This letter confirms that your research project "Parents' Perceptions and Attitudes towards the Implementation of School-Based Sexuality Education" in. However, social issues such as domestic violence, high rates of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) indicate an urgent need for the implementation of school-based sex education. However, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2020) has suggested sex education in schools as a means to improve overall health and well-being, raising hopes that it will soon be introduced into schools.
An effective school-based, age-appropriate sex education program can provide students with relevant and reliable information, enabling them to make informed choices about their sex lives.
Introduction
- Background Information
- Problem Statement
- Research Questions
- Significance of the Study
- Definition of Main Terms
Kazakhstan, like many other countries in the world, has not yet developed a clear strategy for the implementation of sex education in school. However, sexuality education is a very sensitive topic and is currently not a compulsory subject in the official school curriculum (Ketting & Ivanova, 2018). Thus, this paper aims to explore the perceptions and attitudes of school parents in Kazakhstan towards the implementation of sexuality education in schools in Kazakhstan.
What are the perceptions of parents of school students about sex education and attitudes towards the implementation of sex education in schools in Kazakhstan?
Literature Review
- Introduction
- Theoretical Framework. Social Constructivism
- Sexuality Education and Human Rights
- The History of Sexuality Education Development
- Sexuality Education in Asia
- Kazakhstan
- Approaches to Sexuality Education
- Parents’ Role in the Implementation of School-based Sexuality Education
The importance of sex education was also confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011 (EEGSE, 2016). This suggests that the quality of much of the available HIV and sexuality education is unclear. According to Bleakley et al. 2010) three different sets of beliefs can influence parents' attitudes towards sexuality education (SE).
Critics of sex education argue that teaching children about sexuality is the responsibility of parents.
Methodology
- Research Design
- Research Site
- Research Sample
- Data Collection Tools
- Data Collection Procedures
- Data Analysis
- Ethical Issues
The researcher contacted colleagues, friends and family members, as well as the parents of the children's classmates. Additionally, the message instructed potential participants to contact the researcher if they were interested in participating in the research and (or) had any questions. As soon as the researcher received approval for. Participation, a detailed explanation of the research purpose, purpose, methodology and a consent form were emailed to the participants.
After the GSE Ethics Committee gave permission to begin data collection, the researcher drew up a list of potential participants from people he/she knows (colleagues, friends, group mates, neighbors, relatives, parents of children's classmates) who fit the purpose of the research. On the day of the interview, the researcher called to confirm the meeting (either offline or online) with the participant. Before giving a consent form to an interviewee, the researcher explained the details and emphasized that participation in the study was voluntary and.
After signing and collecting the consent form, the researcher asked for permission to digitally record the interview. The researcher contacted the participant two days before the interview to remind them of the interview and to arrange a time and location. The actual process of data analysis began when the researcher began to reflect on the data collection phase and make sense of the raw data.
The participants were informed that the information they provided would be used to write a qualitative research report that would be read by the researcher. The participant was assured that the recorded material would be kept private, and that the recordings would only be accessible to the researcher and her supervisor.
Findings
Importance of School-based Sexuality Education
To better understand parents' views on school-based sexuality education, the researcher initially asked participants to define the role of school in a person's life in general. The first thing that some of the parents mentioned was that the school provides basic reading and writing skills and added that the school prepares the children for the future life. Most of the parents interviewed claimed that schools play a significant role in the development of their children's personality and the acquisition of crucial social skills necessary to navigate life.
P 5: For me, the school is the second institution [after the family], which gives you education and outlook on life, and direction for a future life, but family is first. After defining the role of school in a person's life, the interviewees were asked about the role of school in sexuality education. Moreover, they expressed their opinion that schools should have a subject or curriculum for sexuality education.
P 2: In general, it is desirable that the school has a subject in this direction, since if the children first get some ideas about what it is... The participants mentioned that the school would be even more useful than the family, since not all parents are unable to provide their children with sexuality knowledge due to factors such as embarrassment in discussing the subject with their children or lack of knowledge on the subject. In addition, all participating parents acknowledged that the Internet has become the primary source of information for children about sexuality and sexual health.
Based on the responses of parents of school pupils, it appears that they consider schools to be suitable institutions for providing sexuality education. One parent noted that schools are suitable platforms for imparting knowledge about sexuality and sexual health.
Whose Responsibility is Sexuality Education?
P 4: Yes, I think this is an important solution to the problem [of high abortion and pregnancy rates among students]. Parents were willing to share responsibility for their children's SE education with the school for several reasons. It will be easier for parents if the school takes responsibility for children's sex education.
