A Content Analysis of US K-12 Health Education Standards Inclusion of Sexual Refusal Education

Although universities in the US commonly implement sexual consent education programs for students that focus on understanding how to communicate sexual consent, it remains unclear to what extent sexual consent education is taking place in grades K-12. The goal of this study was to assess K-12 health education standards recommendations for sexual consent education. We conducted a content analysis of health education standards from 43 states in the US to evaluate the guidelines provided to health educators across different grade levels. Using inductive and deductive coding, we identified six themes related to sexual consent. These themes were: 1) defining sexual consent, 2) explaining the legal standard of sexual consent, 3) defining personal space, 4) promoting healthy decision-making, 5) emphasizing good communication skills, and 6) defining healthy relationships. Fewer states directly focused on sexual consent education; instead, they provided information that could indirectly relate to consent, such as discussions on relationships and personal space. Across grade levels, topics related to sexual consent became more prevalent as adolescents progressed through school. While many states’ health standards do not explicitly discuss sexual consent, they may implicitly address consent through other topics. Educators and policymakers should advocate for more explicit and detailed education on sexual consent in the K-12 school system. This could help increase the number of students educated on sexual consent before entering higher education, potentially reducing rates of sexual violence, and promoting healthier sexual behaviors and attitudes.

BackgroundIn the last decade, the use of technology-based sexual health education has increased. Multiple studies have shown the feasibility of technology-based interventions, while a subset has also shown efficacy in improving youths’ sexual health outcomes such as increased condom use and knowledge. However, little is known about health educators’ experiences in integrating technology to augment sexual health curricula.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions and experiences of health educators regarding the incorporation of technology into a sexual health education program designed for underserved youth in Fresno County, California, and to identify facilitators and challenges to incorporating technology into the in-person curriculum.MethodsThis implementation study used data collected as part of a cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate In the Know (ITK), an in-person sexual health education curriculum that includes technology-based content, such as a resource locator, videos, and games, which can be accessed through a mobile app or website. Data from implementation logs from each cohort (n=51) and annual interviews (n=8) with health educators were analyzed to assess the health educators’ experiences using the technology and adaptations made during the implementation.ResultsThe health educators reported that technological issues affected implementation to some degree: 87% of the time in the first year, which decreased to 47% in the third year as health educators’ familiarity with the app increased and functionality improved. Technology issues were also more common in non–school settings. Successes and challenges in 3 domains emerged: managing technology, usability of the ITK app, and youth engagement. The health educators generally had positive comments about the app and youth engagement with the technology-based content and activities; however, they also noted certain barriers to adolescents’ use of the mobile app including limited data storage and battery life on mobile phones.ConclusionsHealth educators require training and support to optimize technology as a resource for engaging with youth and providing sensitive information. Although technology is often presented as a solution to reach underserved populations, educational programs should consider the technological needs and limitations of the participants, educators, and settings.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.2196/18060

Although sexual refusal can be a complex, face-threatening interpersonal exchange, the nuances of these encounters are often overlooked by sexual and consent education messages. To examine this phenomenon more closely, the current study analyzed emerging adult college women’s descriptions of past sexual refusal episodes to better understand how they frame their sexual refusal experiences in terms of face needs and risks, and the cultural roles and scripts are reflected in the descriptions of sexual refusal. Two primary frames emerged through the analysis: Refusal as successful and refusal as failure. Thematic characteristics within each frame are examined in terms of politeness theory and face needs, as well as the broader cultural sexual scripts that impact norms surrounding who, how, when, and if sexual refusal can occur. Theoretical implications include consideration of how the discourse of U.S. sexual consent education emerges in the findings, the limitations of politeness theory in understanding sexual refusal, and suggest alternative theoretical approaches.

