CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

HIV/AIDS has been designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the world's first health emergencies and an immediate danger to global public health. [Citation needed] According to the findings, HIV/AIDS is the second most extensively disseminated infectious illness in the world and the sixth most prevalent cause of death worldwide. (WHO, 2004) It has gained the same amount of attention in international circles over the past several years as other urgent global issues like as war, terrorism, and the damage of the environment, amongst others.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), HIV/AIDS is one of the world's first health emergencies and a pressing threat to global public health. It is revealed that HIV/AIDS is the second most extensively distributed infectious illness in the globe as well as the sixth most prevalent cause of death internationally. (WHO, 2004) In international circles during the past several years, it has garnered an equal amount of attention as other urgent global issues such as war, terrorism, and the damage of the environment, amongst others. According to UNAIDS (2006), around 65 million individuals have been impacted by AIDS, and over 25 million people have passed away as a result of AIDS-related causes. If prevention and treatment are not sped up, it is anticipated that there will be 29 million new infections by the year 2020. This makes the situation even more dire. The report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2006 from the United Nations notes that numerous countries have reported progress in lowering the number of HIV infections, but the study also states that the overall infection rate is on the increase. The most severely impacted region is still considered to be sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). According to the WHO (2004), HIV/AIDS has been identified as the leading cause of death among African adults. It is asserted that around 3.1 percent of all male fatalities and 3.9 percent of all female deaths are caused by illnesses associated to AIDS accordingly. In the same spirit, a data sheet published by UNAIDS in 2006 claims that 63 percent of all HIV/AIDS infections in the world are found in Africa, south of the Sahara, with the incidence rate being highest among those aged 15 to 49 years old. During the African Development Forum, African chiefs of state proclaimed a state of emergency throughout the continent due to the spread of the AIDS epidemic. For what cause is this? (2000).

According to Mbanya, Martyn, and Paul (2008), the socioeconomic effect of the disease is significant. As a result, an increasing number of regions are being impacted, and high hospital bed occupancy is becoming increasingly prevalent. They go on to say that this causes medical workers to be overworked and adds an additional load to the health and education sectors, where it has been observed that school instructors are less productive on a number of counts and morbidity is growing as a result of opportunistic infections. Given that around 42 percent of the country's population is comprised of people under the age of 18, this, of course, presents a significant obstacle to the country's efforts to advance its social and economic conditions (Population Reference Bureau, 2009).

The incorporation of a course on health and wellness into the curriculum is not a recent development. A glance through the progression of curriculum in Nigerian education demonstrates the many different approaches that have been taken to the treatment of problems connected to health. Even as far back as the 1980s, people in Nigeria's education system, both formal and informal, made attempts to incorporate population and family life instruction into the curriculum. By 1985, the education of reproductive health had been incorporated into a variety of school subjects, including Biology, Integrated Science, Physical and Health Education, Home Economics, and Religious and Moral Education at both the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) levels. Many aspects of our social lifestyles have been negatively impacted as a result of globalization. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the results of our people's dysfunctional social lives as a whole. There has not been a great deal of success in avoiding HIV/AIDS, despite the many efforts that have been made to educate our people on sexual matters and encourage them to use condoms in order to limit their behavior. Olusola Adara,"Seminar on HIV/AIDS Curriculum Development" (2003). Teachers of Science at secondary schools believe that educating students about HIV/AIDS in the classroom can help curb the pandemic produced by the disease that will be the focus of the research.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The number of persons who have passed away as a result of complications related to HIV/AIDS has steadily increased throughout the years. Claims and counterclaims regarding the existence of HIV/AIDS treatments have been made by a variety of individuals. Studies conducted by scientists have shown that there is currently no treatment or cure available for HIV/AIDS. Teachers of science in secondary schools have come to the conclusion that teaching HIV/AIDS education in schools may be utilized as a weapon in the war against AIDS as a result of the predicament that people have been forced into as a result of the absence of a cure for the debilitating HIV/AIDS.

One school of thought held the view that in order to address the issue of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a new school topic should be created specifically for the purpose of tackling this issue. However, there is another school of thought that contends the addition of teaching about HIV/AIDS will be an attempt to overburden the already overcrowded school topics and over work the instructors. Owing to th e differences in the ideas of scholars the problem of this study is designed to demographic variables influencing science teachers perception towards the inclusion of HIV/AIDS education in secondary schools.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY

The purpose of this study is to investigate demographic variables influencing science teachers perception towards the inclusion of HIV/AIDS education in secondary schools.Other specific objectives includes:

i.          To ascertain whether location influences perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools.

ii.        To investigate whether teaching experience influences perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools.

iii.      To determine whether educational qualifications  influences perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools.

iv.      To examine whether gender influences perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools.

1.4  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i.          Does school location influences perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools?

ii.        Does teaching experience influences perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools?

iii.      Does educational qualifications  determine perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools?

iv.      Does gender influences perception of science teachers’ on HIV/AIDS education inclusion in secondary schools?

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