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This study examines the effects of a systematically designed innovation strategy on teachers' implementation of a sex education curriculum and its related determinants. A quasi-experimental group design was used to assess the effectiveness of the innovation strategy. Teachers filled in questionnaires on the determinants of curriculum implementation and kept a record of their actual use of the curriculum. We measured several determinants, including teachers' curriculum-related beliefs, characteristics of the interactive context and characteristics of the innovation strategy. Participating teachers (n = 109) carried out most of the activities they were supposed to (81%). Multiple linear regression indicated that their outcome beliefs and perceived instrumentality of the curriculum best predicted extent of use of the curriculum (R² = 0.23). The innovation strategy had a positive impact not only on extent of use (18.4 activities versus 15.8 activities; t = 2.3, P < 0.05), but also on teachers' curriculum-related beliefs. It can be concluded that a systematically designed innovation strategy has the potential to produce significant changes in classroom-based sex-education practices. Not only did teachers exposed to the innovation strategy implement more of the curriculum than teachers in the control group, also teachers' beliefs and expectations about student learning constituting their classroom behavior changed accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article suggests that sex education in Church schools should address the personal as political through proclaiming the liberating potential of incarnational theology. The author suggests that Christian sex educators should be alert to the construction and commodification of desire and its attendant capitalist implications. While resisting this grand narrative they should encourage the young to embrace their own human/divine natures and dance in the sensuality of their erotic power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This story is about sacred eroticism in the context of globalization. It is about Gaia and Jean-Luc, a bi and poly woman originally from Italy and a Catholic priest from Africa. They meet in central Italy in the summer 2000, while in Rome the first world gay-pride parade is getting under way. Both are used to navigating world cultures and regions. She has spent her adult life in the United States as a student, teacher, bi activist, sex educator, body worker, and healer. He has left Mozambique in his youth to access higher education through the Catholic ministry, with the ambition of becoming a spiritual leader. A high charge of erotic energy traverses the space between them as they discover their affinities. This energy turns sacred as she teaches him the art of loving and he becomes her eager student. The narrative is part of the author's memoir, forthcoming from Haworth Press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONTEXT: Parents are encouraged to be the primary sex educators for their children; however, little is known about the accuracy of parents' views about condoms and oral contraceptives. METHODS: Telephone surveys using validated measures provided data on beliefs about the effectiveness, safety and usability of condoms and the pill among 1,069 parents of 13-17-year-olds in Minnesota and Wisconsin in 2002. Pearson chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression models were used to compare beliefs according to sex, age, race, religion, education, income and political orientation. RESULTS: Substantial proportions of parents underestimated the effectiveness of condoms for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Only 47% believed that condoms are very effective for STD prevention, and 40% for pregnancy prevention. Fifty-two percent thought that pill use prevents pregnancy almost all the time; 39% thought that the pill is very safe. Approximately one-quarter of parents thought that most teenagers are capable of using condoms correctly; almost four in 10 thought that most teenagers can use the pill correctly. Fathers tended to have more accurate views about condoms than mothers did; mothers' views of the pill were generally more accurate than fathers'. Whites were more likely than nonwhites to hold accurate beliefs about the pill's safety and effectiveness; conservatives were less likely than liberals to hold accurate views about the effectiveness of condoms. CONCLUSION: Campaigns encouraging parents to talk with their teenagers about sexuality should provide parents with medically accurate information on the effectiveness, safety and usability of condoms and the pill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers' lack of sex education training has been widely regarded as a barrier to delivery, but very few in-service programmes have been evaluated. This paper evaluates the teacher training component of a theoretically-based behavioural sex education programme for 13-15-year-olds called SHARE. It combines data from participant observation, in-depth interviews, questionnaires and lesson observations. The teachers found the training very valuable, particularly in relation to collegiate support, familiarisation with the SHARE pack and reducing discomfort. The two main objectives of the training programme that were congruent with teachers' perceived needs were fulfilled: to make teachers more comfortable and confident to deliver sex education and to prepare them to deliver the SHARE pack. However, the introduction of social-psychologically informed skills based exercises, radically different to those normally followed, was the least successful aspect of the training, as one might predict from previous research on in-service training. This might suggest that theoretically based, behavioural health education programmes might be best delivered by specialist staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONTEXT: While sex education is almost universal in U.S. schools, its content varies considerably. Topics such as abstinence, and basic information on HlV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), are commonly taught; birth control and how to access STD and contraceptive services are taught less often. Factors potentially associated with these variations need to be examined. METHODS: Data on 1,657 respondents to a 1999 national survey of teachers providing sex education in grades 7-12 were assessed for variation in topics covered. Logistic regression was used to ascertain factors associated with instruction on selected topics. RESULTS: The content of sex education varied by region and by instructors' approach to teaching about abstinence and contraception. For example, teaching abstinence as the only means of pregnancy and STD prevention was more common in the South than in the Northeast (30% vs. 17%). Emphasizing the ineffectiveness of contraceptives was less common in the Northeast (17%) than in other regions (27-32%). Instructors teaching that methods are ineffective and presenting abstinence as teenagers' only option had significantly reduced odds of teaching various skills and topics (odds ratios, 0.1-0.5). CONCLUSIONS: Instructors' approach to teaching about methods is a very powerful indicator of the content of sex education. Given the well-documented relationship between what teenagers learn about safer sexual behavior and their use of methods when they initiate sexual activity, sex education in all U.S. high schools should include accurate information about condoms and other contraceptives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the relationship between sexual biography and pedagogic practice. It is based on life history interviews with sex education practitioners (teachers and a school nurse) that aimed to explore elements of these individuals' sexual biographies, their experiences of learning about sex and their pedagogic practice. The article considers why the sexuality of sex educators may be important, how this manifests itself in school and, finally, some of the implications for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to propose an educational intervention for sexuality education courses at a Japanese senior high school, we interviewed 51, 15-18-year-old, male Japanese senior high school students, and 4 teachers who impart sex education in the school. Moreover, we analysed the 'master narrative' produced by the Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbusho) to regulate the sexual behaviour of young people through the contents of purity and sex education. A close examination of Monbusho's master narrative revealed that the 'Nemureru ko wo okosu mono dearu' (literally means an issue that wakes up sleeping children. A close expression in English is 'let sleeping dogs lie') is still the tenet of sex education at school. We present the ways our sample regards teaching sex in relation to their sexual cultures and their needs for information about sexuality. Our interviews show the ways in which our informants create their own sexual cultures by incorporating, discarding or frankly rejecting notions of sex, contraception and risk that are included in sex education at school, in pornography and in talking with peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reprints the Chapter 11 of the book 'Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex,' by Judith Levine, which deals with sex education for minors.

