Effects of Delivering an Animation-Based Inclusive Sex Education Curriculum for Adolescents in China

ABSTRACT

Evidence suggests that tailored inclusive sex education can be an effective response to prevent gender-based violence and promote an inclusive educational environment. This study examined the effects of an age-appropriate and animation-based inclusive sex education curriculum among Chinese adolescents. A total of 243 students from one comprehensive vocational high school participated in the study. Attitudes toward homosexuality and relevant knowledge were assessed using Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gays Scale and researcher-made questionnaires at the preintervention and postintervention. Results indicated that adolescents’ attitudes and knowledge showed improvement after intervention; female students showed more positive attitudes toward homosexuals; and the animation-based inclusive sex education was welcomed by most participants. Implications of the findings and directions for future research were also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescent
• inclusive sex education
• curriculum
• animation
• gender identity
• homophobia
• China

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the school teachers and students for their enthusiastic participation in this study. They also thank Yixiang Zhang and Meiyu Ren for data collection and Cheng Qian for his editorial assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China under [Grant number 18BSH033]; the Independent Exploration and Innovation Fund for Postgraduates of Central South University under [Grant number 2019zzts783]; and the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under [Grant number 2022JJ40737]. The funding agencies were not involved in the study design, analysis, or interpretation of data, the writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit for publication.