Promotion of school-based comprehensive sexuality education: building support from teachers and parents in Thailand

ABSTRACT

In accordance with the global efforts to promote school-based comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in developing countries, this study focuses on selected schools in Thailand and explores effective measures to expand parents’ and teachers’ support for school-based CSE. The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with school principals and teachers, and group interviews with parents and students. The results of this study revealed that, in areas where there is objection to CSE due to cultural sensitivity, the key to widening support was teachers’ and parents’ subjective recognition of the positive outcomes of CSE on the students’ health and development.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV/AIDS
• pregnancy
• reproductive health
• adolescent
• school
• NGO
• implementation
• qualitative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Haraguchi Memorial Asia Research Fund under the Field Research Trip Grant. This work was also supported by Waseda University under the support program for academic paper publication.

Notes on contributors

Mina Chiba

Mina Chiba Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Organization for Regional and Inter-regional Studies (ORIS), Waseda University. She is concurrently a visiting scholar of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies (WIAPS) at Waseda University, and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM). Her major field of study is international development and human rights. Her research interests include global citizenship education, non-cognitive skills development, regionalisation of higher education, and global governance in health and education. She has fieldwork experience in Benin, West Africa, and Belize, Central America, as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV). Mina holds Bachelor of Law from Waseda University, Master of International Politics from the University of Melbourne, and Ph.D. from Waseda University.