A Sex education curriculum is a sex education program encompassing the methods, materials, and assessments exercised to inform individuals of the issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, birth control, and other aspects of human sexual behavior. Common sex education curricula include an abstinence-only approach, as well as a comprehensive approach, implemented in academia via the Internet, peer education, visual media, games, health care organizations, and school instruction.
Purpose
The purpose of sexuality education curriculum in Europe is to facilitate adolescents
to gain knowledge, attitudes, skills and values to make appropriate and
healthy choices in their sexual behavior, thus preventing them from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and HPV, teenage or unwanted pregnancies, and from domestic and sexual violence, contributing to a greater society. While European educators and policy makers recognize the benefits of sexuality education as being essential in the realm of sexual health,
the content and approach of the curriculum have undergone significant
changes over time and differ among each European country. Influenced by politics,
as well as social and religious movements, European educators and
policy makers recognize the struggle to find common criteria of
sexuality education curriculum.
Common Sex Education Curricula
Researchers identify the most common delivery of sexuality education curriculum as being through a biology, relationship, and ideological focus.
In this form of curriculum, practiced through a moral and informative
approach by a teacher’s instruction, attention is directed towards the
reproductive and physical aspects of sexuality education rather than the emotional and social aspects. While this approach is identified as the most common form of sexuality education in Europe, Europe is not limited to this practice. With a total of twenty seven countries within the European Union, a wide variety of practices are implemented in an attempt to address and/or ignore sexuality education.
European policy makers and educators recognize the need for an
implementation of an ideal curriculum for European countries to adopt,
while distinguishing the political, social, and religious movements that
hinder this action.
The Safe Project
The Safe Project was introduced by a coalition of European health organizations including the IPPF European Network, WHO Regional Office for Europe, and Lund University,
in 2004 in response to European policy makers and educators speaking
out about the political, social, and religious struggles encountered
when implementing sexuality education curriculum in Europe.
The SAFE project conducted extensive research, implemented advocacy,
engaged the youth, and created a greater recognition among public health
organizations of the sexual rights of European youth as well as the
creation of a model curriculum, providing an outline of the ideal sexuality education curriculum to be practiced within the European Union. This model of sexuality education curriculum was charted in a ninety eight page product entitled The Reference Guide to Sexuality Education in Europe, selling thousands of copies to public health organizations and journals, as well as various books within academia.
The Model Sex Education Curricula
The ideal sexuality education curriculum within the European Union,
as proposed by the SAFE Project, is one that would be provided for
varying ages of students, from the primary to the secondary level. A multi-dimensional staff including public health professionals, school instructors with knowledge in the sciences, and non-governmental organizations, would be responsible for providing instruction in an interactive approach.
Educators recognize the benefits of health organizations and agencies
not only as offering a more emotional and social approach to sexuality education, but also expertise in recognizing issues among youth such as indications of sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy. Similarly, non-government organizations(NGOs)
provide students as well as the public with private counseling,
sexuality seminars, public health campaigns, as well as peer-led
informational groups, in which they are able to step outside of a
strictly lecture and informational curriculum in sexuality education and accommodate the personal needs of European youth.[2][page needed]
While the ideal curriculum would be altered to accommodate the needs of
its audience, its goal is to inform students on the topic of sexuality,
raising awareness and therefore allowing students to make healthier
decisions in regards to sexuality and relationship activity as well as
European youth distinguishing their sexual rights. Younger audiences within the primary setting would be instructed by their classroom teacher in areas of puberty, sexual development, and bullying while secondary audiences would be instructed by a multi-dimensional staff in the topical areas of racism, homophobia, sexual violence, abstinence, safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and contraceptives, as well as the biological, emotional, and social effects of sexuality.
Complications
Several complications are associated with the implementation of an ideal sexuality education
curriculum including the area and diversity of each European country,
variances in political and religious views, and a lack of
sustainability.
The area in which a country is located can affect religious and
political beliefs, as well as resources and access to health education, similarly the idea of diversity and the exposure to information and resources as well.
