The inclusion of sex education in the official curriculum

In the recent past, the official curriculum used by various levels of schools has been a hot subject of debate regarding the inclusion of sex education. Sex and relationship education must now be taught in schools in order to protect the next generation from emerging illnesses like HIV/AIDS. In the past, parents and church leaders would teach kids about the value of abstinence. The dynamics of living have changed, though, and for many young people, abstinence is no longer an option. Children start having sexual relations at a very early age as a result of ongoing exposure to sexual issues. The availability of internet connected phones and the advertisement of sexuality on the main media platforms has exposed young children to various sex issues that were not available in the past. Therefore, caregivers, parents, health care personnel, and educators have the mandate to keep the young generation informed of important aspects of sexuality including sexual activity, reproduction, age of consent, safe sex, birth control, and abstinence (Pound, Langford & Campbell, 2016).

It is paramount that those training the children and young people today focus on both abstinence and safe sex because it is not possible to guarantee asceticism for teenagers and children today. The educators usually spend most of the time with the children in comparison to caregivers, parents, and healthcare professionals (Beltz et al., 2015). Therefore, including mandatory sex education in schools is an ideal move in ensuring that the young people grow with the right understanding of sexuality. Further, the inclusion of mandatory sex education in both primary and secondary education will reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, reduce the rate of sexually transmitted diseases infections, and ensure young people are not vulnerable to coercion in the future (Francis & DePalma, 2014). Research indicates that children who went through sex education in primary and secondary education make better-informed decisions in comparison to their counterparts who lacked similar training (Helmer et al., 2015). Children with advanced sex education are not prone to cyber bullying, sexting and exploitation that is so advanced over the internet today. Further, having a mandatory sex education in schools not only equips the young generation to deal with the sexuality matters arising in the current world but also promotes gender equality (Goldman, 2015).

Opponents of mandatory sex education argue that including these educational materials in classrooms would make young people sexually active at a young age. However, regardless of the validity of that argument, the availability of things such as internet pornography and other sexual issues on the internet has already exposed children to sex natters. Including mandatory sex education in the curriculum will help counteract these effects and ensure the development of a healthy generation (Johnson et al., 2014). The current paper analyses the literature on mandatory sex education with the aim of establishing the benefits of including these teachings in the curriculum as well as analyzing the best mode of delivering the information in schools. The paper hypothesizes that mandatory sex education is beneficial in reducing unwanted pregnancy, helps young people to make informed decisions, and it helps in achieving gender equality in the society. Further, the paper hypothesizes that the use of external instructors to teach sex education in secondary schools is more beneficial that using the familiar teachers.

Method and Results

To acquire the right material for the study, the researcher searched three key databases that have quality peer reviewed material on the topic of study including PsychLIT, MEDLINE, and Social Sciences. The researcher chose articles that were published in English between the years 2000 and 2017. The articles had to be peer reviewed and touching on an important aspect related to the purpose of the study. The researcher used articles that were published in full and avoided articles that only provided the abstract. Articles were not excluded from the study based on their location of publication or the place the research was conducted. Each of the articles chosen addressed a different population and a different aspect of the study. The diversity in material helped to equip the research with the relevant information to make conclusive judgment of the vitality of mandatory sex education in schools and the best way of delivering these teachings to teenagers in high school. Two of the articles used for the study discussed views of the primary stakeholders (teachers and students), one of the papers analyzed the best information delivery mechanism by use of external educators, and three of the publications discussed the effects that other organizations have on the implementation of mandatory sex education in schools. The last two articles discussed the benefits of mandatory sex education. The eight articles used for the study are presented in details in the table below.

Table of Primary Sources

Author(s)and Date

Research Questions/Hypothesis

Study Method

Analysis and Results

conclusion

Barnard-Brak, L., Schmidt, M., Chesnut, S., Wei, T., & Richman, D. (2014)

The study investigates the rate at which disabled students receive sex education as compared to those without disability.

A cross-sectional analysis of data retrieved from the National Longitudinal Transition Study

Students with ID received 44.1% of sex education in school as compared to their counterparts who received 47.5%.

ID students should thus be fairly included in all the sex education programs taking place in school.

Beltz, M. A., Sacks, V. H., Moore, K. A., &Terzian, M. (2015)

Investigates how state policies on mandatory sex education have played a major role in teen pregnancy.

A cross-sectional analysis with a sample of 350 students attends the peer-led program.

State policies play parts in sex education in schools, family planning, access to abortion services as well as public assistance

State policies should advocate for teenage programs that enable them to access the available family planning methods.

Bretelle, F., Shojai, R., Brunet, J., Tardieu, S., Manca, M. C., Durant, J., ... & Leonetti, G. (2014)

The study investigates the impacts of using peer educators to teach sex education in schools.

