Training schemes for teachers in population education

Population education is now part of the academic curriculum on the elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels in the Philippines, so adequate teacher training in the subject is important. When the teacher training program was instituted, a number of problems arose that can slow implementation of the curricular additions. The areas of concern are trainer competence, quality of training because of a lack of favorable attitudes toward population education, negative teacher attitude, superficial understanding of the subject by the teachers, lack of classroom space, and a training overload due to concurrent training in other fields. A combination of solutions are being investigated including a proposal for uniform guidelines for a structured training program as well as a modular training program that entails independent study.     

The Population Program's Medium-Term Plan: a blueprint for welfare

The Population Program in the Philippines initially was preoccupied with the problem of fertility reduction. From 1981-85, the program will be carrying out a 5-year population plan which aims at the reduction of fertility as well as the broader goal of enhancing the well-being of the family and of society. Called the Medium Term Plan, this population plan began to evolve in January 1978 when President Marcos called for a comprehensive review of the population program in the context of the country's overall development plans. The Special Committee to Review the Philippine Population Program, worked from February to June 1978 and focused attention on the policy, program, and research components of the population program. They assessed the achievements of the program, analyzed its limitations, and recommended future policy and program thrusts. In performing its task, the committee observed the following guidelines: 1) the program must be evaluated by taking into account the overall development goals that are directly related to the population problem, 2) the program must be evaluated in its totality, 3) the concept of family planning must be redefined as family planning and welfare, 4) research must be recognized as a vital instrument for program formulation, and 5) the population program must be evaluated with an awareness of the role of financial and institutional support in its implementation. The committee's findings stressed the need to link family planning efforts with the rest of socioeconomic issues outlined in the government's 5-year development plan for 1978-82. The broad objective of the National Population Program is to reduce the population growth rate to levels that promote national welfare and individual well-being. Under the Medium Term Plan the population growth rate should be reduced from an estimated 2.3% to an estimated 2.0% in 1985. To achieve this objective, the program aims to raise the number and quality of protected couples, promote delayed marriage, promote internalization of the small family size norm, and study other development factors. 14 strategies and their objectives are outlined along with action steps.     

The premarriage counseling program: effectively meeting its objectives

Better education of Philippine couples and exposure to good counseling before marriage are 2 major factors that have positively affected the performance of the 9 year old Premarriage Counseling Program (PMCP). According to the study, better educated couples about to marry, and couples who had previous guidance from premarriage counselors scored higher than others on a family planning Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice (KAP) test. A study was conducted to evaluate the program's effectiveness. Broadly, all those involved in the PMCP agreed that it contributed a large share to the slowing down of the country's population growth and favored the continuation of the program. The 7 major problems of the program discussed are: 1) poor coordination and cooperation among the participating agencies existed in some areas from the top level of the hierarchy to the lowest level, 2) lack of logistic support to enable the staff to perform their respective responsibilities, 3) lack of discipline and skill among counselors in performing their responsibilities, 4) lack of interest among the counselees, 5) an inadequate database for monitoring and evaluating, 6) reliance on a "padrino" to be exempted from going through premarriage counseling sessions, and 7) too much focus on family planning and marriage and relationships during premarriage counseling sessions. Recommendations include 1) program heads should reassess the program's subject matter, and 2) the subject matter of premarriage counseling sessions should be limited to thorough discussions of family planning, marriage, and relationships.     