Adolescents’ knowledge on sexual ity and reproductive health is still limited, although there have been initiatives to provide sexual and reproductive health education as indicated by previous studies. This paper examines reproductive health and sexuality education for adolescents that has been conducted by government and non-government at the high school level. This paper is based on a research using mixed methods of quantitative methods that are supported by qualitative. Quantitative methods are surveys conducted to 918 students and 128 high school teachers and supported by focus group discussions and in-depth interviews in eight cities in Indonesia. Focus group discussions conducted to civil society organizations, teacher forums, and youth groups, while in-depth interviews conducted to local government, parents, school committees, and religious/community leaders. The results show that the reproductive and sexual health education does not match the reality of sexual behavior and sexual risk faced by teenagers because: (1) reproductive health and sexuality education that is given to the high school level is more focused on the biological aspects alone, (2) There is still a notion that sexuality is a taboo to be given at school, (3) the sexuality education tends to emphasize the dangers of premarital sex from the moral and religious point of view, (4) the sexuality education has not looked at the importance of aspects of gender relations and rights of adolescents in adolescent reproductive and sexual health. The construction of adolescent sexuality and the discourse on sexuality education contribute to the content and methods of sexual ity and reproductive health education for adolescents. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Health promotion has been a well-recognized field of work for nearly four decades. Health education has an even longer period of recognition. Across the globe there are numerous departments of health promotion and health education in academia, government and the private sector. There are many professional organizations for health promoters and educators, most notably the IUHPE. Despite this widespread recognition, these fields of work have not managed to develop the discipline base of many established fields of science and research. The Galway Consensus Conference initiated a longterm effort to address issues in capacity building and competencies in health promotion and education. The articles in this publication present many of the key considerations that led conference attendees to a Galway Consensus Statement that can now be taken forward as a foundation discussion document. Health promotion as a field has struggled with a definition of itself. Suffice it to say that despite many efforts to provide a universally acceptable unifying definition, such a definition remains elusive. Perhaps this is the strength of the concept of health promotion. It is a diverse field, embracing multiple disciplines, multiple methods and multiple approaches. Though difficult to define, everyone seems to know what it is. Health education had a more traditional gestation, particularly in the West. It had a strong disciplinary base in educational and social psychology. Early on there were widely used textbooks and well defined relevant curricula. In recent years, practitioners in health promotion and health education have seemingly merged into a singularity. But this is not entirely true, and the discussions at Galway and the papers that follow reflect similarities and differences. One thing seems certain: for health promotion and education it is advantageous to develop a general agreement on the core competencies for practitioners. The Galway Consensus Statement reflects the combined and careful thinking of a number of individuals from various perspectives embracing the best of health promotion and education practice. Nonetheless the group was aware that they did not represent all of the variation in the practice of health promotion globally. The Consensus Statement is to be viewed as a living document that will form a guide for further discussion, amplification and even disagreement. Such is the merit of a document intended to lead to a global agreement on the core principles and work of health promotion. The Galway Conference did not really come to terms with the issue of accreditation for health promotion and education. Nonetheless, this was a topic that was discussed at some length. Consensus on accreditation seems far less likely than on core competencies. This is a debate that separates along two fault lines, geographical and ideological. There is no doubt that many countries view the credentialling of health educators as vital in building infrastructure for the field in their country. Credentialling is seen as the means to have a uniformly trained cadre of practitioners that are recognized by hiring agencies. On the other hand the credentialling of health promoters would seemingly limit the broad multidisciplinary base that is at the heart of health promotion. The basis on which one would become credentialled would be very difficult to define. This topic remains open for discussion. It was a pleasure being part of the Galway Consensus discussions. Despite the different origins

Core practices―content-specific practices that offer strategies to support student learning―are common in many subject areas but have been curiously missing for health educators … until now. Core Teaching Practices for Health Education is a compact and precise book that serves up effective core teaching practices for preservice and practicing health educators as well as for health teacher educators. Teachers can apply the evidence-based practical tips and strategies the minute they step into their classrooms; even veteran instructors will discover new teaching tactics that will be useful. Core Teaching Practices for Health Education offers the following: • Twenty-first-century teaching skills that are specific to health education • Practices that are highly transferable across the spectrum of health education and applicable across grade levels • Fifteen concise and practical chapters, each of which details a core practice in action, explains the practice, gives additional examples of the practice, and provides clear guidance on how to use the practice in health classrooms Great Prep for Teaching Assessments Such as the edTPA The text is a great resource for aspiring teachers as they embark on their student teaching semester and as they prepare for teaching assessments such as the edTPA, increasingly required in many states. They will learn how to design lesson plans, unit plans, and complete health education curricula to effectively teach health concepts and skills; this directly relates to the video portion of the edTPA. In addition, the book's final two chapters directly relate to the Analyzing Teaching portion of the edTPA Ideal for Preparing Curriculum In addition, Core Teaching Practices for Health Education is ideal for teachers who are charged with creating health curricula for middle and high school programs―and for other teachers who are thrust into the role of health educators with little or no health education background. Book Organization Core Teaching Practices for Health Education is organized into three parts. Part I introduces the idea of core practices and focuses on planning to teach health education (e.g., big ideas, enduring understandings, essential questions, sequencing health content, assessment). Part II explores the pedagogy of health education, including organizational routines and procedures, building a safe and caring environment that is focused on learning, and adapting instruction to meet the needs of students. Part III guides readers through reflective practices on teaching and lesson improvement. Each core practice has its own chapter. Perfect Companion to Two Other Guides This affordable guide is a perfect companion to Essentials of Teaching Health Education, Second Edition, by Sarah Benes and Holly Alperin (Human Kinetics, 2022) and Health Education edTPA Online Preparation Guide by Stacy Furness (Human Kinetics, 2022). For future teachers in states that require the edTPA, these three resources supply everything they need to become successful health educators. Preservice teachers, current teachers, and health teacher educators will find Core Teaching Practices for Health Education to be of lasting value as they use the book's health-education-specific teaching practices to improve teaching and learning.

