Special Educators' Competencies and Preparation for the Delivery of Sex Education.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the adequacy of preservice and inservice preparation and the competence of inservice special educators to deliver sex education to youth with disabilities. In the survey, 200 inservice special educators were requested (a) to describe the adequacy of their preservice and inservice training programs and (b) to rate their level of proficiency for 17 competencies necessary to provide sex education instruction. A majority of the 79 respondents indicated that their preservice and inservice programs provided inadequate preparation to deliver sex education. Generally, the educators described their knowledge and instructional skills to provide sex education to be within the slightly below average to average range. Implications for future research and training are discussed.