Sex Education In Schools Research Articles

Investigating how School Ecologies Mediate Sexuality Education: A Cybernetic Analysis Within the Free State Province, South Africa

Sexuality education has become the cornerstone to curbing risky adolescent behaviour as a means to decrease the spread of unsafe sexual practices and prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. While the implementation thereof has shown effectiveness in practice, the desired change at the community level remains a challenge, especially in relation to multicultural norms and disparities with which educators are faced in different school contexts in Southern Africa. This paper raises the question: How do schools mediate sexuality education in Free State provincial schools to accommodate contextual challenges? In order to investigate how schools mediate uniform national- and curriculum-based benchmarks, 10 participants from five schools within the Free State province were purposefully sampled. Data from semi-structured interviews with participants were coded and themed, with this paper specifically reflecting on the theme of school and community boundaries influencing the implementation of sexuality education. Through a First and Second Order Cybernetic perspective, it was found that challenges of gender and race are among the barriers prohibiting positive feedback within school structures, as well as the need to allow communities and parents to become stakeholders in tailoring sexuality education to be relevant to expected national standards as well as contextual and relevant cultural and traditional values.

Bridging the Gap Between Family Medicine and Adolescents: Creating Opportunities Through Sex Education.

Despite school sex education programs defined by law and a national healthcare service with dedicated family planning appointments, the number of teenage pregnancies in Portugal remains significant. The implementation of these programs has been found lacking and a disconnection between adolescents and primary healthcare has been identified. Adolescents have low literacy in contraception, with males being less involved and informed. With this project, the authors sought to propose an alternative approach to school sex education, aiming to improve the global knowledge and adequate use of contraception methods by teenagers. Material and Methods: Single-arm prospective interventional study was done to assess the impact of a new model of sexual education learning on adolescents' knowledge and use of contraception methods.A 30-minute lecture was developed by Family Medicine residents focusing on the main aspects of contraception and sexual education, using informal language and slideshow presentations. Aform using "Yes/No", "True or False", multiple answer, and Likert scale questions was built to assess attitudes and levels of literacy.Two time points were defined to assess the impact of the intervention, applying the form before and one month after the lecture. Four high schools were invited to enter the study, with 190students enrolled after personal and guardian authorization.IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27.0 (Released 2020; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) was used to perform statistical analysis. A total of 190 participants aged between 14 and 19 years answered both forms.A high 73.7% reported never having had a family planning appointment, with "Not knowing about the possibility" and "Not feeling comfortable with" being the main reasons; 26.3% were sexually active, from which 44% admitted having had intercourse without any kind of protection. Regarding sources of information about contraception, "School," "Internet," and "Friends" were the most prevalent, with only 43% considering the healthcare providers a source. In the contraceptive literacy evaluation, the participants overestimated their knowledge pre-intervention; however, this gap was attenuated in the second evaluation. Moreover, there was a statistically significant improvement in literacy between assessments for all genders. After the intervention, 40.6% reported discussing contraception outside the classroom. Discussion: The low attendance of the family planning appointments and the low number of participants that considered healthcare services as a source of information in contraception conveys the idea that primary healthcare does not play the desired role in disseminating reliable information on contraception among teenagers. This is concerning considering the overestimated knowledge, low literacy, and risky behaviors identified. The intervention managed to improve the teenagers' literacy while reinforcing the importance of family planning appointments and inciting dialogue among the participants. Conclusion: This project presents an alternative to current school sex education models and focuses on streamlining communication by resorting to younger communicators, scientificbut informal messaging, and short sessions. While extended research comparing against the set models needs to be done, it poses an opportunity to bring adolescents closer to primary healthcare while gathering data to improve clinical practice.

“The secret is that the secret changes”: Sex and Taboo in India and Indian Young Adult Fiction

Mainstream film and media in India constantly expose children and young adults to sexually explicit, misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic content, while opposing the need for sex education in schools – a dichotomy which exposes a deep-rooted taboo regarding sex and sexuality education that perpetuates situations like the spate of gruesome rapes and child sexual abuse across the country in the last decade. To examine this paradox and its effects, this paper does a close reading of a few select contemporary young adult novels as a form of rebellion against prevalent taboos regarding sex and sexuality in India and a subversive mode of sexuality education among its young adult readers. Issues of slut-shaming, revenge porn and blackmail, online abuse and consent are predominant in these books and this paper explores the detrimental effects of this persistent taboo about sex among youth in India through these books – <em>Mayil Will Not be Quiet!</em> (2008), <em>Mostly Madly Mayil</em> (2013), <em>This is Me, Mayil</em> (2018), <em>Facebook Phantom</em> (2013), <em>Talking of Muskaan</em> (2014) and <em>The Lies We Tell</em> (2019) – and address the critical silence regarding Sex and Young Adults in India. It attempts to do so by studying the texts against the definitions and development of the taboos and prejudices about sex and sexuality across Indian history and culture which continue to be used in the argument against the need for sex education for young adults, which this paper reads as an act of exerting power to control the private lives and personal choices of minors.

