FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION
WEEK 6
DATE:………………………………..
TOPIC: FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION (FLE)
CONTENT
- Meaning of family life education
- Population and resources available, customs, values and beliefs and traditional gender issues and core messages (family size and family welfare)
- Family size and consequences
- Census problems in Nigeria
Sub-Topic 1: MEANING FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION: Family life education is the education that is given to prepare individuals for their adult life. The purpose is to prepare individuals for choosing the right partner, living together peacefully in marriage and being good parents.
Family life education could also be defined as the education system which provides for a study of the population situation in a family, the community, the nation and the world with the purpose of developing in the citizen a more rational attitude and reasonable behavior towards improving the quality of their live, now and in the future (NERDC 1983)
CORE MESSAGES IN POPULATION/FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION
- POPULATION: The Nigerian population is increasing geometrically (i.e. at alarming rate), while the available resources and social amenities are growing arithmetically (at a very slow rate). Therefore, Nigerians need to be sensitized about this issue. A time would come in the future when the available natural resources such as water, land, forest and even man-made resources like house, social infrastructure might not be adequate. Hence, the youth should know that they are in a better position to control the population explosion by having small family size when they get married.
- RESOURCES AVAILABLE: The resources available could be man-made e.g. buildings, roads, dams, etc, or natural resources like crude oil, limestone, coal, tin, etc should be well managed to improve the standard of living of people resident in a country and the family in particular. But if these resources are not properly managed and maintained, then it would have negative effects on the people and nation at large.
- CUSTOMS, VALUES AND BELIEFS: Nigeria is made up of diverse ethnic groups and there is need for us to understand the customs and beliefs of other ethnic groups. This will make us live in unity.
- GENDER ISSUES: Children, regardless of their sex should be given equal treatment; son preference should not be allowed in the family. The female children should be given quality education and should be allowed to excel in their preferred career.
- FAMILY SIZE: The size of a family determines to a large extent, the kind of standard of living. A small family usually maintains a good and quality standard of living because they can afford good shelter, clothing, quality education and good food. But when there are more mouth to feed, then their standard of living is reduced.
- FAMILY WELFARE: For the family to have maximum comfort and enjoy all the basic necessities of life, the family size is should be small. Small family size guarantees good family welfare.
Family life education is a field of study that focuses on the development and well-being of individuals and families. It encompasses a wide range of topics, such as human development, parenting, relationship skills, sexuality, and communication. Family life educators work with people of all ages, from children to adults, in a variety of settings, such as schools, community centers, hospitals, and private practices.
The goal of family life education is to help individuals and families reach their full potential. By teaching skills and knowledge related to relationships, sexuality, and parenting, family life educators can help people make informed decisions about their lives, set goals, and build strong, healthy families
Core values and relationships of family life education
1. All families are unique and special.
2. Each family member has different roles and responsibilities.
3. Families need to communicate with each other to be effective.
4. Family members need to show respect for each other.
5. Families need to work together to solve problems.
6. Families need to have fun together.
Evaluation:
- What is family life education
- Mention the six core messages of family life education
Sub-Topic 2:
FAMILY SIZE AND CONSEQUENCES
- The size of a family determines the kind of life they would live. A large family might not be able to provide the basic needs. But a small family is able to provide a good quality standard of living.
- If you have a large family, you may find it difficult to complete your chores. You may also have difficulty providing for your family’s basic needs.
- Additionally, large families often experience overcrowding and lack of privacy. This can lead to conflict and tension within the family.
- Child spacing, if encouraged, reduces family size and this also affects the growth rate of population
- The size of a family determines the growth rate of the family. If families are growing anyhow, the population of the country will explode and when there is overpopulation, the available resources may not go round or may soon be exhausted if they are natural resources
Example of a large family size an example of a small family size
CENSUS PROBEMS IN NIGERIA
Census taking in Nigeria has been problematic for a variety of reasons. One reason is that the population is extremely diverse, with over 250 ethnic groups spread across a large landmass. This makes it difficult to count everyone and get accurate numbers. Additionally, many people live in rural areas and are hard to reach.
- HIGH COST: A credible population census requires a lot of money (particularly in dense country like Nigeria) to employ personnel to go into every part of the country. Due to the financial involvement, census exercise is carried out every ten years in Nigeria to enable government meet the financial involvement
- The population is extremely diverse, with over 250 ethnic groups spread across a large landmass.
- Many people live in rural areas and are hard to reach.
- Lack of accurate records makes it difficult to get an accurate count.
- Some people may not want to participate in the census for fear of reprisal.
- Lack of funding has also been a problem, as the census is expensive to carry out.
- LEVEL OF LITERACY: As a result of low level of literacy and high level of illiteracy, many people do not co-operate with the census officials, most people give false information and data which eventually will lead to inaccurate and unreliable census figures. Most of these illiterate do this because of the fear of being heavily taxed by the government after the exercise.
- INFLATION OF FIGURE: Due to the awareness that government uses the census figure for planning and allocation or distribution of amenities, people in some communities give false information by inflating the census figure.
- INACCESSIBILITY OF SOME AREAS IN NIGERIA: Hilly and riverside areas are usually not accessible by census officials, thereby making it impossible for people living in such areas to be counted.
- SHORTAGE OF TRAINED CENSUS PERSONNEL: Inadequate skilled and professional demographers and vital statistics officials to handle census exercise, most time leads to inaccurate figures, as the government most times hurriedly train corps members and teachers, who cannot be as efficient as professionals. Most times these staffs give incorrect census figures because they are unskilled.
- RELIGIOUS BELIEFS: Many rural dwellers believe that counting their children will bring some calamities in the form of death, infertility etc. on them. Hence the disallowed or do everything possible to stop the enumerators from counting them.
- TRANSPORTATION: In Nigeria there are some communities that are not motor able, therefore enumerators may not be able to reach such places to count them.
- COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS: Most times, people are posted to places outside their ethnic group; as a result of this the person may not be able to communicate with the people who can only speak their language.
Evaluation:
- Explain two family sizes and consequences
- List and discuss five problems of census
Weekend Assignment:
Objective Test:
- All children regardless of their sex should be given equal right to education best describe………..
- Family welfare (b) gender issues (c) family size
- One of the consequences of family size is that—–
- Child spacing affects population growth (b) the size of a family does not determine the standard of living (c) population growth is equal to available resources
- One of the following is not a census problem in Nigeria
- Population (b) transportation (c) religious beliefs
Essay Test:
- Define family life education
- Discuss four census problems in Nigeria