The Catholic response to the population problem

A survey of efforts led or sponsored by the Catholic church in response to the population problem in the Philippines. These efforts stem from the Church's belief that population growth is related to the overall picture of development, and that priority must go to social and economic justice. The Catholic Church of the Philippines (to which 85% of the population belong) views it as a problem basically involving care of people, and directs its efforts primarily at internal human sexual control rather than external contraceptive control. Family Life Education began as a program in the church in the 1960s. Efforts by priests, nuns, and lay leaders in Mindanao eventually resulted in counseling in husband-wife relations, marriage commitment, human sexuality, parent-child relations, and responsible parenthood, and to the creation of college courses to prepare teachers in tackling sex education. A program offering natural family planning was also started, initially for employees of a packing firm and later expanding throughout the province. In 1975, the program was launched in Manila, and a year later had 3 family life centers. The ovulation (or Billings) method is offered -- an advantage to low income people because it does not require purchase of a thermometer. Success of this method requires a sense of responsibility on the part of both husband and wife. Widespread international interest in the ovulation method has led to formation of an International Federation for Family Life Promotion, to which the Philippine Federation for Natural Family Planning has applied for membership. The IFFLP is working with the WHO Human Reproduction Unit on 2 projects, part of one of them (a field trial for evaluation) being conducted in Iligan City, Iloilo City, and Manila. Among the concerns of the IFFLP-WHO collaboration is developing a standardized Natural Family Planning curriculum or educational package.     

Population education: a challenge of the seventies

The 2 sections of this discussion of population education set forth the larger theoretical, strategic, and institutional context in which population education can reasonably be expected to take hold in American society and deals impressionalistically with the few "pioneer years" of population education--a period less than a decade long. Population education is defined as an effort to bring about a realization of the individual, family, social, and environmental effects of the explosive increase in human population, the rapid shifts in the concentration and distribution of people, the implications of changing age and other demographic patterns, and the conceivable options that may be open to humankind to cope with the consequent problems. Population education is focused primarily on students who will become the principal childbearers within 1 or 2 decades. There are 4 formidable obstacles to the universal acceptance of population education: organization of the educational system around disciplines with the result that students become increasingly specialized the further they go; the 2-fold problem of crowded curricular schedules and the difficulty in persuading educational bureaucracies to introduce new subject matter into the curriculum; the problem of getting into value questions which public school systems normally avoid; and the shortage of teachers to teach in this field. Ways to deal with these problems are suggested. During the early years of the population education effort, unresolved conflict could be identified in 3 areas: definitions; goals; and tactics. The controversy continues over whether population education should include sex education, contraceptive education, environmental education, and family life education. The debate is more heated regarding whether population education should work merely to inform students about the nature, consequences, and possible controls of population growth, or to elicit forms of behavior which the teachers consider beneficial. The tactics of population educators include massive curriculum reform, preparation of special units, and the infusion of population concepts into most existing courses in primary and secondary schools.     

Population goal set for China's new five-year plan

China's 7th Five-Year Plan recommends that China's total mainland population be held within the limit of 1.113 billion, with an annual average natural growth rate of about 12.4/1000. As a large number of youths will reach marriage and childbearing age during the course of the 7th Five-Year Plan, the Plan affords a high priority to the family planning program and to the control of population growth. The plan proposes 5 policies and measures to realize its goal: continuous efforts need to be made to give family planning a high priority; late marriage, late childbearing, and the 1-child family should be advocated; ideological and political education should be strengthened; scientific and technological research devoted to family planning should be intensified; and family planning communication and service centers at the county level should be consolidated and strengthened, and the family planning program should be conducted systematically and be ongoing.     

1980 ASEAN programme roundup: a model in the making

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) experts and heads of national population programs held their 4th meeting in Singapore from November 24-28, 1980. Program heads resolved to take steps to link their national activities in the population field with those of the ASEAN Population Program and carry out studies and a joint programming exercise in 1981. Progress reports on the following Phase 1 projects were given: 1) integration of population and rural development policies and programs in ASEAN countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand; 2) development of an inter-country modular training program for personnel in population and rural development; 3) multi-media support for population programs in the context of rural development in ASEAN countries; 4) utilization of research findings in population and family planning for policy formulation and program management in ASEAN countries; and 5) migration in relation to rural development. Phase 2 projects approved by ASEAN country participants were also discussed: 1) institutional development and exchange of personnel, 2) women in development, 3) developing and strengthening national population information systems and networks in ASEAN countries, 4) population and development dynamics and the man/resource balance, 5) studies on health and family planning in ASEAN countries, 6) population migration movement and development, and 7) development of ASEAN social indicators.     

