Changing emphases in sexuality education in U.S. public secondary schools, 1988-1999.

Family planning perspectives Pub Date : 2000-09-01
J E Darroch, D J Landry, S Singh
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Abstract

Context: Since the late 1980s, both the political context surrounding sexuality education and actual teaching approaches have changed considerably. However, little current national information has been available on the content of sexuality education to allow in-depth understanding of the breadth of these changes and their impact on current teaching.

Methods: In 1999, a nationally representative survey collected data from 3,754 teachers in grades 7-12 in the five specialties most often responsible for sexuality education. Results from those teachers and from the subset of 1,767 who actually taught sexuality education are compared with the findings from a comparable national survey conducted in 1988.

Results: In 1999, 93% of all respondents reported that sexuality education was taught in their school at some point in grades 7-12; sexuality education covered a broad number of topics, including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), abstinence, birth control, abortion and sexual orientation. Some topics--how HIV is transmitted, STDs, abstinence, how to resist peer pressure to have intercourse and the correct way to use a condom--were taught at lowergrades in 1999 than in 1988. In 1999, 23% of secondary school sexuality education teachers taught abstinence as the only way of preventing pregnancy and STDs, compared with 2% who did so in 1988. Teachers surveyed in 1999 were more likely than those in 1988 to cite abstinence as the most important message they wished to convey (41% vs. 25%). In addition, steep declines occurred between 1988 and 1999, overall and across grade levels, in the percentage of teachers who supported teaching about birth control, abortion and sexual orientation, as well as in the percentage actually covering those topics. However, 39% of 1999 respondents who presented abstinence as the only option also told students that both birth control and the condom can be effective.

Conclusions: Sexuality education in secondary public schools is increasingly focused on abstinence and is less likely to present students with comprehensive teaching that includes necessary information on topics such as birth control, abortion and sexual orientation. Because of this, and in spite of some abstinence instruction that also covers birth control and condoms as effective methods of prevention, many students are not receiving accurate information on topics their teachers feel they need.

1988-1999年美国公立中学性教育重点的变化。
背景:自20世纪80年代末以来,围绕性教育的政治背景和实际教学方法都发生了很大变化。然而,目前关于性教育内容的全国性信息很少,无法深入了解这些变化的广度及其对当前教学的影响。方法:1999年,一项具有全国代表性的调查收集了3754名7-12年级教师的数据,这些教师来自五个最常负责性教育的专业。这些教师和1767名真正教授性教育的教师的调查结果与1988年进行的一项全国性调查的结果进行了比较。结果:1999年,93%的受访者报告说,他们的学校在7-12年级的某个阶段教授过性教育;性教育涵盖了广泛的主题,包括性传播疾病、禁欲、节育、堕胎和性取向。与1988年相比,1999年低年级学生教授的一些主题——艾滋病病毒是如何传播的、性传播疾病、禁欲、如何抵制同辈压力进行性行为以及正确使用安全套的方法。1999年,23%的中学性教育教师将禁欲作为预防怀孕和性病的唯一途径,而1988年只有2%的教师这样做。1999年接受调查的教师比1988年的教师更有可能将禁欲作为他们希望传达的最重要的信息(41%对25%)。此外,在1988年至1999年期间,支持讲授节育、堕胎和性取向课程的教师比例,以及实际讲授这些主题的教师比例,在总体上和各年级都出现了急剧下降。然而,1999年39%的受访者表示禁欲是唯一的选择,他们也告诉学生节育和避孕套都是有效的。结论:公立中学的性教育越来越侧重于禁欲,而不太可能向学生提供全面的教学,包括诸如节育、堕胎和性取向等主题的必要信息。正因为如此,尽管一些节欲教育也将节育和避孕套作为有效的预防方法,但许多学生并没有得到老师认为他们需要的准确信息。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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