Relationship Between Teachers’ Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, and Teaching Practices in Sexuality Education in Public Primary Schools of Selected Districts in N’Djamena, Chad

Teachers play a significant role in the effective implementation of sexuality education programmes in schools. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ attitudes, self-efficacy, and teaching practices in sexuality education in public primary schools. A survey using self-administered questionnaires was conducted. Data collected from 77 teachers were analysed using simple and multiple linear regression tests. The analyses revealed that teachers’ attitudes toward sexuality education and self-efficacy to teach this education significantly predicted their teaching practices in sexuality education. The results also revealed that the interaction between teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy significantly predicted their way of delivering this type of education in the classroom. The study concluded by suggesting the need for comprehensive professional development to enhance teachers’ skills.

School sexuality education 15 years’ experience in greece

<h3>Objectives</h3> Adolescence is a critical period for sexual development, and previous research demonstrates that school cultures play an important role in shaping adolescent sexual behavior. The last years in Greece we have a lot of people-families-children-adolescents from different countries, different cultures. Therefore, there are many individuals, family and cultural factors that influence the development of healthy sexuality in adolescents. <h3>Methods</h3> For the past 15 years, in numerous schools all over Greece, Junior and Senior High Schools, all interventions in Sexuality Education have taken place by gynaecologists and social workers from 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Athens. <h3>Results</h3> School sexuality education programs have been provided as a mean to prevent sexual behavior that puts adolescents at risk for incurring an unwanted pregnancy or a sexually transmitted disease. School sex education can be possibly effective in delaying first intercourse. <h3>Conclusions</h3> School sexual education increases in knowledge of our body anatomy and function among sex education course participants, hoping to achieve increase in contraceptive usage and in protection of STD΄s. <h3>Conflicts of Interest</h3> No conflict of interest

School sexuality education 15 years’ experience in greece

School sexuality education 15 years’ experience in greece

The Healthy Native Youth Implementation Toolbox: Using Implementation Mapping to adapt an online decision support system to promote culturally-relevant sexual health education for American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth experience serious disparities in sexual and reproductive health, including the highest teen birth rate among racial/ethnic groups, and disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV. A growing number of evidence-based programs (EBPs) that integrate the strengths and cultural teachings of Native communities exist. Yet, multiple factors, including lack of trained personnel, limited resources, and geographic isolation, may hinder their adoption and implementation. Innovative implementation strategies that facilitate the adoption and implementation of sexual health EBPs in Native communities may help reduce these disparities. We applied Implementation Mapping, a systematic planning framework that utilizes theory, empirical evidence, and community input, to adapt a theory-based, online decision support system, iCHAMPSS (CHoosing And Maintaining Effective Programs for Sex Education in Schools), to support underlying dissemination and implementation processes unique to Native communities. We used an iterative design process, incorporating input from Native practitioners and academicians, to ensure that the adapted decision support system reflects cultural identification, community values, and experiences. Grounded in diffusion of innovations, organizational stage theory, and social cognitive theory, the Healthy Native Youth Implementation Toolbox supports Native practitioners through five phases (Gather, Choose, Prepare, Implement, and Grow) to adopt, implement, and maintain a culturally-relevant, age-appropriate sexual health EBP. The Toolbox provides tools, ready-to-use templates, and guidance to plan, implement, and grow a culturally-relevant adolescent health program with their Tribe or community. Hosted within the Healthy Native Youth website (www.healthynativeyouth.org), the Toolbox comprises: (1) a curriculum portal with access to 15 culturally-relevant, age-appropriate evidence-based health promotion programs for AI/AN youth; (2) a "resource library" comprising 20+ support tools, templates, and links to external resources, and (3) "stories from the field" comprising testimonials from experienced Native educators, who have implemented sexual health programs. There is a continued need to design, test, and evaluate D&I strategies that are relevant to Native communities. The Healthy Native Youth Implementation Toolbox contributes to the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based, culturally-relevant sexual health education programs in diverse Native communities. Implementation Mapping provided a systematic approach to guide the adaptation process and integrate community voice with the ultimate goal of enhancing sexual health equity among AI/AN youth.

