Family Life Education

What is Family Life Education?

Goa has a long tradition of close bonded family system. But today, we see that modern family as an institution is in crisis. Families are not exempt from the difficulties that accompany rapid social and technological changes. Yet, the family has always demonstrated an ability to turn difficulties into challenges. Indeed the family can offer support and security to individuals in the society in a fast changing world.

Families come in different shapes and sizes, each family has a unique sense of shared family traditions, shared experiences and continuity of pattern through generations. We believe that nurturing this quality of family contact and interaction becomes even more important at a time like today, when many people feel rootless and isolated. Technological progress often contributes to development but sometimes it generates a sense of depersonalization – a question of self-identity. That is why family life education is essential and relevant in present day context.

As we know every society has evolved its own ways of preparing its younger members for adulthood primarily through an educational process. Traditionally most elements of family life education have been informal, taking place within the home, place of worship, work and in every day contacts with other people. In childhood many values related to family life education have been imparted through stories from folk tales, epics, religious scriptures, etc. The hidden rationale behind this is to enable children to imbibe values essential for family life or inculcate these values in them so that they act as guidelines for the rest of their lives.

As societies change and become more complex, this pattern of informal learning about living in families becomes inadequate. The development of new knowledge, advances in technology, and changing social and economic conditions create situations where the teachings of previous generations are no longer appropriate or sufficient. In these circumstances, societies must find or create new ways to prepare individuals for their family roles and responsibilities. One of these new ways is Family Life Education.

Diocesan Family Service Centre, Goa, under the Family Life Education (FLE) Department strives to build stronger families for stronger communities. Family Life Education is a special programme, designed for the teens and adolescents. They are given a detailed understanding about the maturing of their own bodies and those of the complementary sexes. They are made aware of the various physical and physiological changes that occur. They are briefed about the various choices and are guided in their times of crisis. The need to embrace a life of virtues also forms an integral part of the programme.

The importance of family life education is summed up in the following points:

• Family life education helps the young people to solve family problems.
• It helps the youth in their growing stage to know about the social, emotional and physical changes that take place in this stage.
• It provides knowledge about maintaining good relationship among the members of the family and other people of the society. It helps to make the family happy and prosperous.
• It develops the knowledge, values and the skills, which are necessary for adulthood, marriage and parenthood as well as for participation in community life.
• It helps to deal with the changes in the adolescents lives in their society.
• It helps them to make wise decision and communicate effectively with others about all matters concerning the social behaviour

The FLE department has a special module for schools (Std V to Std X) and Higher Secondaries.  A trained team of resource persons go to various schools all over Goa, when requested to conduct the sessions. Each session has three main topics, which are covered up in a day viz. Family Values, Importance on the value of life and human sexuality and case studies/question-answer session.