SEX EDUCATION

Sex Education for the Adolescence Population



Introduction

Background

In the early 20th century, schooling played an increasingly large role in the lives of growing numbers of American children and adolescents, and the scope of curricula widened accordingly. Compulsory education and child-labor laws brought unprecedented numbers of children into the schoolhouse, and Deweyite notions of educating the “whole child” expanded the purview of curriculum to address vocational and broader developmental questions. The presence of these children, often hailing from working-class ethnic families with unfamiliar social customs, the concurrent “invention” by influential psychologist G. Stanley Hall of “adolescence” as a sexually fraught and even perilous time, and this expanded pedagogical purpose, gave rise to the first sex education curricula.

Over the course of the 20th century, sex education became a contested but consistent feature in the American schoolhouse, its emphasis evolving from social hygiene; to courtship, marriage, and family more broadly. The comprehensive programs including homosexuality and contraception; to the most recent curricula that teach abstinence from sexual activity as adolescents' only reliable recourse against pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Unlike many contemporary education initiatives that rely primarily on federal support, sex education has largely emerged from local, state, and private impetus. For this reason, this controversial curricular question proves a rich site from which to explore the reformist impulses that animate everyday citizens to engage passionately in the construction—and often dismantling—of educational policy and practice (Eisenberg, 1991).

Purpose

The role that sex education plays in the initiation of sexual activity and risk of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) is controversial in the United States. Despite several systematic reviews, few epidemiologic evaluations of the effectiveness of these programs on a population level conducted.

Sex Education

Sex education can lead young adults to delay time of their first or, if they are already sexually active to use contraception. Virtually all studies conclude that it does not increase sexual activity or the making earlier. "Young people interested in sex for a biological reason: it's all about hormones," says Cynthia Waszak, an FHI scientist and specialist in adolescent health. "Words and images they hear or see suggestive in songs, on radio, in advertisements, in movies and television contribute to pique their interest.

Young people talk about sex and they have questions. We must find ways to give them appropriate information so they can make better decisions and more informed choices about their sexual behavior. “The acquisition of knowledge about reproductive health is part of the broader context of the transformation of the child as an adult. The development of self- esteem, the ability to look ahead with optimism and goal setting and learning respect for others are also part of this development. Some aspects of sexuality education integrated into various types of programs, sometimes called a "family life education" in many developing countries (Gilligan, 2006). Whether married or unmarried, adolescents need to be educated, especially about contraception, especially in countries such as Bangladesh and India, where 50 to 75% of women under 18 are ...