Influence of Reproductive Health Education on Promotion of Girl Child Education: a Case of Fawe-k (Forum for African Women Educationalists-kenya) Programme in Western Kenya

Abstract

Reproductive Health Education (RHE) in Kenya is aimed at increasing awareness of responsible sexual activities especially among the youth. The availability of these services and the vigorous efforts by the government and some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have helped reduce unwanted teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and have improved their knowledge on reproductive behaviour, sexual and reproductive health among others.The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of reproductive health education on promotion of girl-child education amongst those enrolled in FA WE-K programme in Western Kenya. Study data was collected using questionnaires (closed-ended and open-ended) from a study sample of 76 respondents comprising of 64 students, 8 teachers and 4 community representatives. Statistical analyses included both descriptive and inferential statistics, using both Microsoft Excel 2010 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and then the results were presented in the form of tables and percentages employing both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, whereas quantifiable data was coded and analyzed using SPSS. The study has established that reproductive health education influences promotion of girl child education. Training girls on reproductive health related issues such as sex education, use of condoms, peer interaction, guidance and counseling has influence on the promotion of the girl-child education. The study also showed that girls benefited from the training in many ways such as improving life skills, raising self-esteem and self-confidence and empowering them to aim higher in their education. The study further revealed that training teachers on RHE had influence on promotion of girl-child education through creating positive attitude towards girl-child education amongst the community members, safeguarding girls' rights at school, providing guidance and counseling to the girls and understanding girls better in relation to their reproductive health needs. The study also established that sensitizing community members yielded a positive response since they now appreciate girl-child education; understand girls' rights and issues related to reproductive health. In addition, the study showed that reproductive health education was effective on improvement of their academic performance.