This study was undertaken to investigateutilisation of innovation and health educators’ job performance in federal and state owned colleges of education in Delta state. The study used descriptive survey design. The population of the study was 77 health educators in the four Federal and State Colleges of Education in Delta State. The 77 health educators were used in the study due to theirlimited number. The instrument utilised in the investigation was titled “Utilisation of Innovation and Health Educators Job Performance Questionnaire” (UIHEJPQ)”. The dependability of the instrument was established with the Pearson Product Moment Correlational Coefficient Coefficient (r). Items on the instrument were assessed with the four points scoring scale of Strongly Agree (4 points), Agree (3 points), Disagree (2 points) and Strongly Disagree (1 point). From the 77 copies of the instruments administered, 71 copies were retrieved. Male health educators were 55 and female health educators were 16. 47 experienced health educators were used while 14 inexperienced health educators were as well utilised in the inquiry. Mean rating and standard deviation wereutilised to answer the5 research questions. z test was employed to test the two null hypotheses created to guide the investigation at 0.05 levels of significance. Findings showed that the forms of teaching approaches in health education that requires innovations, the forms of innovation needed by health educators ,the factors responsible for utilisation of innovation among health educators, the consequences of non utilisation of innovation among health educators in their job performance, the strategies that can be employed to encourage the utilisation of innovation among health educators in their job performance in federal and state owned colleges of education in Delta state were high as the ratings were high. That there was no significant difference between male and female health educators in their utilisation of innovation in their job performance in federal and state owned colleges of education in Delta state. There was no significant no significant difference between experienced and inexperienced health educators in theirutilisation of innovation in their job performance in federal and state owned colleges of education in Delta state. It was concluded in the study the forms of teaching approaches in health education that requires innovations ,the forms of innovation needed by health educators in their job performance, the factors responsible for utilisation of innovation among health educators in their job performance ,the consequences of non utilisation of innovation have among health educators in their job performance , the strategies can be employed to encourage the utilisation of innovation among health educators in their job performance in federal and state owned colleges of education in Delta state were high. Male and female health educators do not differ significantly in their utilisation of innovation in their job performance in federal and state owned colleges of education in Delta state. Experienced and inexperienced health educators do not differ significantly in their utilisation of innovation in their job performance in federal and state owned colleges of education in Delta state. It was as well recommended among others that Delta state government should provide the required resources in the teaching of health education in the colleges of education to rebuild a free, all-inclusive and quality education scheme as education is internationally considered as a tool per excellence for social and monetary reform.

Sexuality education, part of the comprehensive school health education component of a Coordinated School Health Program, interests many health educators as well as special education teachers. In this study, Florida special educators reported their beliefs about teaching sexuality education to educable mentally disabled students, the range of sexuality topics they teach, and their professional preparation in sexuality education. Respondents (n = 494) completed a mailed instrument that included the 36 sexuality content areas identified by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. Respondents believed strongly that many of the sexuality topics and content areas should be taught to educable mentally disabled students. However, most reported delivering only a modest amount of sexuality education, and they rated their professional preparation as inadequate. Regression analyses documented that respondents’ beliefs predicted the topics they actually taught within 5 of the 6 key concepts. This study supports collaboration between health educators and special education teachers to adapt existing sexuality curricula for students with special needs, improve professional preparation of special education teachers to teach sexuality education, and to more effectively implement comprehensive school health education through the Coordinated School Health Program model to special education students. (J Sch Health. 2005;75(3):99-104)

