Construction Of Perception Scale For Teachers Of St & Sc Development Schools On Life Skills Based Sexual And Reproductive Health Education (Lse-Srh)

Abstract

The paper seeks to highlight on developing and standardizing a perception scale to assess the perceptions of teachers in Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) Development (SSD) schools on Life Skills-Based Sexual and Reproductive Health Education (LSE-SRH). 70 Statements for the scale were collected and then refined to address key dimensions of LSE-SRH: 1.Sexual and Reproductive maturity of Adolescents, 2.Sexual and Reproductive cleanliness and hygiene of Adolescents, 3.Sexuality of Adolescents, 4. Unwanted and teenage pregnancy, 5.Unsafe abortion, 6.              Sexually transmitted diseases, 7.Healthy practices and balanced diet for adolescents. The scale was standardized through content validation and inter-item correlation analysis. Content validation involved expert reviews, retaining 52 items, which were further analyzed for internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha. After rejecting four low-correlation items, the final perception scale consisted of 48 items across the seven dimensions of LSE-SRH Perception. The scale was formatted on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating a better perception of LSE-SRH. The maximum score was 240, representing a comprehensive evaluation of SSD School teachers' perception on LSE-SRH. This tool facilitates the comparison of teachers' perceptions across variables such as gender and academic streams. The findings have significant implications for integrating LSE-SRH into educational curricula at various levels. By equipping educators and students with critical knowledge and life skills, this initiative aims to address sexual and reproductive health challenges effectively. It supports the development of responsible decision-making, risk avoidance, and healthy behaviors, ultimately contributing to a healthier, more informed, and empowered society.