Population and Family Life Education
Dr. Radhika Kapur
Abstract
There has been understanding and realization of the significance of
education amongst all the sections of the society. Population education and the
family life education are the two kinds of education that are part of the curriculum
within the educational institutions. In the case of population education, an
individual acquires understanding of different areas of the population such as
population expansion, the main difficulties and problems that arise as a result of
increase in the population, measures to be implemented, environment, natural
calamities, disasters, health, women empowerment, development in the agricultural
methods, technology, industrial expansion, employment opportunities and so forth;
therefore, it can be stated that population education is a comprehensive field,
which takes into account number of areas. Family of an individual is an imperative
aspect; every individual has a family that renders an effective contribution in his
progress and development; some individuals have large families, whereas some
have small families. There are two types of families, joint families and nuclear
families, joint families consists of two or more nuclear families residing under the
common roof and nuclear family is the family that consists of husband, wife and
their unmarried children. Joint families consist of number of family members,
grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, siblings and so
forth. In family life education, an individual is provided knowledge about how to
effectively cope up with all the relationships within the family, how to provide
solutions to the problems that may take place such as relating to jobs, career,
employment, education, finances, carrying out of the household chores, strained
relationships, and so forth. The purpose of this research paper is to look into the
significance of population and family life education, the interconnection between
them and how they contribute in making the life of an individual enhanced and
developed.
Keywords: Population Education, Family Life Education, Schools,
Community, Problems, Difficult Situations
Understanding the Meaning of Population and Family Life Education
Family life education is defined by the International Planned Parenthood
Federation (IPPF) as an instructive procedure devised to support young people in
their physical, emotional and moral development as they prepare themselves for
adulthood, marriage, parenthood, and ageing, as well as their societal relationships
in the socio-cultural framework of the family and society. Population education is
defined by UNFPA as the procedure of assisting people in understanding the
environment, sources and inferences of population procedures as they affect, and
are affected by individuals, families, communities and nations. It centers on family
and individual resolutions effecting population change at the micro level, as well as
on broad demographic changes; population education deal with such subjects as
fast population development and inadequate sources as well as population decline
in illumination of progressively more elderly populations (Family Life,
Reproductive Health and Population Education, n.d.).
Family and community members can play a fundamental part in dialogues
and sensitization about family life, reproductive health, and population areas.
Parent-teacher connections, adult education activities, formal and informal
presentations, open houses, civic clubs, religious centers, and community group
meetings can be apposite settings for communicating with families and community
members on these areas; accomplishment is the finest supporter and an enthusiast.
Local involvements that prove themselves to be prosperous can help acquire
sustenance from individuals and groups that were primarily not very encouraging;
it may not be required to realize complete sustenance from all groups before
beginning. Resources may be spent in an improved manner on creating verification
of need, involvements that meet the needs and associates that do support it (Family
Life, Reproductive Health and Population Education, n.d.).
The main objective of the population education is to shape the knowledge
and understanding of the students so that they are able to effectively implement the
activities and functions that are beneficial to the population. In order to make
provision of population education in an effective manner, the school policies
provide an essential framework to guide the schools in planning, implementing and
evaluating efforts in promoting the health of the individuals and other information
about the different aspects of population education. School policies and practices
are required to encourage an unambiguous set of norms and values and they
develop through participatory policy making and special consideration has been
given to gender equity (Family Life, Reproductive Health and Population
Education, n.d.).
Population Education in Schools
Formal population education aims to teach the children in schools about
fundamental population issues and in many cases, to support them ultimately to
have smaller families. Some programs contain precise elements on human
reproduction and family planning, while others do not. National population
education programs began during the 1970s in about a dozen countries, mainly in
Asia. A well-built case can be prepared for including an imperative existing issue
like population in the school curriculum. However, educational innovation is a
difficult and long-term process; as a rule, it takes five to ten years before new
material can be completely integrated into the school curriculum. Changes within
the curriculum must be cautiously planned, thousands of teachers should be
trained, and apposite materials prepared for classroom use. Moreover, differences
of opinion over the need, adequacy, goals, content, methods, and other aspects of
population education have held back programs in some countries. Where
population education programs have been realized, student knowledge of
population issues increases, but it is still not clear whether in school education has
an assessable effect on fertility-related approaches or behavior (Population
Education in Schools, 1982).
Population education has been defined as an educational program which
makes available for a study of the population condition in the family, the
community, nation and the world with the rationale of developing in the student’s
coherent and conscientious attitudes and behavior toward that situation. Why
should such a program be part of formal schooling? Formal education should
organize the young for adult life by teaching pertinent information and skills; it
may help to create attitudes and values at an early age; it organizes individuals for
parts as community and national leaders and it sustains national, social and
economic development. If the schools are to completely perform these vital roles,
they should include population in the curriculum, since population and family life
subjects are an imperative feature of most of the individuals, societies, and
nationwide resolutions (Population Education in Schools, 1982).
Population education takes various forms. The most wide-ranging approach
is through the government operated primary and secondary school systems.