Sexuality education, part of the comprehensive school health education component of a Coordinated School Health Program, interests many health educators as well as special education teachers. In this study, Florida special educators reported their beliefs about teaching sexuality education to educable mentally disabled students, the range of sexuality topics they teach, and their professional preparation in sexuality education. Respondents (n = 494) completed a mailed instrument that included the 36 sexuality content areas identified by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. Respondents believed strongly that many of the sexuality topics and content areas should be taught to educable mentally disabled students. However, most reported delivering only a modest amount of sexuality education, and they rated their professional preparation as inadequate. Regression analyses documented that respondents' beliefs predicted the topics they actually taught within 5 of the 6 key concepts. This study supports collaboration between health educators and special education teachers to adapt existing sexuality curricula for students with special needs, improve professional preparation of special education teachers to teach sexuality education, and to more effectively implement comprehensive school health education through the Coordinated School Health Program model to special education students.

Background: Launched 50 years ago, the School Health Education Study (SHES) examined the health education offerings in 135 public school systems, in 38 states, and over 1100 elementary schools and 350 secondary schools. In its second year, knowledge surveys were administered to students in grades 6, 9 and 12 at many of these schools. Analysis of the results in year three led to a one-word description of the state of health education in public schools-"appalling." Subsequent years saw the SHES writing team engage in development of a conceptual approach to health education (through physical, mental and social dimensions) applied at four levels (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) and in three learner domains (cognitive, affective and psychomotor). The SHES has been identified time and again for its pioneering effort to bring prominence to school health education. Purpose: We attempted to identify ways that the SHES has influenced health education practice in schools as told by school health education scholars. Methods: Between April and June 2011, we used a snowball sampling approach with saturation to identify individuals believed to have historiographic knowledge of the SHES; we asked them to respond to eight questions (developed by the primary authors and modified though the individual judgments of four school health scholars) about the SHES' influence and legacy, its relevance after 50 years and issues pertinent to today's practice of school health education. Twenty-eight individuals were contacted (based on having been named by at least two people as authorities) through their active email addresses; 22 agreed to participate, and ultimately, 16 responded to the questions (The School Health Education Study Fifty-Year Reflection Group). Three people did not respond to the original invitation and three others indicated they did not believe they had insights to offer. All participants did not respond to each item. Some responses have been edited for length or clarity, or because they intersected with comments already presented by other participants. However, a full transcript of all responses received can be obtained by writing to the primary authors. Results: We found a wide array of thoughts about the SHES. Whereas we see much consensus about the SHES' impact and legacy, we also acknowledge that some disparate opinions emerged. The details of these perspectives are contained herein, mostly in the participants' own words. Discussion: The importance of the SHES continues to be recognized. Participants concur that the SHES: (1) Demonstrated application of an exemplary process and set of principles for curriculum development, including a conceptual approach that minimized the potential impact of content or factual changes over time; and (2) Was the forerunner of the development of the National Health Education Standards, the School Health Policy and Practices Study, and countless other initiatives. Whereas no conclusions can be drawn, participants raised points about the SHES that we see worthy of further note, discussion and debate: (1) The SHES conceptual approach may have been too complex for some school systems to interpret or adopt; (2) It may have lacked thorough description of an implementation strategy; and (3) It may have failed to gain sufficient involvement of administrators and policymakers during development and implementation to achieve more widespread buy-in. With respect to school health education in general, some participants argue that: (1) A more sustained foothold for school health education may have failed due to reliance on K-6 teachers in a vanguard role when so many teacher preparation institutions lack requirements for school health for elementary teachers; and (2) Some academicians have abandoned their advocacy role, contributing to the demise of school health in some communities. At least some participants see gains being accomplished in the future if school health education proponents consider: (1) Marketing health education as education for health literacy, thereby bringing health into better philosophical alignment with core subjects such as reading and mathematics and integrating it more fully into the curriculum, or in a similar vein, focusing more on educational and productivity outcome metrics, rather than on health outcomes alone, whose long-term effects are both difficult to trace and to measure; and (2) Viewing school health education as a component of a broader community or public health construct, thereby drawing the full breadth of health resources and health education venues into a supportive matrix. Whereas these respondents' comments likely represent mainstream historiographic reflections about the SHES and school health education, the collection of remarks is obviously limited to ones made by these 16 participants. Additional invitees may have wanted to participate, but could not because of the timing of the request, their personal obligations, and other constraints. Moreover, other scholars whose names did not surface in the sampling procedure might have different but equally valid remarks to make about the SHES. Because all responses were created independently, alternative interpretations might have emerged had these individuals been part of a face-to-face panel where a discussion ensued. Translation to Health Education Practice: Concerns abound that the legacy of the SHES is already being lost in the rising generation of health education practitioners, and that, therefore, the heritage brought to health education by the SHES and its key personnel needs to be transmitted via identified stewards of the profession. We leave further interpretation and the translation experience of "lessons-to-be-learned" up to readers as a dialogue building exercise related to the SHES and contemporary school health education issues. We recommend that some of these participants or other school health scholars be invited as panelists at forthcoming health education conferences over the next few years and react to questions like ones presented here. Further, we recommend that a similar project be pursued on a recurring basis so that future generations of health educators can glean insights from their historic heritage.

Adolescent sex education: Making it a priority

In France, health education is included in the primary school science curriculum. A part of this curriculum is called “human body and health education” (MEN, 2002). A quantitative study of teachers’ practices showed that teachers focus mainly on nutrition, hygiene, and dental health (Jourdan, & al., 2002). In the curriculum, the topic “Reproduction of living beings and sexuality education” concerns children aged 9-11 (Key Stage 2). Teachers often acknowledge that teaching about sexuality education and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases is difficult, because they do not feel comfortable with the subject matter. In a previous study (Jourdan et al., 2002), it had been shown that sexuality and AIDS were tackled by only 8 teachers out of 286 that were involved in the study. However, the curriculum guidelines of the French ministry of education (MEN, 2003) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) texts insist on the necessity for implementing early sexuality education and HIV/AIDS prevention programs, particularly in primary schools (WHO, 1999, 2004a). In this context, developing exchanges of experiences and partnership between teachers and health educators (school health services and health education NGOs) seems to be quite relevant. The nature of health education in schools also implies taking ethical considerations into account. The aim is not to promote a new secular morality defining “good” (healthy) and “bad” (risky) behaviours, but to prepare the children for responsible citizenship. Hence teachers in health education should not attempt to impose norms of acceptable behaviours, but should taking into account children’s peculiarities, expectations, needs, and also their representations. Children’s representations are thought to provide coherent models to represent learner reasoning when faced with a problematic situation (Jodelet, 1991; Farr, 1997). The construction of these representations is rather complex as this phenomenon depends on the values and beliefs shared by a social group, and which give rise within a social groupto a common outlook manifested during social interactions. As these representations are linked to an individual’s emotional responses as well as the cultural and social group(s) the individual belongs to, they constitute a decisive element in his/her relationships with the world, and are resistant to change. Representations therefore seem very essential (Fischer, 2001), are closely linked to behaviour (Abric, 1997), and cannot be changes as readily as knowledge. Any programme attempting to change representations should not only take into consideration the relevant knowledge, but also the social and cultural aspects of the

The Brazilian educator and influential theorist Paulo Freire has convinced me that scholarship is a dialogical process. According to Freire, the contributions of one scholar have no meaning if they stand alone--the value of any work becomes apparent only when that work dialogs with the work that has gone before. For this reason, we do literature reviews. For this reason, we include in our manuscripts an implications section. And for this reason, we ask scholars to speak at meetings such as this. I am honored to dialog with you today. I am honored to be a participant in this dialog of scholars. I am humbled by the task and the responsibility of being an AAHE Scholar. I thank you for this honor, this opportunity, and for your time. Being a health educator means dealing with controversy. Few in this room would argue this point. If you ever taught a class on environmental health, you taught about global warming--one of today's hottest political buttons. If you ever conducted a community program on drug abuse prevention, you addressed the so-called war on drugs--a highly funded and questionably effective program. Money and power feed these controversies. With no money, and no power, health educators are asked to educate people about them. My intention this morning is to help you think about controversy. To do this, I will briefly introduce one of the most controversial issues facing our profession--the promotion of sexual abstinence. My experience has given me a new way to think about the political and philosophical nature of this controversy, and a new way to understand how others think about this controversy. By sharing what I really learned in conducting a five-year research agenda on abstinence education, I hope to give you a tool for understanding health education controversies in general. For as long as I have worked in health education, controversy has surrounded the issue of sexuality education. Should we conduct it? When should we conduct it? How should we conduct it? As you are well aware, opinions are plentiful, facts are scarce. Opponents of sexuality education have relentlessly warned adolescents of the perils of sexual involvement, trumpeting instead the values of purity and chastity. Proponents of sexuality education, meanwhile, have persistently emphasized the importance of knowledge and empowerment in combating the very real public health threats of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the public (whose opinion was mostly grounded in the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the fear of teen pregnancy and STIs) overwhelmingly supported the provision of sexuality education through public schools, churches, and especially the home. (1,2) Its support for the use of public funds was also solid. (3) Professional health educators, for the most part, viewed sexuality education as an important component of the health instruction program, (4,5) including it in the various lists of recommended subject matter, in public school textbooks, and in convention programming. (6) Organizations such as the American Association for Health Education and the American School Health Association played leading roles in advocating sexuality education. At the same time, opponents of sexuality education used legal means to challenge it. (7) They also blamed it for growing STI rates, persistent teen pregnancy rates, and even divorce rates. (8) Campaigns against sex education were widespread, and textbook censorship helped to keep the controversy alive. Overall, then, the controversy surrounding sex education in this country around twenty-five years ago was reasonably clear: to conduct it or not to conduct it. The philosophical lines were clearly drawn, and the public debate energized those on each side. (9) Because little scientific evidence was available, the debate remained primarily a clash of ideas. (10) The federal government, however, became a participant in the controversy in 1981 when it passed the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA). …