Sterilization: the barriers are being crossed

The sterilization program begun in the Philippines by Presidential Decree in 1974 is described. The goals of the program are: 1) training of program practitioners, to equip a corps of physicians with needed skills; 2) recruitment of acceptors to test the acceptability and viability of the approach among eligible groups; and 3) "professionalization" of medical practice in sterilization. The training of program physicians has been taken over by Popcom as part of its 1-year sterilization training program. The institutionalization of the surgical sterilization in medical schools and family planning organizations has been undertaken by the Study and Training Center for Surgical Sterilization. Various types of sterilization clinics are described. The reaction of the population and methods of handling potential acceptors are described. Sterilization techniques and side effects are presented for male and female sterilization. 3 models for information-education-communication in sterilization are reported. The number of births averted by this sterilization program is estimated. Problems encountered are revealed.     

Thinking about several problems of the research of our family planning strategy]

On the basis of 1982 census data, it is estimated that from 1987-1997 13 million women will enter the age of marriage and child-bearing each year. The tasks of keeping the population size around 1.2 billion by the year 2000 is arduous. Great efforts have to be made to continue encouraging one child/couple, and to pursue the current plans and policies and maintain strict control over fertility. Keeping population growth in pace with economic growth, environment, ecological balance, availability of per capita resources, education programs, employment capability, health services, maternal and child care, social welfare and social security should be a component of the long term development strategy of the country. Family planning is a comprehensive program which involves long cycles and complicated factors, viewpoints of expediency in guiding policy and program formulation for short term benefits are inappropriate. The emphasis of family planning program strategy should be placed on the rural areas where the majority of population reside. Specifically, the major aspects of strategic thrusts should be the linkage between policy implementation and reception, between family planning publicity and changes of ideation on fertility; the integrated urban and rural program management relating to migration and differentiation of policy towards minority population and areas in different economic development stages. In order to achieve the above strategies, several measures are proposed. (1) strengthening family planning program and organization structure; (2) providing information on population and contraception; (3) establishing family planning program network for infiltration effects; (4) using government financing, taxation, loan, social welfare and penalty to regulate fertility motivations; (5) improving the system of target allocation and data reporting to facilitate program implementation; (6) strengthening population projection and policy research; (7) and strengthening training of family planning personnel to improve program efficiency.     

India's population: second and growing

Attention in this discussion of the population of India is directed to the following: international comparisons, population pressures, trends in population growth (interstate variations), sex ratio and literacy, urban-rural distribution, migration (interstate migration, international migration), fertility and mortality levels, fertility trends (birth rate decline, interstate fertility differentials, rural-urban fertility decline, fertility differentials by education and religion, marriage and fertility), mortality trends (mortality differentials, health care services), population pressures on socioeconomic development (per capita income and poverty, unemployment and employment, increasing foodgrain production, school enrollment shortfalls), the family planning program, implementing population policy statements, what actions would be effective, and goals and prospects for the future. India's population, a total of 684 million persons as of March 1, 1981, is 2nd only to the population of China. The 1981 population was up by 136 million persons, or 24.75%, over the 548 million enumerated in the 1971 census. For 1978, India's birth and death rates were estimated at 33.3 and 14.2/1000 population, down from about 41.1 and 18.9 during the mid-1960s. India's current 5-year plan has set a goal of a birth rate of 30/1000 population by 1985 and "replacement-level" fertility--about 2.3 births per woman--by 1996. The acceleration in India's population growth has come mainly in the past 3 decades and is due primarily to a decline in mortality that has markedly outstripped the fertility decline. The Janata Party which assumed government leadership in March 1977 did not dismantle the family planning program, but emphasis was shifted to promote family planning "without any compulsion, coercion or pressures of any sort." The policy statement stressed that efforts were to be directed towards those currently underserved, mainly in rural areas. Hard targets were rejected. Over the 1978-1981 period the family planning program slowly recovered. By March 1981, 33.4 million sterilizations had been performed since 1956 when statistics were 1st compiled. Another 3 million couples were estimated to be using IUDs and conventional contraceptives.     

