promiscuity or that educators fail to see these children as having sexual needs.
This finding challenges us to re-examine the role and goals of education for MMR adolescents, especially in view of the Children's Charter of South Africa (1992), which endorses the right of all children to sex education.
Respondents were asked their opinions about suitable HIV/AIDS initiatives at school. 1 in 3 respondents indicated that they favoured talks and programmes run by medical experts. A possible explanation is that medical personnel are seen as knowledgeable
regarding medically related topics. Furthermore, medical personnel are generally not uncomfortable discussing sex related topics, do not generally expect the youth to practice total restraint and keep personal matters confidential. Teachers were ranked second as a choice to run HIV/AIDS awareness programmes. This finding has implications for the feasibility of the Health Promoting Schools Concept, where the school should be seen as a base to run HIV/AIDS awareness programmes. In most studies (e.g. Van Aswegan,
1995), youth indicate that the group of persons whom they would prefer to impart sex- related knowledge would be their peers. In the present study, however only 8% of the subjects indicated that peers should run AIDS awareness programmes. Although peer education and support is viewed as crucial for the reinforcement of HIV/AIDS educational messages, personality characteristics displayed by MMR adolescents, viz.
low self- confidence, over dependency, low levels of aspiration and extrinsic means of problem solving (Zigler & Hodapp, 1986) cast doubts on their ability to be competent peer educators and role models. To address this problem, and in keeping with the normalization principle aimed at including persons with mental retardation in the mainstream of society, peer education could still be implemented, with non retarded adolescents delivering peer education programmes for MMR adolescents.
CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS