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This study explored school Australian teachers' beliefs towards, and comfort around, socialising with same-sex attracted and trans and gender diverse people, as well as beliefs about inclusive school-based policy and other school strategies to enhance the wellbeing of same sex attracted and trans and gender diverse students. Teachers (n = 109) in Australia demonstrated positive attitudes and beliefs towards, and comfort engaging with same sex attracted and trans and gender diverse people, although participants were significantly more positive in their reactions towards same sex attracted people. While participants were generally supportive of inclusive school strategies and policies, over half reported that policies that were inclusive of sexual and gender minorities were not implemented in their school. Less than one third of participants indicated inclusive education was included in the curriculum at their school. Ongoing professional development was identified as essential by almost all participants. Findings support the need for Australian government policy mandating inclusive education be included in the curriculum and whole school strategies.

Internationally, school-based sexuality education programmes have shown to improve sexual practices and health outcomes for young people. However, perceived parental discord is commonly cited as a barrier to implementation. Within Indonesia, there is limited empirical evidence regarding parents' attitudes towards school-based sexuality education. A sample of 768 Indonesian parents and caregivers completed an online Qualtrics survey to determine their level of support or disapproval towards the provision of sexuality education within primary and secondary schools. The majority of parents supported school-based sexuality education (n = 756, 98.4%) and suggested certain topics should commence as early as kindergarten and elementary school (n = 615, 80.0%). Religious affiliation was not associated with permissiveness. When presented with a range of sexuality topics, most parents agreed their inclusion was important. However, for some topics, there was significant variability in opinion based upon the age, gender, or educational background of the parent; thereby providing opportunity for further work. This preliminary study challenges notions that parents, particularly those with religious affiliations, are barriers to the delivery of sexuality education within Indonesia schools. Further research and advocacy will hopefully encourage educators to expand their current levels of provision, to align with international and evidence-based guidelines.

This study explored the extent to which organisations responsible for initial teacher training, prepare pre-service teachers to deliver comprehensive sexuality education in schools. Five electronic databases were searched to identify publications that reported the provision of CSE training for pre-service teachers. Methodological quality was appraised using The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. Descriptive analyses were conducted to summarise the scope of pre-service teacher preparation. Twenty-two documents, primarily from the UK, Australia and the USA were identified for review. Overall, information regarding training in comprehensive sexuality education for pre-service teachers is limited. The review identified wide variability in training content and positioning in primary and/or secondary programmes as either core or elective requirements. Current provision does not appear to align with international and best-practice guidelines in most instances. Further research and greater transparency regarding the preparation of pre-service teachers to deliver comprehensive sexuality education is recommended to identify and prioritise best-practice holistic teaching concepts to improve teacher and student outcomes.

There is a high prevalence of adolescent girls with ovulatory menstrual (OM) dysfunction, which is associated with school absenteeism and mental health challenges. Low menstrual health literacy among this group has evoked calls to review OM health education. This qualitative study sought to explore gaps in current OM health education and to validate a holistic school-based OM health literacy program named My Vital Cycles®. Findings are based on 19 written reflections, six focus group discussions and three interviews conducted with 28 girls aged 14–18 years from 11 schools, and five mothers. Six themes compared current OM health education with My Vital Cycles®: understating health, comprehensiveness, resources, teaching, parents and cycle tracking. Future refinements to the program comprised: inclusion of the complete reproductive lifespan, use of visual media and developing a mobile application. These findings inform future research in a whole school approach, strengths-based teaching and changes in the health curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAs Australia considers legislative reform regarding the rights of religious schools to discriminate against LGBT students and staff, claims are often made that religious parents or those enrolling children in religious schools do not affirm diversity of sexuality or gender. Using a national dataset of parents (n = 2418), attitudes towards sexual orientation, gender diversity, homophobia and transphobia were examined. Across all religiosities, school sectors and attitudinal statements, significant majorities of parents reported positive attitudes (62.7%–93.5%). Only small minorities expressly reported negative attitudes (1.6%–20.2%). Pairwise religiosity comparisons between parents with children only at a secular school, versus any religious school, revealed few differences. Amongst Catholic parents, those with children at Catholic schools and those with children only at secular schools, held similar attitudes towards LGBT issues and a majority held favourable attitudes, suggesting most Catholic parents who enrol their children in Catholic schools do so despite or in ignorance of Catholic doctrine. Findings suggest a significant majority of parents sending children to religious schools hold supportive attitudes towards diverse sexual orientations, gender diversity, and actions to address homophobia and transphobia. This empirical evidence contradicts religious schools’ calls for the rights to discriminate against LGBT persons based on parental values and attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viewing sexually explicit media (SEM) can influence young people’s sexual attitudes and behaviours. Media literacy education can help young people navigate this, yet parental opposition is sometimes cited as a barrier to the implementation of comprehensive school programmes. A scoping review explored parent perspectives towards and comfort with SEM literacy education, parent-focused resources, and the level of parental engagement in resource development. An expansive view of SEM included pornography alongside sexually explicit content in movies, television shows, video games, or other online spaces. Collectively, a focused search of five academic databases, an online search for grey literature and resources from non-governmental and government organisations, and interviews (n = 7) with key stakeholders were undertaken. Screening reduced 4,745 peer-reviewed records to seven. The online search located 35 resources from 28 organisations. While parents support SEM literacy education for their children, other sexuality education topics (e.g. contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections) were more widely endorsed. Parental comfort in providing such education was variable. Online resources vary in type and content, with limited information available about development processes or evaluation. Further research and co-design are needed to ascertain parent needs to support their children’s SEM literacy knowledge and understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the formative, process and short term impact evaluation of sexuality and relationships education (SRE) training for teachers in Western Australia (WA) over a three year period. The training represents one component of a broader project, the aims of which are to improve teacher's confidence and skills in delivering SRE, and to support schools to implement effective comprehensive SRE. Formative evaluation conducted prior to the development of the training, found although most respondents were relatively confident and skilled in facilitating SRE, the need for ongoing professional development was highlighted, especially in areas such as gender diversity, pornography, sexting, violence and working with specific groups. Training focusing on the new Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum and mandatory assessment was identified as a need. Workshop evaluation found statistically significant improvements in attitudes towards SRE and increased comfort in teaching SRE, facilitating discussion and facilitating skills and activities, after the workshop. The evaluation identified the need for an integrated and coordinated whole school approach and efforts to engage teachers with lower levels of confidence in teaching SRE. Changes to the Australian Curriculum provide opportunities to enhance the development of SRE in schools. Longer-term impact evaluation is required to identify whole school changes.

Despite significant evidence worldwide that parents support school-based delivery of relationships and sexuality education (RSE), Australian data has generally lacked larger, nationally representative samples. Furthermore, misguided perceptions of parental attitudes are known to impact delivery. In response, online survey data were collected from 2,427 parents (56.5% female) nationwide, to examine their attitudes towards school-based RSE. Most had a child enrolled in a government school (65.3% primary, 55.7% secondary); and reported diverse religious affiliations (38.7% no religion, 21.3% Catholic, 11.1% Anglican) and voting preferences (26.7% Australian Labour Party, 25.1% Liberal/National, 23.6% undecided). Overall, 89.9% of parents supported schools to deliver RSE, with some modest differences being associated with particular demographic variables. Beyond widespread support for RSE, parents emphatically endorsed schools to address a diverse range of RSE-related issues (n = 40 topics). Parents' responses also provided insight regarding when certain topics should first be introduced and the quality of current RSE provision in schools. Findings from this descriptive overview challenge the currently overstated assumption that parents do not support RSE in schools. Such persistent and obstructive discourse is counterproductive to evidence-based strategies that seek to strengthen young people's personal and social development in a comprehensive and contemporary manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored school Australian teachers' beliefs towards, and comfort around, socialising with same-sex attracted and trans and gender diverse people, as well as beliefs aboutinclusive school-based policy and other school strategies to enhance the wellbeing of same sex attracted and trans and gender diverse students. Teachers (n = 109) in Australia demonstrated positive attitudes and beliefs towards, and comfort engaging with same sex attracted and trans and gender diverse people, although participants were significantly more positive in their reactions towards same sex attracted people. While participants were generally supportive of inclusive school strategies and