Objective To determine whether a theoretically based sex education programme for adolescents (SHARE) delivered by teachers reduced unsafe sexual intercourse compared with current practice. Design Cluster randomised trial with follow up two years after baseline (six months after intervention). A process evaluation investigated the delivery of sex education and broader features of each school. Setting Twenty five secondary schools in east Scotland. Participants 8430 pupils aged 13-15 years; 7616 completed the baseline questionnaire and 5854 completed the two year follow up questionnaire. Intervention SHARE programme (intervention group) versus existing sex education (control programme). Main outcome measures Self reported exposure to sexually transmitted disease, use of condoms and contraceptives at first and most recent sexual intercourse, and unwanted pregnancies. Results When the intervention group was compared with the conventional sex education group in an intention to treat analysis there were no differences in sexual activity or sexual risk taking by the age of 16 years. However, those in the intervention group reported less regret of first sexual intercourse with most recent partner (young men 9.9% difference, 95% confidence interval -18.7 to -1.0; young women 7.7% difference, -16.6 to 1.2). Pupils evaluated the intervention programme more positively, and their knowledge of sexual health improved. Lack of behavioural effect could not be linked to differential quality of delivery of intervention. Conclusions Compared with conventional sex education this specially designed intervention did not reduce sexual risk taking in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will argue that it is wrong for sex educators to ignore the diversity of views about sexuality. It is wrong because some of these views might be correct, and by ignoring them educators risk doing unintended harm to their students. Teaching in ignorance of possibly correct views, which views claim that one's teaching does harm to students, is wrong regardless of whether those views are correct. This is major charge to mount against a whole field of educational practice. The charge is worth making, because the damage potentially done to students by current sex education practice could be profound. Recognizing the potential harm first requires understanding some aspects of the debate over the nature of sexuality. The following sections will explore two broad approaches to defining sexuality: views that tie sexuality to reproductive differences, and accounts that divorce sexuality from such differences. The purpose of these sections will be not to establish the correctness of either approach, but to describe the conflict and show its ethical significance to education. Subsequent sections will explore the moral responsibility of sex educators in the face of the contested nature of sexuality.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the comparative contribution that multiple sources of education about sexual topics (family peers, media, school, and professionals make on teen sexual knowledge, attitudes and behavior. Participants were 157 boys (n = 62) and girls (n = 95) in the ninth through twelfth grades and were obtained from two suburban areas of a large Midwestern city. For each of the 14 sexual topics, a multiple linear regression analysis was run with the five sources of education about that topic as the predictor variables and total sexual knowledge as the criterion variable and no significant results were found. Similar regression analyses were run with sexual behavior as the criterion variable and two significant results were revealed. A combination of less education from school and more education from non-sibling family regarding sexual intercourse was predictive of more frequent sexual behavior Similarly, more education about birth control from relatives was predictive of more frequent sexual behaviors. With sexual attitudes as the criterion variable, results showed that more education about sexual intercourse from peers and professionals predicted more liberal sexual attitudes. Imitations of the findings and future research considerations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusions: Many adolescents have relationships with partners whose characteristics differ from theirs and with whom they are less likely to use condoms or other contraceptive methods. This behavior is more common as adolescents grow older. To provide appropriate counseling, sexuality educators and family planning providers need to consider the ways in which adolescents' relationships change as they age and discuss with them the dynamics of relationships involving partners who differ in age or other characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses sexological training in Rome, Italy and the model being used in the Clinical Sexology Institute of Rome. Importance of the study of sexology; Use of behavioral and strategic techniques; Curriculum in the institute; History of sexology in Italy; Updating of themes and their study.