Sex education's community problem

Abstract Legislating comprehensive sex education curricula has long been believed to be essential to aligning education about sex, sexuality and human relationships with the values of equality, inclusivity and autonomy. Defences of the need for ‘good’ sex education in public schools are contingent upon arguments about whose experiences ought to guide us in determining what sufficient alignment with such values might look like. The aim of this paper is to explore the assumptions underlying one prevailing norm in such defences: what I call parental deference or the practice of heeding to the rights of parents in debates about sex education. The question at the heart of this paper is, then, who in our communities does this deference exclude? I begin with a brief consideration of the appeal of parental deference within theories of education in general, and sex education in particular, before problematising its normalisation through a consideration of the exclusions such deference creates. In the process, I aim to explore the limits of parental deference for addressing the intersection of sexuality, sex, gender and race with violence in curricula and argue instead that one way of mitigating the consequences of these limits is to take seriously what I call sex education's community problem: If schools are to serve communities, why are so many community members’ experiences excluded?

Challenging ‘the elephant in the room’: the becomings of pornography education in Swedish secondary school

ABSTRACT This study was conducted among a group of Swedish teachers and a class of 14–15-year-old students and explored pornography education as part of secondary school sexuality education. Data were generated using mixed methods including teacher-researcher meetings, participant observation in class, student interviews, and teacher evaluation meetings, and were documented in the form of audio-recordings and notes. Donna Haraway’s work on string figuring was used to trace the threads constituting pornography education. A four-threaded string figure materialised how Swedish schools’ gender equality stance could provide a sound foundation for engaging with pornographic material. However, a gender-neutral approach to teaching frustrated these aims. The figure also foregrounded how normative societal debate makes it troublesome to acknowledge other than negative perspectives in teaching, problematised the engagement of students and a focus on pornography. Finally, the figure showed a discrepancy between the curriculum’s overall aim and the goals of subject-specific syllabi, making it troublesome to link the topic of pornography to specific school subjects. In summary, pornography education came into being as a complex figure in relation to adolescent sexuality and the school’s mission to provide a form of sexuality education that both problematises gendered sexual scripts and dominant norms with regards to pornography.

Sexual and Contraceptive Behaviour of Adolescents and Young Adults in Germany

Abstract Background For 40 years the Federal Centre for Health Education in Germany has been analysing the contraception behaviour of young people. The current Survey is the ninth iteration, carried out in 2019. This continuous monitoring generates insights on the sexual and reproductive health of young people in Germany. The survey provides an important basis for the development of sexuality education and family planning measures. Methods A total of N = 6032 adolescents and young adults participated in the survey. Date collection was conducted by computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). The current sexual and contraceptive behaviour of adolescents and young adults will be summarized using descriptive results. In addition, the association between contraception non-use and sociodemographic factors, characteristics of sexuality education and situated factors of first sexual intercourse is analysed by multivariate logistic regressions. Results A key finding of this iteration is that with regards to the age of the first sexual intercourse, the proportion of adolescents younger than 17 years has been declining for several years. For contraception, adolescents most frequently used condoms, and use of the pill has decreased. 9% of the participants reported non-contraception use at first sexual intercourse. This is significantly associated (p &amp;lt; .01) with unexpected and only unilaterally desired sexual intercourse and the absence of sexuality education in School. In addition, the younger the adolescence were at first sexual intercourse the greater the risk for contraception non-use. Conclusions The data from the current iteration indicate safe and responsible contraceptive behaviour among young people in Germany. It is important to maintain the commitment in the field of sexual health promotion and expand prevention measures for young people. This is the only way to ensure the sexual and reproductive health also in the next generation. Key messages

The Dilemma and the Way Out of Girls' Sexual Education in the Yi region of Liangshan

The Yi ethnic group in Liangshan has a special culture and marriage customs, and is sensitive to words and topics such as "sex". In this context, girls of the Liangshan Yi ethnic group lack access to scientific sexual knowledge, resulting in a lack of sexual education. Through fieldwork and interviews, this paper understands the current situation and problems of sex education for girls in the family, school and society in the Liangshan Yi region, including: women in the Liangshan Yi region equate "sex education" with talking about "sex", such as birth, pregnancy, menstruation, and other taboos that cannot be mentioned in the region; sex education in schools is only about sex physiology, emphasizing how to maintain boundaries with boys and avoid sexually transmitted diseases; influenced by traditional family culture, Yi women do not have a correct attitude toward sexual assault and choose to tolerate it. Based on this, this paper synthesizes the understanding of sex education curriculum in China and other countries, and combines the unique sex culture of the Liangshan Yi region, by designing a sex education activity curriculum as a way out of the current situation of sex education for girls in the Liangshan Yi region.

