Investigation and Analysis of Sex Education in Junior High Schools in China

Abstract

Sex education is a sensitive topic in Chinese culture that parents don’t like to mention, and schools don’t want to teach. However, as society develops, teen pregnancy, juvenile sexual offending, and the widespread of STI, all turn on the red warning light for attention to sex education. There are limited Chinese studies on this topic. Some of them lack data proof on the delay of sex education, and some of them lack practical suggestions for the future. Consequently, this study will use questionnaires and interviews based on Qiushi Middle School to collect original data and analyses data to prove if the delay is existing in Chinese sex education. The study finds out that sex education delays for girls obviously from physiology and psychology, and sex education delays for boys insignificantly, as boys’ physiological maturity is two years later than girls’ that is at junior high school. However, boys’ psychological awareness of sex still begins at elementary school. Therefore, designing the sex education curriculum separately for girls and boys is strongly recommended. For decreasing juvenile sexual offending, teen pregnancy and the spreading of STI, a continuous curriculum from daycare to university is suggested to design. Last but not least, only the cooperation of government, society, families and schools will bring healthier, scientific and complete sex education for children.