Teaching About HIV/AIDS as a Standalone Subject.

This paper reports findings of a qualitative study on how a university in Kenya has developed a curriculum for preparing teacher trainees to teach about HIV/AIDS. The aim of the study was to understand the process of developing a standalone HIV/AIDS curriculum, the preparedness of both lecturers and trainee teachers to teach about the pandemic to young people who are seen as on HIV high-risk group. The study was conducted by carrying out individual interviews with lecturers, a group interview with trainees, document review and observation. Data gathered were analysed inductively and then literature was used to summarise the findings. The study established that there was awareness among the trainee teachers, dedication and enthusiasm among the lecturers. A number of the trainees who had taken an extra course as peer educators were confident about their preparedness to teach about the pandemic. The other trainees, who had only studied the HIV/AIDS curriculum, felt that they needed more hands-on activities to provide them with greater experiential knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The university's approach is an example that needs to be emulated by other teacher preparation institutions. However, further research is needed to establish how graduates are teaching about HIV/AIDS to the target group of adolescents in their schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]