Teacher preparation with regard to adolescent and family health constitutes a special input in the teacher education programmes as it aims at equipping teachers with knowledge and skills pertinent to the very sensitive content at the school stage.
Teachers have to merge as effective communicators in providing authentic information and value about sex and sexuality, hitherto, considered as intimately private matters. Also teachers have to have capability of dealing with the influence of cheap literature, magazines, pornographic material and blue films, adult films cinema, media and intent exposure and the like.
As the major goal of education in adolescent and family health is to develop right kind of attitude and behaviour among young generation, so as to enable them to manage their sexual development and family responsibly, teachers need to have proper sensitivities coupled with strategies in this regard. The matter is very closely associated with value systems obtaining in the society, which is not uniform throughout.
The value of such interventions would, therefore, be judged contextually. No teacher education intervention would survive which is not value based. It must be remembered that the traditional value system, which used to guide sexual behaviour has got almost extinct owing to faster social development, urbanisation and changing lifestyles.
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In Indian society, values of sexual abstinence, sublimation, chastity, celibacy, along with simple living, respect for elders, friendship, fidelity of thought and such other life values are still advocated and are quite prevalent.
Teacher education has to adopt a scientific basis to current value orientation dovetailing certain elements of traditional value systems. The skills would therefore, focus on training of teaches to guide learners’ behaviour in such a manner that they deal with the following effectively :
(a) Personal social development and habits during adolescence particularly their reproductive and sexual health.
(b) Risks of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
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(c) Sex abuse and exploitation.
(d) Peer pressures.
(e) Life skills and coping mechanisms.