This study was a descriptive research to compare the teaching status of sex education and to examine the difference of understanding the teaching capability regarding sex education between the school health educators and teachers working in the elemen...
This study was a descriptive research to compare the teaching status of sex education and to examine the difference of understanding the teaching capability regarding sex education between the school health educators and teachers working in the elementary school. 389 subjects were participated in the research including 182 school health educators and 207 teachers working in Busan, Korea. Subjects were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Data were collected from November 1st to November 30th, 2003, and were analysed with a real number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and χ^(2) -test using SPSS WIN 10.0 Program.
The main results of this study were as follows;
1. While 100% of school health educators carried out sex education, 60.4% of teachers did the same, according to the research on the actual condition of sex education between the school health educators and teachers. Although 75.0% of school health educators received an official training more than once, only 15.9% of teachers received the same training, indicating higher training experience among the school health educators.
2. Comparing the status of conducting sex education between the school health educators and teachers, the school health educators got an average mark of 45.7, which was higher than the teachers' average mark of 42.4(t=4.25, p<.001). The school health educators carried out sex education more than the teachers in three areas such as "physical and psychological development"(t=5.96, p<.001), "sexual health"(t=3.89, p<.001) and "sexual culture and ethics"(t=4.54, p<.001) out of four main areas.
3. Comparing the difference of understanding the teaching capability of sex education, the school health educators got an average mark of 46.6, significantly higher than the teachers' average mark of 40.9(t=7.38, p<.001). They have an understanding that the school health educators are better than the teachers in three main areas such as "physical and psychological development"(t=9.35, p<.001), "sexual health"(t=10.91, p<.001) and "sexual culture and ethics"(t=4.54, p<.001) out of four main areas.
4. Comparing the status of using the teaching materials of sex education between the school health educators and teachers, 90.1% of the school health educators were using the teacher's manual, but 20.8% of the teachers were using it. In addition, ICT teaching materials were used by 92.3% of the school health educators and only 48.8% of the teachers respectively.
5. According to the research on the suitability as a sex educator, 95.6% of the school health educators recognized themselves to be a suitable sex educator, but 39.4% of the teachers recognized themselves as the same, showing a significant difference(χ^(2)=110.81, p<.001). Regarding the status of the acceptance as a sex educator, 83.5% of the school health educators were accepted, which indicated a significant difference as compared with 13.6% of the teachers(χ^(2)=154.95, p<.001).
6. Regarding the methods to solve the matters on sex education between the school health educators and teachers, 68.1% of the school health educators responded that a sex-related subject should be combined with a health subject, 21.4% of them responded that an independent sex-related subject was necessary. For the teachers, however, 34.8% responded that it was necessary to secure enough time for sex education, 31.9% responded that the sex-related subject combined with a health subject was necessary, 22.7% responded to position a sex education specialist, 7.7% responded an independent sex-related subject, and other responses were 2.9%.
Considering the results of this research, the school health educators were more suitable for a sex educator than the teachers, and were accepted as such. This study found that the school health educators carried out sex education more than the teachers, had a higher understanding of teaching capability for sex education, and used more teaching materials about sex education.
This may suggest that the school health educators should be more active as a sex educator, and that the subject of sex education should be adopted as a regular course and the school hours should be secured.
In support of the results of the present study, this paper suggest the following :
1. Sex education should be planned and performed in the capacity of school education plan so that it could be systematically and effectively carried out among the school curriculum.
2. Although the teachers were recruited from all the elementary schools in Busan, they had the limitations in representing the population of all teachers because teachers who were interested in sex education were selectively matched with the school health educators. Therefore, further research on the subject matters is necessary after securing that six teachers, one teacher from each grade, should be compared with one school health educator.