Social studies school based assessment (s.b.a)

Social Studies School Based Assessment (S. B. A) Name of Teacher: Miss anderson Jamaica College 3/1/2013 Ryan Hall This Research is based upon the topic of teenage pregnancy and how it is a factor in the August Town community. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM What are the challenges and consequences of teenage pregnancy in the community of August Town? Purpose of Research The purpose of this research is to identify the consequences and challenges of Teenage Pregnancy in the community of August Town. Definition of Terms Teenage Pregnancy: This refers to a teenager who is in the state of being pregnant. Consequences: This refers to the result or effect of a situation. Challenges: This refers to an interesting but difficult task or situation. Research Questions 1. What are the challenges of Teenage Pregnancy? 2. What are the consequences of Teenage Pregnancy? Reason for selecting area of research Teenage Pregnancy is one of the major common issues affecting the society of New Garden. This area of research was chosen in order to find out the challenges and consequences of Teenage Pregnancy. Many persons do not know the challenges that pregnant teenagers face and this research will educate them. Method of Data Collection In order to collect data from this survey, I have decided to use printed questionnaires. The questionnaire as a tool for collecting data has a number of advantages: 1. It requires little time to be completed. 2. It can be done at the convenience of the person required to have it completed. 3. It guarantees confidentiality since respondents are not required to attach their names. Data Collection Instrument SURVEY OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN THE COMMUNITY OF NEW GARDENS DISTRICT Dear Respondent, This is a questionnaire carried out to retrieve information about teenaged pregnancy in the Community of August Town to know how teenagers and adults feel about teenage Pregnancy and what they think about sex. This is a study conducted towards Social Studies course currently in progress. You are expected to answer these questions truthfully and honestly you are not required to give your name so no one will know who answered. This questionnaire is not a test there are no wrong answers so it is expected that you answer these questions without difficulty. Thank you. Yours faithfully, R. Hall Respondents Questionnaire 1. Sex Male Female 2. What school do you attend/or what is your occupation? …………………………………………………………… 3. How old are you? ……………………………………………………….. 4. How long have you lived in August Town? 5 years Over 10 years 6 – 8 years 1 – 4 years Under 1 year 5. How many teens do you know of that are pregnant? Over 8 teens 4 – 6 Teens 1 – 3 Teens 1 teen 6. Do you think sex at a young age is relevant? Yes No 7. What do you think about sex at this age? It is relevant Abstinence makes sense It should be every week It should be everyday 8. Are teens acting irresponsible in the area? Yes No 9. Do you think parents talk to their children about sex in the community? Yes No 10. Do teenagers talk about sex a lot in the community? Yes No 11. As a Student or an Adult do you think teens control their sexual behavior enough? Yes No Other …………………………………………………………………………………… 12. Is social behavior acceptable in the community? If No why? Yes No 13. Do you think teens are incapable of controlling their sexual emotions in the community? Yes No PROCEDURES USED TO COLLECT DATA I’ve created fifty questionnaires to give to the people in the community. It was expected that at least 40 out of the 50 was going to be returned. I chose the persons to be given a questionnaire by random selection which allowed me to gather quite a good amount of information. We split the questionnaires into half 25/25 and my brother and I gave to twenty – five houses in the top of the community and twenty – five in the bottom of the community. The persons selected was by careful thinking and thus we know we gave to the right persons if they were not at home we left it under the door with a letter. PRESENTATION AND EXPLANATION OF DATA A total of fifty questionnaires were distributed throughout the community with 42 out of the 50 being returned. There were 35% male and 65% female. Fig 1: Length of residence respondents Figure 1 shows how long residents have been living in August Town. It is seen that 5% was living there for five (5) years while 25% was living there for ten (10) years and 55% was living there for fifteen (15) years and lastly 35% lived there for over 15 years. Fig . 2 It was agreed that by a 100% of residents that there is a particular amount of teens that are pregnant. Figure 2 shows how many teens are known of that are pregnant 15% say 1 teen 32% shows 3 teens 22% shows 6 teens and 31% shows over 8 teens in the community. Fig 3. How respondents think about sex at this age. Figure three shows how respondents think sex should be 21% said that it was relevant, while 50% said abstinence, 25% said it should be everyday, and 4% said every week. Fig 4. Figure 4 shows how parents talk to their children about sex in the community 23% said yes while 77% said no. INTERPRETATION OF DATA The residents of August Town seemed to agree to the fact that teens were not capable of controlling their sexual behavior. The people have gathered a number of teens they know of that are pregnant – one teen (15%), three teens (32%), six teens (22%) and over eight teens (31%). Abstinence is quite popular among the residents in the community as 50% said abstinence made sense and in another instance 25% said sex should be everyday while 21% said sex is relevant and 4% said it should be every week. FINDINGS The survey has proved that there are a number of incapabilities within the teens in the community of August Town. These include: 1. Teens are having unprotected sex a lot in the community as indicated by 31% of the residents in the community 2. The people in the community say abstinence makes sense as according to 50% of the respondents in the community. 3. Parents do not talk to their children a lot about sex and it proves to make them inferior. RECOMMENDATIONS The teens in the community are under a lot of pressure and seem incompetent in the community. In order to put teens in focus parents and children must come together the school system has to start teaching more about these things. The government of the country must come up with some plan to help teens. I recommend that at least an institution be put in the community to teach children about sex at this young age and see if they can get teens to think carefully before they have sex are even if they do if they can have protected sex. Teens can play their part in this by asking their parents for help and asking them about sex and its consequences, teens should be vigilant and do their utmost best, they should focus on their education more than sexual desires. I also recommend that the government institute programs that will produce sufficient recreational activities for teenager’s mentorship, and counseling in assisting them in making conscious decisions. To solve this problem I would: * Try to know more about sex and its consequences. * Talk to a government agency about sex and ask how they can help in the community. * Ask my professional persons about it such as a Guidance Counsellor. * Create a group with my friends and together put up a plan to research about sex and try our best to make abstinence a long term plan. Table Of Contents Page Acknowledgements i Introduction ii CHAPTER ONE Statement of the Problem 1 Reason for selecting area of research 2 Method of data collection 3 CHAPTER TWO Data Collection Instrument 4-6 Procedures used to collect data 7 Presentation of Data 8-11 Interpretation of Data 12 CHAPTER THREE Findings 13 Recommendations 14 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project could not have been so successfully prepared if it were not for a number of persons whom helped me out along the way. I would like greatly to thank the residents of August Town for their help and some of their time they spent on answering my questionnaires. My teacher, Miss Brown must also be thanked for guiding along the way step by step and giving me helpful tips as well. Last but not least I would like to thank my family members especially my brother who helped in acquiring information geared towards this project. INTRODUCTION August Town is a small community in the parish of Kingston. It is located in the county of Surrey, Jamaica. It can be found near Mona which is the nearest town to the community that is near the capital city of Kingston. The teenagers in the community have a lot of views towards teenage pregnancy and also there are some teenagers that are presently pregnant while others are mothers already. I have been living in August Town for the past eighteen (18) years. During this time, I have noticed that sex as become a generalized thought on most teenagers’ minds and also peer pressure. Teenagers are becoming very irresponsible in their behaviour towards sex and have been focusing on sex rather than their education and future. I have therefore decided to conduct a survey to investigate teenage pregnancy in the community and see how teenagers react towards it.