Presents an autobiography of the author. Environmental influences; Family influences; Career as a sex and scholar.

Probes the presentation of sex education in secondary schools in Japan. Dynamics of classroom interaction; Lived student responses; Factors affecting teachers' selection and organization of school sexual knowledge; Incorporation of government sex education guidelines in teaching programs.

Comments on the nullification of Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act on homosexuality. Judicial review of the section; Effects of the section on sex education in schools; Policies concerning racist and sexist harassment.

The education of young people about 'sex' remains a contentious area. It is suggested that this is because of the socially symbolic nature of sex and the necessary policing of the boundaries of heterosexuality. It is argued that sex education is a technique of governance. Forms of Sex Education are considered in relation to legislation over the last two decades and two models of sex education are proposed, that of 'restricted information' and of 'empowerment'. This latter seeks to challenge the normativity of functional sex education and to validate the experience of the 'sexual other'. It is suggested that by so doing these alternatives also become subject to regulation and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a sexuality counseling course designed for a master's level counselor preparation program. Course content and process underscores material helpful to counselor preparation programs considering the addition of a sexuality counseling course to their curriculum. Print and video resources are identified to facilitate the acquisition of human sexuality knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New understanding of medical and surgical risk factors, new methods for scientific diagnosis, and new pharmacological options for treatment are all shaping the way we approach female sexual dysfunction. Sildenafil (Viagra) and similar drugs to treat sexual function complaints are here to stay, and will provide a range of phenomenal opportunities as well as potential pitfalls. One of the major roles of sex educators and therapists in the new millennium will be to help to monitor and adjust the global application of pharmacotherapy. The issue is not the availability of medication to treat sexual complaints, but how it is applied. Sex educators and therapists will be called upon to join teams of physicians and help make comprehensive diagnoses--not only for women, but for men as well. The time has come to join forces with the physicians and release the vacuum in which these fields have existed. It is not about whose approach is better; it is about determining the best approach for each individual patient and offering them the best, most effective, and thorough treatment options. By working together and sharing in this new era of opportunities, sex educators and therapists can continue to effectively attend to what we do best: helping others reach their full sexual potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an exploration on what should be the subject of the formal curriculum in school-based sexuality education in Australia. Role that sexuality education teachers play in mobilizing particular forms of body discipline; Proposal on changing the practices of sexuality education; Citation of problems in reconstructing sexuality education.

