Effectiveness of Reproductive Health Education in Preventing Early Pregnancies in Public Secondary Schools in Magu District, Tanzania

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of reproductive health education (RHE) in preventing early pregnancies in public secondary schools in Magu District, Tanzania. Guided by the Social Ecological Theory, the study adopted a parallel convergent design under a mixed methods approach. The target population consisted of 21 public secondary schools, 21 heads of schools (HoSs), 37 biology teachers, 1321 female students, and one District Secondary Education Officer (DSEO). Using purposive and stratified random sampling techniques, the sample consisted of 4 public secondary schools, 144 form four and form three students, 4 biology teachers, and 4 heads of schools. The validity of interview guides and questionnaires was ensured by research experts from MWECAU. Instruments were piloted in two schools and the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for internal consistency of Likert-type items of teachers' and students' questionnaires were .8 and .7, respectively. Triangulation of instruments and peer debriefing methods were used to establish the trustworthiness of qualitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed and presented in tables through frequencies, percentages, and means, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The study found that there are different perspectives between students and teachers regarding the effectiveness of reproductive health education in preventing early pregnancy among secondary school girls. The study also revealed that students and teachers were divergent on the effectiveness of RHE in reducing the risk of early pregnancy and equipping girls with the necessary skills. The study concluded that teachers' negative attitudes and wrong perceptions of reproductive health education are obstacles to the effectiveness of reproductive health education. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology should develop comprehensive national guidelines for RHE, provide regular teacher training, allocate sufficient budgetary resources, and establish monitoring mechanisms for RHE.