policies, over half reported that policies that were inclusive of sexual and gender minorities were not implemented in their school. Less than one third of participants indicated inclusive education was included in the curriculum at their school. Ongoing professional development was identified as essential by almost all participants. Findings support the need for Australian government policy mandating inclusive education be included in the curriculum and whole school strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, school-based sexuality education programmes have shown to improve sexual practices and health outcomes for young people. However, perceived parental discord is commonly cited as a barrier to implementation. Within Indonesia, there is limited empirical evidence regarding parents' attitudes towards school-based sexuality education. A sample of 768 Indonesian parents and caregivers completed an online Qualtrics survey to determine their level of support or disapproval towards the provision of sexuality education within primary and secondary schools. The majority of parents supported school-based sexuality education (n = 756, 98.4%) and suggested certain topics should commence as early as kindergarten and elementary school (n = 615, 80.0%). Religious affiliation was not associated with permissiveness. When presented with a range of sexuality topics, most parents agreed their inclusion was important. However, for some topics, there was significant variability in opinion based upon the age, gender, or educational background of the parent; thereby providing opportunity for further work. This preliminary study challenges notions that parents, particularly those with religious affiliations, are barriers to the delivery of sexuality education within Indonesia schools. Further research and advocacy will hopefully encourage educators to expand their current levels of provision, to align with international and evidence-based guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is limited evidence to date about changes to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during the initial wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To address this gap, our team organized a multicountry, cross-sectional online survey as part of a global consortium. Methods Consortium research teams conducted online surveys in 30 countries. Sampling methods included convenience, online panels, and population-representative. Primary outcomes included sexual behaviors, partner violence, and SRH service use, and we compared 3 months prior to and during policy measures to mitigate COVID-19. We conducted meta-analyses for primary outcomes and graded the certainty of the evidence. Results Among 4546 respondents with casual partners, condom use stayed the same for 3374 (74.4%), and 640 (14.1%) reported a decline. Fewer respondents reported physical or sexual partner violence during COVID-19 measures (1063 of 15 144, 7.0%) compared to before COVID-19 measures (1469 of 15 887, 9.3%). COVID-19 measures impeded access to condoms (933 of 10 790, 8.7%), contraceptives (610 of 8175, 7.5%), and human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted infection (HIV/STI) testing (750 of 1965, 30.7%). Pooled estimates from meta-analysis indicate that during COVID-19 measures, 32.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.9%–42.1%) of people needing HIV/STI testing had hindered access, 4.4% (95% CI, 3.4%–5.4%) experienced partner violence, and 5.8% (95% CI, 5.4%–8.2%) decreased casual partner condom use (moderate certainty of evidence for each outcome). Meta-analysis findings were robust in sensitivity analyses that examined country income level, sample size, and sampling strategy. Conclusions Open science methods are feasible to organize research studies as part of emergency responses. The initial COVID-19 wave impacted SRH behaviors and access to services across diverse global settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities are undergoing rapid and unprecedented changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the needs of learners during this transition are not necessarily well understood or addressed. This study aimed to examine the impact of the "remote internal" unit delivery in a large Western Australian university, as experienced by students and teaching staff within a department of health promotion and sexology (DHPS). In the remote internal mode, previously "internal" (face-to-face) students received prerecorded lectures and attended workshops and seminars in real time through use of the learning platforms. The mixed methods study was conducted across three phases in 2020. A quantitative online student survey was followed by student and teaching staff focus groups and document analysis. Six themes were uncovered regarding the student experience of the remote internal mode: (1) face-to-face contact provides a sense of community, (2) online learning is better when it is interactive, (3) online learning is convenient, (4) delivery mode affects student willingness to contribute to discussions, (5) students enjoy a mixture of teaching patterns, and (6) technological issues create barriers to effective learning. Five themes were revealed regarding teaching staff experience of the remote internal mode: (1) connections matter, (2) face-to-face delivery enhances engagement, (3) learning outcomes are a priority for teaching staff, (4) online delivery needs effective supports, and (5) students have online privacy concerns. Considerations for course modalities, methods to enhance interactivity, and supportive technology and infrastructure are recommended to ensure that the technological, demographic, and socio-environmental needs of students are adequately met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]