Contraception: School Knowledge and Practical Attitudes in the Urban Commune of Segou, Mali

The aim was to describe aspects of students’ knowledge of sexuality and contraception and their sexual behaviour in schools in Ségou, Mali. Materials and Methods: This was a one-pass cross-sectional survey with reasoned choice at the first level and random choice at the second level over a 3-month period from January 2013 to March 2013. Results: The majority of the students involved in our study reside in the commune of Ségou, 90.4%. The average age of our students was 18. The female sex was the most represented in our study with 59.7%. The majority of students had casual sex at 60.3% and 70.9% irregularly. The change of sexual partner affected 47.9% of schoolchildren. Of our sexually active students, 72.6% had sexual partners and 37.4% had more than 2 partners. The main sources of information are respectively the media with 72.1% followed by teachers with 12.9% and friends with 09.7%. Among the most well-known contraceptive methods, condoms rank first with 72.6%, followed by injectable with 72.0%. 70.6% of the population had not yet used a contraceptive method at first sexual intercourse and in 72.9% of cases was condoms. The most cited source of contraceptive supply is pharmacy with 49.5% followed by family planning centres and maternity wards at 16.2% and shops at 16.2%. Conclusion: The referral of young people to approved health facilities for contraception could prevent them from risky sexual behaviours.

Mentoring as an Interaction System, Providing Teachers＇ Readiness to Integrate Into the School Environment

The sustainable development of today＇s society can be promoted by providing the educational sustainability. The education of prospective teachers should be based on ecological approach, which ensures the ecological perspective and an opportunity for students to develop their readiness to integrate into the school environment. The main aim of the author＇s research is to substantiate mentoring as an interaction system for the facilitation of the prospective teachers＇ readiness to integrate into the school environment. The author of this paper offers the results of her theoretical research： substantiation of mentoring＇s importance in teachers＇ education, substantiation of mentors＇ roles and functions, and substantiation of ecological approach in teachers＇ education. Ecological approach in teachers＇ education facilitates the formation of friendly attitude toward a school as an educational environment. Mentoring provides the prospective teachers＇ readiness to the professional activity and ability to successful integration in various types of school environment, considering their specificity. The author applied the following research methods： experience reflection, studying, analysing, and evaluating of scientific literature.