P 8: …But it would be good if the school had a specialist who could help children competently [learn SE].
Parents Perceptions of Sexuality Education and Their Attitudes
P1: I believe that it is the psychology of sexual relations that should be explained in school, plus girls should know what time to start their sex life. P 7: Morality, purity, education of the next generation, it [SE] should be in the national color. This section describes parents' thoughts and concerns about how sex education should be provided in schools.
Parents were asked several questions about the best age to start sex education, what the format of instruction should be, what topics should be covered and who should teach. The majority of parents, five out of nine, suggested introducing SE as a separate subject at school and emphasized that in this way all children would receive sex education and feel responsible for their sexual behavior. Two parents had opposing views and argued that sex education should be offered as an additional subject (“fakultativ”) at school and that there should be no assessment.
They suggested that the lessons on this topic should be taught by teachers of the same gender as the students, namely that boys are taught by male teachers and girls by female teachers. Almost all participants agreed on the content that should be taught within the SE curriculum. Some believe it should be a compulsory subject for all children to learn SE.
Parents have different perspectives on how SE should be implemented in school, from a specific subject to a short course or even an elective. Parents agree that sex education should be introduced during the transition from primary to secondary school and should be delivered by a biology teacher or school psychologist, with specific guidance provided by the same sex.
Discussion
- Parents’ Attitudes Towards School-based Sexuality Education
- Whose Responsibility is Sexuality Education?
- Parents’ Perceptions of the Form and Content of School-based SE
- Age-Appropriate Sexuality Education
- Content of Sexuality Education
- Teachers of Sexuality Education
- Conclusion
For example, in Canada, a study involving 1,002 parents reported that 87% either strongly agreed or agreed that sexuality education should be offered (McKay et al., 2014, as cited in Leowalu & Hendriks, 2021). Similarly, two separate studies conducted in Australia showed overwhelming support from parents for sexuality education in schools (Macbeth et al., 2009; Robinson et al., 2017, as cited in Leowalu & Hendriks, 2021). Even in countries with strong religious beliefs, research has shown that parents favor school-based sex education.
One of the biggest concerns when implementing SE is the best age to start offering sexuality education. On the contrary, parents from Nepal argued that sex education should be introduced from seventh grade because teenage students have an increasing interest in sex and sexual content due to modernization (Acharya et al., 2019). International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (ITGSE) (UNESCO, 2018) suggests offering SE from the age of 5.
One of the main findings of this research is the awareness of parents about the content of the sex education curriculum. This deficiency in sex education in Nepal fails to address the needs of students and parents in terms of sex education. Teachers who provide sex education subjects must be well trained and qualified in the subject area.
Barr and colleagues (2014, as cited in Depauli & Plaute, 2018) have identified seven criteria and corresponding indicators for the training of sexuality education teachers. However, the results of previous research (Kargayeva, 2021; Zhuravleva, 2021) on teachers' perceptions of school-based sexuality education in Kazakhstan suggest so.
Conclusions
Limitations
Third, due to the sensitive nature of the research, individuals who speak exclusively Kazakh refused to participate in the research, most likely due to cultural barriers, thus the representatives of a large part of Kazakhstan's population could not be reached not.
Recommendations
In addition to schools, community-based organizations and health providers can play a significant role in promoting sexual health and supporting the delivery of the curriculum. Finally, the curriculum should be regularly revised and updated to reflect changing social norms, new issues and new research findings. By doing so, it can remain relevant and effective in promoting healthy sexual behavior among youth in Kazakhstan.
Directions for Future Research
Teachers' experiences of teaching sex education at the FET stage (Doctoral dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood). The attitudes, objections and expectations of parents and teachers towards sex education in primary schools in Austria. Parents' attitudes toward comprehensive and inclusive sex education: Views on sexual health topics and forms of curricula.
Teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the implementation of sexuality education in schools of the Karaganda region (Master's thesis). You are invited to participate in a research study on the attitudes and perceptions of parents towards the implementation of school-based sexuality education. The purpose of this study is to explore how parents of school-age children understand the idea of sexuality education; how they see the role of schools in providing sexuality education.
The benefits expected to accrue from this research represent an opportunity to contribute to potential changes in sex education education policy. The research could be useful for other agencies working on the implementation of sex education in Kazakhstan. As you know, this research focuses on the issue of sex education and now I will move on to questions on this topic.
Do you think sex education in school is an effective way to prevent HIV/AIDS/STI/abortions/teen pregnancies? What would you say if the school your children attend said it would offer sex education.