Paper Title
School -Based Sexual and Reproductive Health Education: Students Preferred Learning Style in Secondary Schools in Benue State, Nigeria
Abstract
High risk sexual behaviours reported among adolescents in Benue state despite a decade of implementing
Sexual and Reproductive Health Education ((SBSRHE) underscores the urgent need to examine the students preferred
learning style on the premise that when teachers adapt instructional methods to suit the learners style it enhances
knowledge and attitude change. Survey method was adopted to examine students preferred style of learning sexuality
education measured with Barsch‘s Learning Style Inventory (α=0.72). One thousand eight hundred and twenty-four students
consisting 925 (50.1%) males and 899 (49.3%) females were randomly drawn from nine secondary schools implementing
Family life HIV Education (FLHE) in Benue state. Result reveal that of the 1824 students 916 representing 50.2 % of the
sample prefers kinesthetic learning style; 768 (42.1 %) preferred learning by visual, while only 140 (7.7%) preferred learning
by auditory. Of the 925 males 62.4% preferred learning using kinesthetic style while only 7.1% like to use auditory
learning style. 486 females (54.1%) out of 899 preferred learning sexuality education with visual style while only 74(8.2%)
preferred learning by auditory. Students learning style also differs by school location (rural, urban and semi-urban). The
researchers concluded that irrespective of gender and school location majority of students in Benue state secondary schools
preferred to learn sexuality education using kinesthetic style. This finding underscores the need for teachers of FLHE to
diversify their delivery methods to suit all types of learners.
Keywords - Adolescents, Benue State, Learning Style, Sexuality Education