A transversal study with a sample of youth aged16-25 based on cultural aspects and risk, and context project.

Comparison of the results before and after the peer-led sex education showed a vast difference.

The students were comfortable with each other in the program on sex education than with teachers.

Francis, D. A., & DePalma, R. (2014)

The study investigates the teacher’s perspectives on abstinence and safe sex education in South Africa.

A cross-sectional research with a sample of 25 participants who are teachers where in-depth interviews were conducted.

The health statistics show that 8.7% of young people in South Africa are HIV victims

Hybridization of the two concepts o abstinence-only and sex education was then agreed upon as important for young people.

Goldman, J. D. (2015)

The article investigates the UNESCO’s Guidance on puberty and sexual health education for students in school.

A longitudinal study with a sample of youth aged 9-12 who receive little education on sexuality.

The results showed that UNESCO’s guidance had more relevant information, broad content coverage

UNESCO’s guide can make work easier for the teachers since they would not have to put up more efforts constructing notes for class use.

Helmer, J., Senior, K., Davison, B., &Vodic, A. (2015)

The study investigates on Improving sexual health for young people and also making sexuality education a priority

A qualitative investigation on the sexual behavior and decision-making process achieved on every day life. The study interviewed young people between the ages of 16-25 to determine their views about sex education offered in schools.

The qualitative data showed the views of the young people on what they proposed as the necessary strategies to improve the quality of sex education.

Sex education does not make the youth want to participate more on sex.

Johnson, J., Sharman, Z., Vissandjee, B., & Stewart, D. E. (2014)

Investigates whether a change in health research funding policy related to the integration of sex and gender has an impact on sex education.

A prevalence study on the how state policies have contributed to lack of proper sex education in schools.

Results showed that little funds are channeled or mandatory sex education in schools.

Poor funding policies need to be amended to improve sex education.

Pound, P., Langford, R., & Campbell, R. (2016)

Investigates what young people think about their school-based sex and relationship education.

A prevalence study with a sample of young people aged between 4-25 years on sex and relationship

The research showed that the views of the young people on sex and relationship education in schools were consistent.

School takes insufficient recognition of the specialness of sex topic thus affecting how the matter was delivered in schools.

Discussion and Conclusion

The purpose of the literature review was to determine the benefits of mandatory sex education in the current world as well as the best mode of delivering this education to different levels of students. The articles provided similar analysis indicating that mandatory sex education is not only beneficial to the young people, but it also helps to achieve gender equality ion the society. Further, the analysis confirmed the hypothesis of the study that using an external educator to offer sex training was more beneficial than using the familiar teachers regardless of their competence on the topic (Bretelle et al., 2014). Further, the articles unanimously agreed that mandatory sex education reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies, helps students to avoid sexual coercion, and equips young people with better sexuality knowledge to navigate in the twenty-first century (Beltz et al., 2015). This unanimous result supports the first hypothesis of the study that mandatory sex education has considerable benefits to the society. Mandatory sex education should be implemented in the school curriculums for both normal students and those with physical impairments to a chive a better society (Barnard-Brak et al., 2014).

References

Barnard-Brak, L., Schmidt, M., Chesnut, S., Wei, T., & Richman, D. (2014). Predictors of access to sex education for children with intellectual disabilities in public schools. Mental Retardation, 52 (2), 85-97.

Beltz, M. A., Sacks, V. H., Moore, K. A., &Terzian, M. (2015). State policy and teen childbearing: a review of research studies. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2), 130-138.

Bretelle, F., Shojai, R., Brunet, J., Tardieu, S., Manca, M. C., Durant, J. ... & Leonetti, G. (2014). Medical students as sexual health peer educators: who benefits more? BMC medical education, 14 (1), 162.

Francis, D. A., & DePalma, R. (2014). Teacher perspectives on abstinence and safe sex education in South Africa. Sex Education, 14 (1), 81-94.

Goldman, J. D. (2015). UNESCO’s Guidance on puberty and sexual health education for students aged 9–12 years compared to an upper primary school curriculum. Health Education Journal, 74 (3), 340-350.

Helmer, J., Senior, K., Davison, B., &Vodic, A. (2015). Improving sexual health for young people: making sexuality education a priority. Sex Education, 15 (2), 158-171.

Johnson, J., Sharman, Z., Vissandjee, B., & Stewart, D. E. (2014). Does a change in health research funding policy related to the integration of sex and gender have an impact? PLoS One, 9 (6), e99900.

Pound, P., Langford, R., & Campbell, R. (2016). What do young people think about their school-based sex and relationship education? A qualitative synthesis of young people’s views and experiences. BMJ open, 6 (9), e011329.