Playful Pathways to Age-Appropriate Sexual Education: Crafting Board Game Media for 4-6-Year-Olds

Abstract

Sex education is very important for early childhood because it helps children avoid the rampant cases of violence that have recently occurred in children. In addition, knowledge related to sex education among educators, parents and even BKB cadres is still minimal. Therefore, it really needs the right media to educate in giving sex education properly. This study aims to develop a board game to introduce sex education from an early age to children aged 4-6 years, in addition to testing the feasibility of board games in terms of validity and effectiveness. This research is research and development using the ADDIE model. The sample in this study was 30 children aged 4-6 years in the KB village of Ambon city. The data in this study were obtained through two main techniques, namely interviews and observations. In the initial phase, the data were analyzed qualitatively to understand the perspectives held by Family Planning (KB) facilitators and parents regarding early childhood sex education. Subsequently, in the evaluation phase, quantitative analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics obtained from expert validation, teacher response questionnaires, and student observation sheets. The results of this analysis were used to provide insights into the validity, utility, and effectiveness of the product developed in this research. The feasibility of using board games, seen from the aspect of validity, was obtained through the assessment of media experts and material experts. In contrast, the effectiveness aspect was obtained through observing the ability to understand sex education in children aged 4 to 6 years. The results showed that the board game was feasible in terms of the validity aspect of the material in the very good category, the validity aspect of the media in the very good category, and the effectiveness aspect in the good category.