Explores the characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and skills required by teachers of sex education in the United States. Selection of sex educators; Acceptance of sexual thoughts and desires; Knowledge base of sex education; Key elements of effective sex education programs.

Focuses on the writer Marie Stopes and her work which was based on educating couples about sex. Why Stopes felt that she was the authority of sexual advice in Great Britain; Background on her life and relationships; Analysis of her writings and their influence; Comparisons with the writer T.S. Eliot; How she attempted to rid her society of its sexual ignorance.

The article discusses the role of parents and teachers in implementing sex education to handicapped children in the U.S. Parental attitudes and actions will always be important influences in the child's life. The responsibility of a teacher is to fill in the gaps of knowledge and to add dimension to the child's understanding of himself and his relationships with others. According to studies, more parents of retarded children show concern and are ready to participate in a sex program than are parents of normal children. One of the most common aspects of sexuality causing friction between teacher and parent is student's masturbation.

Looks at students' evaluations of a gender focused course syllabus perceived to be designed by a male or female instructor. Validation of the hypothesis that female instructors are more biased and politically motivated than males when teaching gender courses; Discussion on the implications of the findings on gender education; Result of the study.

Focuses on the preparation of educators for dealing with issues related to sexism and sexuality in the schools. Impact of sexual attraction on student attitudes and behavior; Results of the survey on sexism and sexuality in schools; Recommendations for schools and departments of education to identify the way in which sexuality is manifested in schools.

This article presents information on confessions of a closet sex researcher. He says that his experience as a sex researcher is probably not unusual, and he would like to share it. He believes that his experience will highlight one of the very important roles of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex. He went to graduate school in psychology at the University of Georgia. At the time, there were very active sex research programs in at least three different areas. The atmosphere, therefore, was very open and conducive to the discussion of sex research and of sexuality in general. When he became involved in the design and implementation of a study of the effect of alcohol on female orgasmic latency, it did not seem particularly unusual to him. His dissertation research was mild in comparison, involving a questionnaire study of communication about sex between early adolescents and their parents and its relationship to sexual attitudes and knowledge. When he began working at a small regional campus of the Ohio State University, he felt compelled to tell his colleagues that he was no longer a sex researcher, but instead, he was a sex education researcher. In an effort to diminish the impression that he was a sex researcher, he spent the first several years of his career doing basic laboratory research on memory and aging.

The article evaluated the effectiveness of the secs' surrogate-assisted sex therapy model. Perhaps no therapeutic modality is as controversial as the use of surrogate-assisted sex therapy. Few rigorous studies have been conducted on either its use or its efficacy and much of the debate surrounding this area is influenced by prevailing legal and moral questions. The American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) takes no official stand on the issue, except to say that if AASECT-certified sex therapists use surrogates, they should do so in an "ethical manner. In order to demonstrate that surrogate-assisted sex therapy (SST) is the most efficacious type of treatment for sexually dysfunctional men without partners, it would be necessary to dismantle and evaluate treatment components as well, as compare the outcome of SST treatment with control groups and other types of interventions. The need for some form of control condition in evaluating treatments for sexual dysfunction is widely recognized. However a no treatment control condition could not be used in this case due to ethical and business constraints in a private clinic.

This paper argues the necessity of making distinctions between facts, values as subject matter (values as facts), value judgments, and world views when discussing or debating goals and methods of sexuality education. The utility of such distinctions is demonstrated through analysis of one recent debate. Development of skills of critical inquiry is proposed as the primary goal which should be shared by all sexuality educators regardless of the value judgments and world views their positions represent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents of young adolescents from two communities were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward sex education. The major finding was that parents wanted to be the primary sex educators of their children, and that they wanted schools to supplement their efforts. These parents wanted diverse topics covered by schools and wanted them introduced no later than 9th grade. Implications for researchers and educators are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the result of a survey of sexuality education teachers in New Jersey. Ethnicity and class differences in sexual activity; Sex education and school finance; Teachers' perceptions of differences between rich and poor districts; Sources of support for sex education programs.

Examines the impact of formal policy structures on the work of education professionals dealing with adolescent sexuality. Discussion of informal structures and policies developed by these professionals; Development and clarification of policies; Implications.

