Home --- Life Orientation. Life Skills and HIV-AIDS Illustrative Learning Programme. Grade 8 and 9, South Africa Institute for Health, Training and Development

 

The life orientation programme is designed for youth and teenagers with a view to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed and healthy choices. This programme intended for grades 8 and 9 is a sequel to the existing programme for grades 1 to 7. All these programmes are based on the hypothesis that efficient education for HIV/AIDS prevention is possible only when schoolchildren have the opportunity to: • acquire functional knowledge about HIV/AIDS; • consider choices that support healthy behaviour related to HIV/AIDS; • develop and practise skills that support those choices. As 80-90 % of all HIV infections occur through sexual intercourse, the programmes are developed in the context of sex education. The need for sex and HIV/AIDS education programmes in schools is summed up here in five fundamental points: 1. It is important that sex education starts before teenagers begin their sex life. 2. It must be kept in mind that usually the first sexual intercourses at adolescence age are the riskiest because they involve casual partners; and that risks for HIV infection are very high. 3. It is vital that the school transmits correct information on HIV/AIDS. Considering the time elapsed between HIV contamination and the appearance of the first AIDS symptoms, teenagers may have the wrong impression that they are invulnerable to the infection. 4. All psycho-social, family- and school-related factors that can represent causes of ignorance and put teenagers at risk (low self-esteem, depression, dysfunctional family background, school performance, etc.) must be taken into consideration. 5. Sex education of teenagers must take into consideration casual sexual intercourse happening at this age (with regard to sexual practices, to clarification of sexual options and to development of certain skills such as decision-making and negotiating power relations among members of a social group). The contents are adapted to the pupils’ age and their specific preoccupations, being evenly distributed according to the two reference school years. There is a gradual evolution as regards the process of learning, seen from a psychological point of view. The pupils are encouraged and assisted in order to define their own values, to become aware of them, to analyze critically different situations and anticipate the consequences of their doings on their future. The evaluation of the knowledge and skills transmitted during Life Orientation classes is considered a priority.
File	Life Skills and HIV-AIDS Illustrative Learning Programme.pdf 143315 bytes (Download Help)
Author(s)	Institute for Health, Training and Development, South Africa
Publication Year	2003-11-03 1:44 pm