School-going adolescents in KwaZulu-Natal received inadequate sexual education and information from teachers, parents, and churches, and the classroom environment was too noisy and uncontrollable to promote learning about sexual and reproductive health.
Key Findings
Results
School-going adolescents reported receiving inadequate sexual education and information from teachers.
Data were collected through individual, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 20 participants.
Participants were school-going adolescents in grades 10 to 12 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Inadequate information from teachers was identified as a key theme through thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke's six steps.
Non-probability quota sampling was used to select participants.
Results
Parents and churches were identified as inadequate sources of sexual and reproductive health information for adolescents.
Findings revealed that inadequate sexual education came from multiple sources including teachers, parents, and churches.
This was identified as a recurring theme across the 20 participant interviews.
The study used an exploratory, descriptive qualitative design to capture these perceptions.
The finding points to a broad gap across multiple social institutions responsible for sexual health education.
Results
The classroom environment was perceived as too noisy and uncontrollable to promote learning about sexual and reproductive health.
Adolescents specifically identified the physical and social classroom environment as a barrier to effective sexual health education.
This finding emerged from semi-structured interviews with 20 school-going adolescents in grades 10 to 12.
The classroom environment was described as 'too noisy and uncontrollable to promote learning.'
This environmental barrier was identified alongside inadequate information from adults as a compounding factor.
Conclusions
The study recommended strategies for multi-disciplinary teams to improve the quality of sexual health information available to adolescents.
Recommendations were directed at multi-disciplinary teams rather than any single institution or actor.
The recommendation was framed as addressing risky sexual behaviour and teenage pregnancies in KwaZulu-Natal and sub-Saharan Africa more broadly.
The study's exploratory qualitative design with 20 participants informed these recommendations.
The recommendation addresses the identified gap across teachers, parents, and churches as information sources.
Background
Adolescents' risky sexual behaviour and increased teenage pregnancies are identified as a concern in KwaZulu-Natal province and sub-Saharan Africa.
The study was conducted specifically in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, framed within the broader sub-Saharan African context.
The study design was exploratory and descriptive qualitative, selecting 20 school-going adolescents in grades 10 to 12.
Non-probability quota sampling was used for participant selection.
The study sought to explore adolescents' perceptions of sexual reproductive health and rights as a way to address these concerns.
What This Means
This research explored how teenagers attending school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, understand and perceive sexual and reproductive health and rights. The researchers interviewed 20 high school students (grades 10–12) individually, asking open-ended questions and analyzing the responses for common themes. The study found that adolescents felt they were not getting enough useful information about sexual health from the adults and institutions around them — including teachers, parents, and churches. Students also reported that classroom settings were too chaotic and noisy to allow for meaningful learning on these topics.
These findings suggest that multiple parts of the social environment — schools, families, and religious communities — are falling short in providing adolescents with the sexual health knowledge they need. This matters because inadequate sexual health education is linked to risky sexual behaviors and high rates of teenage pregnancy, which are ongoing concerns in the KwaZulu-Natal region and across sub-Saharan Africa more broadly.
This research suggests that improving sexual health outcomes for young people in this region will require coordinated efforts from multi-disciplinary teams — including educators, healthcare workers, community leaders, and families — rather than relying on any single source of information. Addressing both the quality of information provided and the environments in which it is delivered appears to be important for meaningful progress.
Lubuta B, Malapela R. (2025). How do school-going adolescents in KwaZulu-Natal perceive sexual and reproductive health and rights? A qualitative study.. African journal of reproductive health. https://doi.org/10.29063/ajrh2025/v29i8.5