Politics and religion are two controversial topics that both have strong oppositions to sexuality education.
With strong oppositions and public protests, political and religious
affiliated organizations voice their negative opinions of a sexuality education curriculum that informs youth of sexual resources and options concerning contraception and abortion. With sexuality education not being mandatory in all twenty seven countries of the European Union and the controversial opposition of political and religious organizations, policy makers are unable to make an ideal sexuality education curriculum concrete.
A lack of sustainability within sexuality education
curriculum is also an issue addressed by European policy makers and
educators. Upon a country acknowledging the benefits, as well as a need
for sexuality education, they implement the ideal sexuality education curriculum in which they see positive results in the decline of sexually transmitted diseases as well as teenage and unplanned pregnancies.
Upon government officials recognizing the positive results of the
curriculum, the program is eliminated due to the significant
improvements and the mindset that the problem is fixed and therefore the
curriculum is no longer needed. With governmental cuts in sexuality education
programs as well as the funding provided for those programs, policy
makers and educators face great difficulty in the implementation of a
continent-wide curriculum.
Corrupted Children
A child's mindset is shaped in numerous ways whether it is from their:
- parents
- environment
- experiences
As they grow, sex education will become a topic in their life that
they will be curious about. Depending on how they are raised, they will
have many questions or no questions at all. This article explains sexual
innocence and how children flourish as adults.
Article Sexuality Education in the United States:Shared Cultural Ideas across a Political Divide states that:
"Sexuality education debates and policy may sometimes posit young people as categorically less able, less intelligent, and less responsible than their adult counterparts. In the United States, young people’s relationships are at times denigrated as no more than puppy love, their sexual desires simply signs of raging hormones, and their sexual behaviors transgressions to control. Within this adult-leaning framework, young people are at their best when sexually innocent. At their most vulnerable, they are on the verge of succumbing to sexual danger; and, at their most corrupting, they are the source of significant risks to others."
From a more liberal standpoint, the sexuality of a teenager is
complex. Truly age of consent cannot be put on the liberal or the
conservative side of a liberal to conservative spectrum. However,
liberals will debate that teenage sexuality should be expressed more
often than the conservative side.
Website Official Website
For different parenting styles that could affect the way your child perceives sex:
Check out- Official Website
Benefits
Several benefits are associated with the implementation of this model of sexuality education curriculum, including youth empowerment, an increased awareness of sexuality, a decline in the acquiring or conveying of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as a decrease in unintended pregnancies.
Supporters
The
IPPF European Network strives for support and access to sexual and
reproductive health services, while serving as a voice for the sexual
rights of European individuals globally.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe advocates for public health,
implements programs for disease prevention and control, addresses
health threats, responds to health emergencies, and sustains and
supports the implementation of public health policies.
Lund University is one of Europe’s most renowned universities, as well as one of the top one-hundred universities globally.
European Union Countries
Austria
Sexuality education in Austria is addressed in the manner of a Biology, German, Religious Studies, and Social Studies/Factual Education curriculum through a method of formal classroom instruction. Sexuality education
curriculum is introduced in a primary school setting, middle school
setting, as well as a secondary setting. Topics discussed are
differences between sexes, pregnancy, puberty and physical changes, genitals, masturbation, contraceptives, safe sex, abstinence, abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Belgium
Sexuality education in Belgium
is a mandatory practice that offers schools a great amount of autonomy
on the curriculum that they offer. Majority of the curriculum offered to
students is mandated by school instructors calling upon outside
resources such as health organizations or facilities for guidance.
Topics discussed within the curriculum are gender, physical development, sexual orientation, intimacy, morality, and risk prevention.
Bulgaria
Sexuality education is not mandatory in Bulgaria; therefore no minimum standards of a curriculum are intact. Students and parents are able to request an optional discipline of sexuality education in which the schooling system relies heavily on non-governmental organizations in relaying the information in the following topical areas of reproductive systems, HIV and AIDS, contraception, and violence.