Health education can play important role in increasing a community’s economy by reducing health care spending and improving productivity which is otherwise lost by preventable illness. A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in the selected four Upazilla Health Complexes (UHCs) from January to December 2019 to assess the health education service facilities at UHCs. A total of 164 health education providers and 220 health education receivers were taken conveniently as sample. Data were collected by using pre tested semi-structured questionnaire with face to face interview. From the health educators’ perspective 29% of the respondents belonged to the age group of 24-29 years, mean age of the health educators were 36±8.62 years. About 85% got training on health education, (97%) gave health education to patients. About 51% health educators’ opinion was they had not fixed place/room for health education. All of the health educators (164) opinion poster and leaflet they used as teaching aids, 154 convey their health education through lecture method. From the health education receivers perspective mean age of the health educators were 36±13.36 years, about 83% health education receivers know which heath education services are available in UHC. Here, 37% health education receivers faced problems during health education session, 13% mentioned sitting problem, 9% stated health education time was limited. Highest (54%) respondents were satisfied regarding cooperation of health education providers. The findings highlight the need to implement policies that focus on promotion of health education service facilities in the UHCs.

Objective To understand the status and problems of sexual health education for college students in Karamay. Method s A QR code questionnaire was scanned and submitted by WeChat. The situation of sexual health education for college students was investigated by the informal discussion method. Result s Through the analysis of the results, we found that among the college students surveyed, 78.47% of the students did not think sex was a hard topic to talk about, among whom female students accounted for 75.2% and male students accounted for 81.2 %. In terms of their attitudes towards premarital sex, 29.7% of the respondents were against it, and 46.0% of them did not think it mattered, only 24.3% of the students supported premarital sex. At present, the sexual knowledge and the attitude to sexual contact of college students in Karamay were at the same level as college students in other parts of China. Among the college students surveyed, 74.9% of the students had received sex education in primary, middle, high schools, and university; 26.1% of the students had never received sex education. So, we believed that the main problems of current sexual health education were as follow: firstly, college students did not care (44.3%); secondly, schools did not pay attention to it (27.3%); thirdly, learning content was poor (28.4%). The survey also showed that only 34% of the students knew or knew well whether the induced abortion was harmful to the human body. Even, 3.9% of the medical students completely did not know the harm of induced abortion, 4.5% of nursing students, and 7.5% of non-medical students. The development of sexual health education was not optimistic. The survey found that colleges and universities in Karamay did not offer specialized courses on sexual health and sex education. Even the professional knowledge of the medical students was a little stronger than that of the non-medical students. The understanding on sexually transmitted diseases of the medical students was slightly better than that of the non-medical students, which was influenced by the majors they were studying. Conclusions At present, the long-term effective mechanism of sexual health education has not been formed in the higher education in Karamay, and there is a lack of sexual health education courses for college students. Through this investigation, it is suggested that the education authorities, the health and epidemic prevention departments, medical systems, and communities should work together, gradually standardize adolescent sexual health education with college students as the main part. Key words: College students; Sexual health; Education; Survey