‘Say everything’: exploring young people's suggestions for improving sexuality education

Abstract

How do young people conceptualise ‘effective’ sexuality education? This paper explores 16‐year‐old to 19‐year‐old New Zealanders' vision of effective sexuality education as it emerges in answers to a survey question about improving programmes at secondary school. Young people's responses suggest that their view of what makes sexuality education effective may diverge from those who perceive a reduction in sexually transmissible infections and unplanned pregnancy as ultimate markers of effectiveness. Participants in this study referred to other criteria around aspects of classroom structure, curriculum content and teacher competency as rendering programmes effective. Through their comments young people are positioned more positively and legitimately as sexual subjects than they are typically constituted in programmes that emphasise reducing negative outcomes of sexual activity. It is proposed that giving more weight to young people's view of effective sexuality education, and the constitution of student sexuality this implies, could be beneficial to their sexual health and well‐being.

Notes

1. Decile ratings are given to schools by the Ministry of Education to denote the extent to which a school draws its students from poor socio‐economic communities. Decile 1 schools have the highest proportion of students from poor socio‐economic communities, and decile 10 has the lowest proportion of these students. However, ratings do not reflect overall socio‐economic diversity of the school (Ministry of Education, 2003).

2. Maori word for a non‐Maori person of European descent.

3. Pacific Island peoples.

4. Responses to other questions are currently being written up in a series of papers in progress.

5. Special legislative provisions under section 105D of the Education Act 1964 mean, however, that ‘… parents and caregivers [can] apply to the principal in writing, to have their child excluded from every class in which any element … that is sex education is being taught’ (Ministry of Education, 1999, p. 39). Similarly, school communities have some control through the governing bodies of schools (Boards of Trustees) to direct what is covered in this curriculum area.

6. Hauora is a Maori philosophy of health comprising physical (taha tinana), mental and emotional (taha hinengaro), social (taha whanau) and spiritual (taha wairua) well‐being.

7. School pseudonyms refer to New Zealand native plants. Original spelling in participant's responses has been maintained to preserve how they expressed their ideas.

8. Since the release of the new Physical Health and Education Curriculum, sexuality education programmes for senior students have been written to raise the academic status of this subject. Social and Ethical Issues in Sexuality Education (Tasker, 2002) is a programme resource for health education teachers that is intellectually challenging and designed to provide a foundation for students who may choose to pursue a health‐related career.

9. Form 5, form 6 and form 7 are the final three years of secondary school.

10. Named organisations were Rainbow Youth and Family Life Education Pasifika.