Program evaluation: the experience in population education

The Population Education Program (PEP) of the Department of Education and Culture in the Philippines takes pride in a built-in evaluation system which assesses accomplishments primarily in light of objectives laid out and gathers feedback useful in improving future training programs. Its evaluation theoretically serves to measure 3 training dimensions -- before, during, and after each training course. Evaluation of both the 5- and 1-week training programs follows the same pattern. Pretraining evaluation is done by administering a pretest at the beginning of each course, which quantitatively measures trainees' baseline knowledge and attitudes. It is intended for the use of trainers in determining how the course should proceed. Assessment made while training is in progress (formative evaluation) is done through a steering committee meeting held at the end of a week or a day for the 5- and 1-week courses, respectively. The meetings focus on identifying weaknesses requiring immediate or future course revisions. At the end of the course, a posttest is given to measure positive or negative changes in the trainees' knowledge and attitudes. These changes are assumed to have been caused by training. Additional qualitative information is collected through an evaluation sheet containing open-ended questions on different aspects of the course. Problems of "who" should evaluate and "how to" evaluate are among current problems evident in practice, and a revised training scheme has been implemented to deal with these problems.     

A diagnostic study of Department of Health training courses for family planning providers

A study in the Philippines sought to observe and describe the family planning (FP) training program in two regions. This program trains physicians, nurses, and midwives as a team and includes a Basic/Comprehensive (B/C) course in FP with didactic and practicum elements, training in interpersonal communication skills (ICS) for those who have completed with B/C course, and a Preceptors Course for those who will supervise the practicum phase of the B/C course. The study gathered specific information on 1) trainee absenteeism and drop-out rates, 2) course content and effects, 3) the trainee selection process, 4) the practicum requirement for the B/C course, and 5) service delivery values and quality of care. Data were collected through observations, questionnaires, exit interviews with clients during the practicum phase, interviews with supervisors and public officials (mayors), and focus group discussions with regional trainers. This assessment led to the following recommendations: 1) maintain the current team approach; 2) reserve basic orientation-type subjects for office-based training to allow more time for FP topics in the training programs; 3) use caution in making a switch to "competency-based" training because of the possibility that supervision is inadequate for such a training method; 4) improve scheduling; 5) enforce the prerequisites for participation in the ICS and Preceptors Courses; 6) assign only one trainee to a preceptor area during the practicum and reduce the quota of IUD insertions to reduce pressure to obtain IUD acceptors; 7) create a "model" FP clinic each time a preceptor is trained; 8) pay more attention to natural FP methods; and 9) maintain an emphasis on quality of care.     

ASEAN projects reviewed

The ASEAN Population Expert Group met in Manila and was followed by a meeting of the ASEAN heads of population programs, during the period November 5-10, 1979. Heads of population programs from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines attended. The meetings were held to review progress-to-date on phase 1 projects and to consider the development of an expanded population program. 5 projects funded by UNFPA are reviewed in tabular form with the project, the sponsoring country, date of implementation, data analysis, and date of completion. Suggestions were made for improving and extending these projects and it was also suggested that all projects being developed and proposed should include a section on use of research. 7 new projects were proposed as phase 2 projects. The 1st, sponsored by Malaysia, deals with women in development; project 2, lead by Thailand, will investigate population movement and its effect on development; project 3, led by the Philippines, will develop and strengthen national population information systems and networks in ASEAN countries; project 4, led by Indonesia, is directed towards institutional development and exchanges of personnel; project 5, led by the Philippines, will examine population and development dynamics and the man/resources balance; project 6, led by Thailand, will develop ASEAN social indicators; and project 7, led by Indonesia and Malaysia, will make a comprehensive analysis of existing medical/health care and family planning systems. It was recommended that an executive director of the proposed ASEAN population coordination unit should be appointed to expedite the recommendations of the meeting related to preparation and submission of phase 2 project proposals.     

