Effective sex education strategies for secondary schools, a diary-based thesis from an international school in Denmark
Correia, Catarina (2022)
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022052411580
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022052411580
Tiivistelmä
Sex education is mandatory in many countries around the world, but the extent to which it is delivered effectively varies significantly. Schools face several challenges on a cultural, political, organisational and interpersonal level. This thesis aims to understand how secondary schools can approach sex education using more innovative pedagogy, placing student agency at the centre of the process, and engaging parents in meaningful conversations. As a diary-based thesis, all the tasks that have informed this work have been conducted at Copenhagen International School and are used to explore different solutions, using the existing literature to compare and contrast the validity of different approaches. Focus groups and interviews were used to collect qualitative data from several stakeholders within the organisation as well as a sex education expert from the Danish sex education organisation.
Teacher comfortability and skill is one of the factors that most impacts the student experience, suggesting that teacher training is a fundamental strategy to implement or enhance a sex education programme. Upskilling teachers helps them not only feel more comfortable and confident discussion sexuality with students but also helps them design learning experiences using innovative solutions such as game-based and blended learning.
In order to ensure that teachers are providing adequate information to students, schools must operate within a well established, articulated and written framework, which includes policy on how to respond in specific situations. It is also important that parents trust the school in order to minimise resistance from the parent community and strength the relationship between the school and the community it serves.
Student agency should be promoted as much as possible. Involving students in all aspects of teaching and learning has a positive impact on the quality of the programme but also on the relationship between teacher and students. This relationship is particularly important within the field of sex education.
This thesis proposed ways in which Copenhagen International School and secondary schools in general can move forward in their journey of developing an effective sex education strategy.
Teacher comfortability and skill is one of the factors that most impacts the student experience, suggesting that teacher training is a fundamental strategy to implement or enhance a sex education programme. Upskilling teachers helps them not only feel more comfortable and confident discussion sexuality with students but also helps them design learning experiences using innovative solutions such as game-based and blended learning.
In order to ensure that teachers are providing adequate information to students, schools must operate within a well established, articulated and written framework, which includes policy on how to respond in specific situations. It is also important that parents trust the school in order to minimise resistance from the parent community and strength the relationship between the school and the community it serves.
Student agency should be promoted as much as possible. Involving students in all aspects of teaching and learning has a positive impact on the quality of the programme but also on the relationship between teacher and students. This relationship is particularly important within the field of sex education.
This thesis proposed ways in which Copenhagen International School and secondary schools in general can move forward in their journey of developing an effective sex education strategy.