Generally population topics are integrated in social studies, geography, home
economics, science, and mathematics courses. National population education
programs are normally managed through a unit in the ministry of education. To be
most efficient, these units need to manage population education functions not only
throughout the formal school system but also with community leaders, other
population and family planning information programs, national or regional
academic testing bodies, private schools and universities, national and international
funding sources; as with any program, connection of leadership and high-level
support are vital to lead to accomplishment. In some developing countries,
population education has been connected with educational reform; reform means
introducing new subject matter pertinent to modern life and encouraging new
teaching methods that motivate student participation to a greater extent. On one
hand, population subjects lend themselves willingly to this approach, on the other
hand, teachers who are familiar with giving lectures and calling on students to
perform memorized matter may find it difficult to direct the class debate on an
innovative, multifaceted, and probably controversial subject matter (Population
Education in Schools, 1982).
Family Life Education
Family life education is the education that is imparted to the individuals so
that he becomes familiar with all the relationships and ties that he has in ones
family and how to effectively implement them. Family life education (FLE) is the
educational effort to strengthen individual and family life through the family
perspective; the main objective of this education is to enrich and improve the
quality of individual and family life. Family life education has existed throughout
history and has passed on from generation to generation. Upon acquiring this
education, the individuals who are the members of the family adopt means to
enhance the family life and provide solutions to all the problems and difficulties
(Family Life Education, 2008). An individual belongs to two kinds of families, one
is the family of orientation, which consists of his parents and siblings and the other
is the family of procreation, which consists of his spouse and children. When an
individual is born, he is born in the family of orientation and the family of
procreation is created when he gets married. Family life education makes provision
of education to an individual about how to effectively perform the roles of a
spouse, parent, sibling or a child and how to effectively solve the problems and
prevent problems from assuming an extreme form.
Family of procreation is the family that prepares an individual and provides
him efficient knowledge, information and awareness about how to effectively deal
with the problems and difficult situations that may arise in ones daily life. The
main areas that are taken into consideration in the family of procreation are
preparing for marriage, that is pre-marriage education, how to become a good
parent, that is preparing oneself for parenthood, how parents should work as team
and contribute effectively in the upbringing of the children. An individual’s career
and profession is important in ones life, parents and other close family members
play a significant part in guiding and counseling them in taking up a good career of
their interest. Values, norms, morals and ethics are imparted to the individuals
within the family of procreation so that they are able to effectively implement these
aspects into the family of orientation, when they have their own children and also
with the spouse and extended members of the family. Family life education
provides concepts to the individual about caring for the aging family members and
other care givers, caring for the family members with special needs, such as the
ones who are not completely ambulatory and need assistance in meeting their day
to day requirements, individuals and families who are poverty stricken and need
help should be supported in every means and younger members of the families
should be appropriately guided towards the right direction. Family should be
promoted as a unit and two main areas that should be taken into account are
promoting work life balance education and family perspectives (Family Life
Education, 2008).
Interconnection between Population and Family Life Education
There is an interrelationship between population and family life education;
in population education, there are various areas that need to be taken into account
that are correlated with population education. These are socio-cultural life, quality
of life, population situation, population explosion, sources and uses of population
data, determinants of population change, population distribution and migration,
population and development, population and environment, population and health,
population issues in agricultural development, women empowerment, population
policies and programs, family planning and family life education. India is a
densely populated country, population explosion has been a major problem within
the country, and cities are densely populated as people are migrating to urban areas
from rural areas in search for better education and employment opportunities. In
order to curb population explosion, family planning is stated to be one of the
important aspects that are required to get efficiently implemented. Population
education is the study of the population situations and its implications for the
family, community and the entire nation; the main objective of population
education is to develop within the individuals, the responsible attitudes, values and
skills through the process of rational decision making for enhanced quality of life
for the individual and their community, both in the present and future existence
(Davies, 2005).
The main similarity between population and family life education is that
both the kinds of education, impart to an individual appropriate morals, ethics,
values, attitudes and skills to develop himself as a human being and contribute
effectively towards the welfare of the society and the nation. The problems and
issues such as gender equality, women empowerment, eradication of poverty and
illiteracy are the areas that come under population education and family life
education. When a person reaches the age of 70 and above, he undergoes certain
health problems and even other kinds of problems such as inability to carry out the
household chores by himself, carrying out of duties and functions that are outside
the house, in all these cases he needs help and assistance; therefore, both kinds of
education provides information and knowledge to the individuals to be respectful
and caring towards the elderly people and look after their needs and requirements.
Health is another vital area, which applies to all the individuals of all age groups,
in both population and family life education, it has been emphasized that one
should adequately look after his health as well as the health of his family members;
therefore, it can be stated that with certain common areas between both kinds of
education, there is an interconnection between them.