Poverty in the Philippines: the impact of family size

The people of Asia are beginning to realize that lower fertility translates into increased family wealth and educational attainment. This is the message that population and development efforts have been focusing on. In the Philippines, the goal is to lower fertility with a strategy based on the assumption that increased capacity of the economy will support a growing population at a higher standard of living. In the Philippines, over 33% of the households have 7 or more family members, while 20% of urban and 27% of rural households have 4 or more. The risk of poverty associated with increased number of children are 44-50% for 1 child and 60-78% for those with 5. Households spend up to 10% of their total income to raise 1 child, 18% for 2, and 26% for 4 children. Because many families lack the resources to raise children the per child share drops dramatically with each child, a household with 4 children spends 25% less per child than does 1 with 2 children. Occupation also affects income as the highest poverty rates are among heads of household who are: laborers (60%) and agricultural workers (73%). The best solution is an integrated approach with increases in family planning, education, and agricultural reform.     

Premarital information efforts under way

Premarital couples are among priority targets of family planning information in the Philippines national population program as they can serve a pivotal role in slowing population growth. Applicants for marriage licenses are required to attend a family planning session as a prerequisite. Following recommendations of a training effort and seminar on Premarital Family Planning Counseling, on July 20, 1976, premarital information was institutionalized in the country by Presidential DEcree 965 which made family planning counseling obligatory to the marriage license applicants. Shortly after that, a multiagency effort gathered information on the status of the Premarital information program in the Philippines, which showed that there is no full-time specialist for the work. Medical officers; social workers; community welfare supervisors; and program and training officers do this work of information in addition to their usual duties. Distribution of the applicants varied greatly in age groups, educational levels, and professional category. The size of the group, length of session and topics of discussion varied greatly. Necessary efforts should be made to solve the major problems by selecting better sites for group sessions and training more personnel for the purpose. There is a great need fordeveloping more effective and research oriented information, education and communication materials, according to the needs and cultural traits of the target audience.     

The participation of non-governmental organizations in the Philippine population program

In 1957 the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) established the Family Welfare Center, offering an educational program in family planning; it was subsequently expanded and reorganized into the Planned Parenthood Movement of the Philippines. Since its creation in 1970 the Philippine Population Program has brought together government, private, and religious activities. Under the 1987-92 development plan nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will be taking a more active role in the implementation of the population program by contributing to the maternal and child health/family planning and the information, education, and communication (IEC) components. There are more than 50 private organizations engaged in such population activities. These include national women's organizations and development NGOs with a mass base. The Family Planning Organization of the Philippines is carrying out a 3-year comparative study of the effectiveness of community volunteers in the acceptance of natural family planning. The Reproductive Health Philippines has completed a follow-up of Depo Provera defaulters in a previous clinical study of Depo Provera acceptors conducted in 1985-87. IEC support from various medical and social organizations also helped advance family planning and population awareness of the program. The Mary Johnston Hospital and Iglesia ni Kristo have been front-runners in sterilization through their mobile teams and regular clinics. On the negative side, funding constraints are threatening the very existence of some NGOs. Even those that do not face such constraints face problems related to cost effectiveness, priority setting, capability building, and staff development. A survey of the Population Center Foundation identified some urgent concerns: sharing experience in self-reliance, enhancement of the managerial skills of staff, and funding problems. NGOs complement the family planning services of the government as well as focus on the smooth flow of IEC activities.     