Emerging adults’ perceptions of school-based sex education on consent, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence

ABSTRACT Given the prevalence of sexual assault and intimate partner violence in adolescence and young adulthood, it is critical to understand how content on these topics is integrated into school-based sex education as a potential intervention point. However, little research has evaluated how formal sex education on sexual assault and intimate partner violence is delivered in US schools. This study examined 343 North Carolina first-year college students’ perceptions of their K-12 sex education on consent, sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Overall, individuals rated their sex education as neither helpful or unhelpful and reported that they had received only basic information on these topics. A sizeable minority also stated that the topics were inadequately covered or not covered at all. Students expressed the desire to receive more interactive and in-depth coverage. Implications of the findings for the future delivery of evidence-based sex education in schools are discussed.

Why didn't you scream? Epistemic injustices of sexism, misogyny and rape myths

Abstract In this paper, I discuss rape myths and mythologies, their negative effects on rape and sexual assault complainants, and how they prejudicially construct women qua women. The backdrop for the analysis is the Belfast Rugby Rape Trial, which took place in 2018. Four men, two of whom were well-known rugby players, were acquitted of rape and sexual assault in a nine-week criminal trial that dominated local, national and international attention. The acquittal resulted in ‘I Believe Her’ rallies and protests across Northern Ireland. Of concern were the deeply sexist and misogynistic text exchanges among the acquitted about the complainant and women more generally. One month after the trial, the Criminal Justice Board of Northern Ireland commissioned an independent review of the arrangements to deliver justice in cases of serious sexual offences. The Gillen Review proposed 16 key recommendations, among them measures to dispel rape myths and the role that Relationship and Sex Education in schools could play in combatting these myths. I will explore these issues using Miranda Fricker's construction of epistemic injustice. I argue that there is little appreciation of the profound impact that routine testimonial injustice—where the credibility of a speaker is deflated or undermined on account of her social identity—can have on the wellbeing of speakers and how it ramifies with other forms of injustice. To illustrate, I draw on neurological explanations to show why attributions of sexual consent are unjustly sustained in cases of rape and sexual assault.

SEX EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS: AN URGENT NEED

SEX EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS: AN URGENT NEED

Secondary Education and Class Stratification: Understanding the Hierarchy of Sexuality Education in a Chinese Vocational High School.

The discussion of sexuality education has a long history in China since the onset of modernisation in the early 20th century. Sexuality education has also existed in China’s educational system for a long time but in various forms. However, the discussions regarding students’ experiences and the influence of social stratification in China’s particular social context are still limited. From March to September 2019, the author visited an academic high school (pugao) and a vocational high school (zhigao) in Tianjin, China, to gain first-hand data to understand young people’s sexuality education experiences. In this paper, the author specifically paid attention to China’s social class, a rarely discussed topic in China’s society. She also tried to listen to the voices of young people and schoolteachers and help them to be heard. By presenting the insights from schoolteachers, students, as well as the materials from a nationally approved textbook, the author conducted a thematic analysis about how social class influences young people’s sexuality education experiences in secondary education in China.

Implementasi Pendidikan Seksual pada Siswa SMAN 2 Karawang

Talking about a child's education at school is the responsibility of parents, as parents need to pay attention to the provision of their first education when they were young, especially sex education for children at the age of middle age, sex education is very important to support their curiosity against the opposite sex at school. Where at their age there is a sense of liking and liking and sharing stories from one another and until finally a closeness arises between girls and boys, this needs to be owned and understood by all parents to fulfill their child's education. Sex education in schools is still a polemic at this time, there are still many parents who have taboo thoughts on sex education that tbe given to their children. Therefore, sex is naturally a task of adolescent development, it should be accompanied by the fulfillment of good sexual education. Islam considers sex as a sacred thing, the nature of every human being and even as a means of getting closer to Allah. Objectives Sexual education aims to teach about reproductive health organs, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, and contraceptives that can be used. Sexual education can also prevent acts of sexual violence, rape, sex outside of marriage, and also marriage at an early age. The method used in this research is qualitative based on data collection from books and magazines and is supported by field research to strengthen the theoretical results of existing expert opinions by linking them to practice in the field. The results obtained in this study which was carried out at SMAN 2 Karawang made many benefits, especially for teenagers and also the role of parents at home and the school to be more careful in maintaining and educating their children when entering adolescence by providing an understanding of the importance of sex education for children. himself and his future.

