Sex education refers to the process in a human life where one acquires information and forms, values, attitudes and beliefs about intimacy, identity and relationships. It includes reproductive health, sexual development, affection, relationships amongst people, roles of different genders and body image. It addresses all aspects of life; psychological, spiritual, social and cultural dimensions.
The article on “Effects of sex education on adolescent behavior” by Deborah Dawson gives different percentages of adolescents in regard to the type of sex information they receive in United States of America; especially on pregnancy and contraceptives. It is a professional journal on sex education. The main effect of sex education on adolescent behavior is reduced adolescent pregnancies and induced abortions.
I like this article because it emphasizes the need to educate the adolescents on sexual issues. The article is an excellent piece of work. I believe sex education impacts greatly on adolescents. Sex education is the tool to ensure the change of attitudes and thoughts amongst teenagers concerning sex, pregnancy and birth control. Sex education helps the participants to gain knowledge on their reproductive health and methods of birth control.
Sex education is essential to adolescents. It changes their attitude towards other people’s sexual behavior. It is important to measure the behavioral impacts of sex education. I think the program has great effect on values and attitude of teenagers in regards to sex.
Somehow the program could be having no impact on levels of sexual activity amongst teens. All the same, sex education has increased the sense of responsibility among teenagers. There is a positive relationship between use of contraceptives and sex education, which in my view shows responsibility.
I believe the levels of sexual activity may remain high, but sex education helps in reducing cases of teenage pregnancy and abortions. The article is an excellent piece of work, but it has a few gaps. The sex education program presented in this case is more of theory than interactive. Students should play active roles, be involved in groups and watch videos for them to see the reality. This will improve its effectiveness.
Daniel Wight’s article on “Limits of teacher delivered sex education” highlights some of the challenges which face sex education program in schools. In his study he involves 25 schools in East Scotland with and his main objective was to establish whether sex education delivered in schools or by teachers’ reduced unsafe sexual intercourse among adolescents.
I like this article because it offers a comprehensive report on limitations of sex education offered at schools. I adolescents spend most of their time at school, which means that teachers should ac like guardians. Also teachers should be able to deliver sex education effectively.
The main aim of sex education in schools is to reduce cases of risky sexual behavior among adolescents. The quality of education they get matters most. Such gaps in delivering of sex education calls for other interventions like SHARE which means; Sexual Health Relationships: Safe, Happy and Responsible.
In my opinion I would encourage such a programme to complement the school based curriculum. The program proves to be more effective in improving the quality of sexual relationships, reducing unsafe sexual activities and unwanted pregnancies. Sex education should not be a theoretical class work only, but should take a pro-active view in order to be effective.
Effective sex education program includes, working in small groups and games, providing sexual health leaflets, using interactive video and playing of different roles in order to develop skills. Including all these aspects in the program ensures that the program is effective.
When the interactive program is put in practice, a considerable change of behavior is noticed. This is an excellent article to close up the gaps occurring in sex education delivered by teachers. It shows how delivering of sex education has changed and the results which come with the changes.
Works Cited
Dawson, D. (1986). The effects of sex education on adolescent behavior. Family Planning Perspectives, 162-170. Print
Wight, D., Raab, G., Henderson, M., Abraham, C., Buston, K., Hart, G. & Scott, S. (2002). Limits of teacher delivered sex education: interim behavioral outcomes from randomized trial. BMJ, 324 7351, 1430. Print.