Cyprus
The curriculum of sexuality education within Cyprus is referred to as Sexuality Education and Interpersonal Relationship Education. The curriculum is taught through the instruction of biology, home economics, and religion educators in which a great emphasis is placed on the importance of family relationships and development, rather than sexuality.
Czech Republic
The sexuality education curriculum in the Czech Republic is introduced to students by teachers and school staff with the reliance on non-governmental and health organizations as early as the age of seven. The curriculum is considered comprehensive, covering areas in sexual abuse, contraceptives, reproduction, sexual crimes, homophobia, pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Denmark
Sexuality Education has been mandatory since 1970 in Denmark
in which school staff and educations have great autonomy within the
curriculum. The curriculum is delivered through a biological and Danish
focus, in which topics discussed include contraceptives, pregnancy, and puberty.
Estonia
Sexuality education within Estonia is offered through the lens of human studies in formal classroom settings, in which an instructor focuses on a personal relationships curriculum.
Greece
Sexuality education is a mandatory practice in Greece in which a multi-dimensional team of teachers, nurses, and health organizations focus on the curriculum of biological and relational aspect of sexuality education, as well as human anatomy.
Hungary
Sexuality education is referred to as Education for Family Life in Hungary in which a staff of teachers and health care professionals focus on a curriculum that addresses the human body, drinking, smoking, drugs, and AIDS.
Ireland
Sexuality education in Ireland
is a mandatory practice as of 2003, however parents are able to remove
their children from the curriculum, focusing on a variety of topics in
the areas of relational, social, and personal health.
Italy
Italy, with great influence from the Catholic Church, has created a sexuality education curriculum taught through formal classroom instruction, focusing on the biological aspects of sex and behavior.
Latvia
Sexuality education in Latvia is taught through a social science perspective in which instructors focus on a curriculum outlining the development of family, roles of family, gender, child development, relationships, and pregnancy.
Lithuania
Sexuality education in Lithuania is taught through the perspective of Biology, Ethics,
and Physical Culture in which instructors base a curriculum off of
their responsibility to inform students how to make healthy life style
choices.
Luxembourg
Sexuality education in Luxembourg is provided by teachers in the topical areas of biology, citizenship, and religion with a curriculum focusing on love, sexual activities, family, contraception, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and drugs.
Netherlands
Norway
School teachers and nurses are responsible for the implementation of sexuality education. A biological curriculum is common in which educators focus on the areas of sex, contraception, pregnancy, puberty, families, and relationships.
Spain
Sexuality education in Spain
is not a mandatory practice however upon a school deciding to instruct
its students on the topic, educators rely heavily on outside health organizations and professionals to provide private workshops.
Other Countries
Australia
The Victorian Government (Australia) developed a policy for the promotion of Health and Human Relations Education in schools in 1980 that was introduced into the State's primary and secondary schools during 1981. The initiative was developed and implemented by the Honorable Norman Lacy MP, Minister for Educational Services from 1979-1982.
A Consultative Council for Health and Human Relations Education was established in December 1980 under the chairmanship of Dame Margaret Blackwood; its members possessed considerable expertise in the area.
The Council had three major functions:
- 1. to advise and to be consulted on all aspects of Health and Human Relations'Education in schools;
- 2. to develop, for consideration of the Government, appropriate curriculum for schools;
- 3. to advise and recommend the standards for in-service courses for teachers and relevant members of the school community.
Support services for the Consultative Council were provided by a new Health and Human Relations Unit within the Special Services Division of the Education Department of Victoria
and was responsible for the implementation of the Government's policy
and guidelines in this area. The Unit advised principals, school
councils, teachers, parents, tertiary institutions and others in all
aspects of Health and Human Relations Education.
In 1981 the Consultative Council recommended the adoption of a set of guidelines for the provision of Health and Human Relations Education
in schools as well as a Curriculum Statement to assist schools in the
development of their programs. These were presented to the Victorian
Cabinet in December 1981 and adopted as Government policy.
Canada
A catalog of Canadian sex education films, ranging from 1953 to 2012, was recently compiled by researchers at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