Students’ Learning Experience in Online Games-Based Sex Education in Thai Secondary Schools

In sex education, traditional teaching approaches that place the teacher in the centre of learning provide little opportunity for promoting the development of students’ sexual knowledge, maturity, self-confidence, communication skills, and well-rounded personalities. In Thailand, this traditional approach has an impact on teenage students’ effective learning for the Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) curriculum through their behaviours and attitudes about sex-related topics. Moreover, CSE does not cover many approaches such as discussions and debates to promote students’ analytic and critical-thinking skills related to sexual-related topics. (MSDHS, 2019 ; UNESCO, 2021 &amp; UNICEF, 2016). This study investigates students' learning CSE through embedded digital Games-Based Learning (GBL) module that is delivered to Grade 7 (age 12-14) secondary school students in the north of Thailand. Researchers in this study developed a game that aims at encouraging and stimulating students’ skills to analyse and critique their understanding of CSE. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy have been manifested with students’ learning using GBL. In the course of the study, 1152 students responded to answer pre and post-tests. The statistical findings show that students’ scores in the post-test were significantly higher than those of the pre-test (withought GBL). This paper concludes that, GBL facilitated opportunities for students to conceptualize, apply, analyse, synthesize, evaluate and create their learning actively and skilfully. However, the statistical data highlights that the development measured after the use of CSE gamified syllabus does not occur at the same rate and that some skills developed at a higher rate than others. Importantly, the study found that GBL is not a standalone approach to teach CSE, other pedagogical approaches (e.g., enquiry-based learning) need to be embedded. These approaches can be implemented with or without technology, but they need to be planed ahead. Final study conclusion is that, efficient teaching of CSE is not down to students only, collective efforts of other stakeholders (e.g., parents, policy makers, etc), are needed.

Understanding community resistance to sexuality education and exploring prospective implementation strategies in Pakistan: A content and network analysis of qualitative data.

Providing comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in schools is a work in progress in many countries throughout the world. In some countries, the journey is just beginning; in others, investments in this field have been made for many years. It is and has been difficult in Pakistan to implement and promote reproductive health, women’s empowerment, and CSE. In Pakistan, previous implementation efforts revealed the critical role of community influencers in propagating misleading information about the initiatives, inciting organized community resistance, and provoking backlash. This paper looked at several aspects of community resistance, as well as approaches for overcoming the resistance for increasing community engagement in the implementation of CSE in Islamabad, Pakistan. To analyze community perceptions of CSE implementation in Islamabad, the community readiness assessment (CRA) questionnaire was adapted. Questions and prompts for discussion included leadership, current initiatives, community knowledge, resource availability, community support, and implementation strategies. A total of 35 in-depth interviews were conducted. Data was analyzed and interpreted using qualitative content analysis to explore community perspectives that contribute to resistance around CSE, as well as implementation options. Using inter-code relationship data, network analysis was conducted to provide a graphical representation of the analyzed qualitative data. The study reveals community resistance to CSE being implemented in schools. Misconceptions, a lack of awareness, a lack of priority, and the lack of dedicated resources are just a few of the primary implementation challenges to consider when implementing CSE in practice. Network analysis identified, based on modularity class, five distinct clusters of highly connected nodes/codes: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), misconceptions, resources and policy, strategies and community support, and personal social and health education (PSHE) and current efforts. In conservative environments and when confronted with resistance, innovative marketing and rebranding are critical for priority setting and community engagement, especially when developing curriculum and implementing CSE. Some of the suggested strategies for implementation include community sensitization through strategic awareness campaigns, involving already established infrastructure and NGOs, endorsement by all major stakeholders, particularly decision-makers, and the use of creative digital platforms for better dissemination.

Teachers’ and nurses’ perspective regarding sex education in primary school and influencing factors

ABSTRACT Sex education can be described as an important part of health education in school and one way of strengthening health education could be a collaboration between different professionals in the school team. The aim of this study was to describe teachers’ and school nurses’ experiences and perspectives with regard to sex education among students aged 11–12 years and to explore potential influencing factors. We employed a qualitative design, and the teachers and school nurses were interviewed individually. A thematic analysis was conducted on the interviews and the results showed that the classroom was considered to be the teacher’s arena. Tradition and attitudes between professionals could be obstacles that affect collaboration between teachers and nurses and the study showed that there remains much to be done before collaboration at the same level between the groups can be established.

The Body Politic: Representation and Reproductive Feminist Jurisprudence

This essay is presented in remembrance of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It draws upon my writings from the past decade to articulate the importance of a feminist lens in law and to underscore the urgency of feminist jurisprudence, especially in reproductive health, rights, and justice. Its timing arrives at a moment of attacks on reproductive rights in the form of antiabortion legislation, rollbacks on sex education in schools, contestation against contraception, and even legislation threatening the criminal punishment of doctors who perform abortions and pregnant women and trans men who receive them.