Problems and Difficult Situations in Population and Family Life
Education
There have been certain problems and difficult situations that exist within
the society and the community that are part of population education and family life
education and these have been stated as follows:
Malnutrition - The consequences of child malnutrition for child morbidity
and mortality are massive and there is an unfavorable impact of malnutrition on
productivity so that a failure to battle child malnutrition reduces potential
economic growth at the macro level. At the micro level, malnutrition both protein
energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies directly affects children’s
physical and cognitive growth and increases susceptibility to infection and
diseases. It is understandable that there is an urgent need to focus on the nutritional
and overall developmental needs of children. The fair interval for intervention is
considered to be from pregnancy to two years of age, after which under nutrition
may cause irretrievable damage for future development. Poor fetal growth or
stunting in the first two years of life leads to irretrievable damage. Insufficient
cognitive or social stimulation in first two to three years has lifelong negative
impact on educational performance and psycho-social functioning.
School Drop Out - There have been various factors for school dropout, such
as poverty level, distance of school from home, transportation problems, family
issues, social environment, fear and vulnerability that some students possess
regarding education, quality of teachers, classroom and school environmental
conditions and so forth. India is a poverty striven and rural based economic
society, Albeit world program for education for all and the enactment of right of
children to free and compulsory education (RTE) in India, many children are out of
schools and discontinuation of education has been a very common phenomenon in
all parts of the country. There have been initiatives to encourage children towards
education, this has resulted in an increase in the enrolment ratio, but it has not been
successful in retaining the students to the desired level.
Violence, Abuse and Neglect - Violence, abuse and neglect affect children’s
development, adjustment and relationships with parents, relatives and the
community; the child in turn becomes aggressive, isolated and withdraw from the
society; hence the psychological approach of the child gets severely affected as a
result of violence and abuse that he has suffered. Some children may become
depressed, miserable, whereas others may even get involved in criminal activity,
hence violence and abuse leads to negative consequences. Brain imaging
techniques have enabled the scientists to document the effect of abuse and neglect
upon the developing brain; these activities damage the brain’s physical structure by
impairing cell growth, interfering with the formation of health circuitry, and
altering the neural structure and function of the young brain. Therefore, children do
undergo emotional, psychological and behavioral difficulties as a result of
violence, abuse and neglect.
Education –Education is an imperative area that plays a crucial part in the
life of the individual; people who belong to rich, affluent and wealthy families, for
them education is not a major issue and they can afford good quality education for
their children. Affording education and sending their children to schools is a major
problem for the underprivileged and the socio-economically backward sections of
the society. There have been children who are not able to acquire education due to
lack of facilities to meet their special needs or special needs of the families (Health
& Family Life Education, 2002).
Employment – Every individual, irrespective of the caste, creed, ethnicity,
gender, race, religion, socio-economic status desires to obtain employment and
source of income to earn their living. In making provision of any kind of education
and well upbringing of an individual; it is important to acquire adequate
employment. When an individual is employed, then major family problems and
issues can be easily resolved because finances are major problems amongst the
individuals belonging to deprived and underprivileged sections of the society. An
individual is able to live life effectively when he has adequate finances and is able
to take care of his family members in an appropriate manner.
Discussion
One of the difficult problems which have influenced the existence of all
individuals within the country is the rapid increase in the population, which offsets
every endeavor for development. A need is being felt for imparting factual
knowledge about population dynamic, so that the younger generation may
understand the nature and magnitude of the pressure that is enforced by speedy
population growth. Population education is an educational program which provides
for a study of population situation of the family, the community, nation and the
world, with the purpose of developing in the students the rational and responsible
attitudes and behavior towards that situation. Population education is basically
related to human resource development; it is not only concerned with population
awareness but also with the developing values and attitudes which take care of the
quality and quantity of population. One of the important areas of population
education is the cause and effect relationship, so that the learners are able to make
rational decisions on their own behavior on population matters; therefore, it can be
stated that population education is an exploration of knowledge and attitudes about
population, family living, reproduction education and basic values. It means
educating the students about large population or ever-increasing population.
The main objectives of population education is to enable the students to
understand that family size is controlled, population limitation can facilitate the
development of a more enriched quality of life, small family size can smooth the
progress of an individual as well as the enhancement of living standards, looking
after the health and welfare of the family members is the main responsibility of all
the people, particularly the young family members should possess a caring nature
for the elders and the consequences should be imparted to the students about the
changes in the family size and in national population on the individual.
Family life education focuses on healthy family functioning and recognizing
that one member of the family has an influence upon all members of the
family. Research has indicated that the basic skills and knowledge needed for
healthy functioning are strong communication skills, knowledge of typical human
development, good decision-making skills, positive self-esteem, and healthy
interpersonal relationships. The goal of family life education is to teach and foster
this knowledge and these skills to enable individuals and families to function
optimally. There have been certain areas that are considered to be problems and
difficult situations with regards to population and family education and these are
malnutrition, school drop out, violence, abuse and neglect, employment, and
education. Therefore, it can be stated that it is vital to acquire awareness and
knowledge of these two kinds of education not only within the educational
institutions and schools but also at home, ones family life, employment settings
and organizations. Effective understanding will render a contribution in promoting
the wellbeing, benefits and interests of not only the individual but also the society
and the nation.
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