Birth planning on many fronts: personal glimpses of innovations in China's Population Programme

The national birth planning program was initiated in 1965 in China with the establishment of a general office for family planning. Birth planning offices exist at the provincial, district, county, and municipal levels. Shanghai, in particular, is cited as 1 locale with a very active birth planning program with publicity campaigns and education reinforced by a national system of incentives. There is also a disincentive measure aimed at those with 2 children who have a 3rd--each parent must forfeit 10% of their monthly wage to the government. The ESCAP mission was told that few were expected to be so penalized since education and propaganda had become more efficient since 1974. Likewise, the province of Guangdong established an incentives/disincentives program with the guiding philosophy being that birth planning, education, ideology, and incentives exist in order to help solve practical problems. Once again in China the significance of population programs has been recognized and the study of population is being reinstituted in universities. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is developing a center for population research in Beijing along with an information center for the purposes of academic and applied research. Beijing University is creating a population studies program in the Economics Department with input from other departments. The municipality of Shanghai has established the Population Research Society while in Guangdong a similar such organization was established in September 1979, with areas of concentration in legal aspects of population change and zero population growth by 2000. Population studies is also being organized at Dr. Sun Yat Sen University and Jie-Nan University.     

Papua New Guinea: first population policy declared

In its 2nd year after achieving political independence, Papua New Guinea declared a general population policy in October 1976, and inaugurated a population research program to guide policy formulation. Population affairs of the country, which has a population of 2.75 million, have been vested with the Ministry of Environment and Conservation. The research program will be implemented in cooperation primarily with the Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research (IASER) and the University of Papua New Guinea, as well as the Central Planning Office, Department of Public Health, Bureau of Statistics, and Office of Information, among other agencies. The priorities for research will initially fall under 5 main concerns: 1) fertility and population growth, and the causes of local differentials; 2) socioeconomic influences on growth trends; 3) interrelation between population and land resources; 4) internal migration; and 5) individual attitudes regarding family planning practice. The research program is designed to become an integral part of national development planning. However, the Government has declared that both policy and research programs must concur with the needs and desires of the people, to pave the way for successful implementation of development plans.     

Malthus and the Philippines

Jose D. Drilon, Jr., president of Food Terminal, Inc., and a former undersecretary of the then Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Philippines, attributes the widening gap between food supply and demand in developing countries to the high rate of population growth and to the inability of poor countries to produce more food. This situation, in which many countries are facing hunger, was predicted by Thomas Robert Malthus as early as the 16th century. The primary concern of Malthus was the problem of making the food supply keep pace with a constantly growing population. The question arises as to how reliable is Malthusian theory. According to Drilon, Malthus was correct in predicting that population would expand at a rate not previously imagined but that the other aspects of Malthusian theory might not hold true due to the intervention of human beings. For example, it is hoped that the imbalance between population growth and food production can be minimized in the future. In the Philippines there is good reason to be concerned about the validity of Malthusian theory. Although the country's growth rate has been reduced from 3.01% in 1970 to 2.6%, it is still quite high. However, the Philippines has actually been producing sufficient food to feed its population. To make the Philippines self-sufficient in rice, the government initiated the Masagana 99 program in May 1973. Technical and material resources from the public and private sectors were provided to aid rice producers. A nationwide information campaign was also launched to familiarize the farmers with the new methods of rice culture. Masagana 99 has been costly but effective. Since the launching of the program, rice production in the Philippines has been increasing at 7% a year. The government is now using the Masagana 99 formula to increase the production of other crops.     

A preliminary analysis of the high birth rate in India]

The author first provides some basic demographic data for India and points out that the current annual rate of population growth of 2.45 percent is slightly higher than the annual increase in food production. Problems in the areas of employment, education, housing, and transportation, as well as the general problem of poverty, are seen as a consequence of this imbalance. The lack of success of the national family planning program is attributed primarily to the failure to achieve a satisfactory rate of economic growth. Contributory factors include early marriage, the low status of women, the desire for large families, and administrative problems associated with the family planning program.