Evaluates teachers' influence and impact in an abstinence sex education program in Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho public schools. Interaction between pre-post change, teacher differences and student differences; Measures of rejection of permissiveness, intentions to have sex and future orientation.

The article cites a study analyzing the sexual behavior of youth and also presents comments based on reactions to school sex education. Females criticized biological emphasis upon facts without adequate explanation or discussion. On the other hand, males expressed their concern about the lack of factual information, particularly about contraception. Most of the participants opined that the timing of sex education was too late. It was found that students closely scrutinized the ability of their teachers in handling this sensitive subject without embarrassment.

Eighty single college women participated in three role-playing situations: (a) warm-up, (b) sex education, and (c) sexual advice to study the influence of attitudes and personality of the sex educator on the process of sex education. The women had previously taken measures of sex guilt, premarital sexual permissiveness, and sex myths. High-sex guilt women and women with restrictive premarital sexual standards endorsed more sex myths and communicated less accurate information about reproduction and definitions of sexual terms in a role-playing sexual situation with a 13-year-old girl experiencing her menarche. In a role-playing sexual advice situation, college women were more morally condemning of a roommate who had her first coital experience with a physically attractive acquaintance than when the first coital experience was with a loved fianc. High-sex-guilt women and premaritally sexually restrictive women were morally condemning of premarital coitus regardless of the nature of the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many persons have opposed sex education believing that such courses will lead to increased participation in sexual intercourse by young people, but their fears are not supported by most previous research. The influence of sex education material integrated into functional marriage and family courses, however, has not been the subject of in-depth, scientific investigations. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to never-married undergraduate students enrolled in a college-level marriage and family course at a state university. A pretest and posttest design was utilized with experimental groups of 50 women and 26 men and comparison groups of 60 women and 28 men. The findings indicate that the sex education content had a significant impact on the experimental groups, especially for women. Substantial increases in knowledge regarding abortion and contraception, more favorable attitudes toward masturbation, and frequency of masturbation were reported by experimental group women as contrasted with comparison group women. Experimental group men indicated increased knowledge about female hygiene and contraception in contrast to comparison group men. From these findings, sex educators should be able to better meet the criticisms of sex education opponents given this greater understanding of the impact of sex education material on the sex lives of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many questions faced by instructors of human sexuality on the issue of course outline. In this article the author argues that an important and useful topic to cover is the emergence and growth of AIDS as a social problem. In recent decades throughout the industrialized world, death has come to be associated largely with old age. Declines in infectious diseases resulting from advances in medical technology and improvements in nutrition and sanitation have led to the virtual elimination of widespread epidemics. The emergence of AIDS represents an important challenge to this linkage between death and old age, and holds the potential of significantly influencing every institution in modem society. According to the author, inclusion of material on this sexually transmitted disease is profitable since it helps to illustrate a number of important sociological concepts. It underlines the crucial role played by social, historical, and cultural factors in shaping social life, and provides important knowledge to a population, which may be at risk for contracting the disease.

A teaching technique is described which provides variety for Human Sexuality classes of all sizes. For the past 15 years, I have incorporated in class discussions community experts and guests who deal with various social and social psychological aspects of human sexuality on a daily basis. This paper contains discussions of various community professionals and guests that have extensive daily experience on topics covered in the class. This technique provides the students with information about views, policies, and procedures used in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I report on a pedagogical technique, the anonymous sexuality essay, which has been used and tested for eight semesters in an undergraduate sociology of sexuality course as a device to bridge some of the conflicts between the traditional structure of the classroom and the somewhat unusual demands involved in teaching sexuality. Using a symbolic interactionist perspective, I find that the series of anonymous essays creates a "private world" between professor and student, coexisting with but separate from the more traditional, overt academic environment. Within the different norms of this private world, students behave differently. Rewards occur for both students and professor as the essays open a channel for an alternative method of communication within the traditional course structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses survey research on sexuality among 16-18 year-old Austrian school children. Various statistics on sexual experience are presented. Further surveys among teachers revealed only 4% feeling totally uninhibited in discussing sexual topics with students, and some 92% of the educators were never or seldom involved in sexual pedagogy.