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Sex Education In High School Research Paper

Sex education is conducted in schools, but can be a controversial part of the curriculum. There is constant subject as to what should be taught, and at what age. This paper will outline the key issues with respect to sex education in high school. Sex education in America is taught either in high school or in middle school. The timing and content of sex education is in the hands of individual school districts, and therefore varies considerably around the country. The intent of sex education is to promote sexual health in general. Recognizing the reality that sex is part of human life, the aim to teach students about the realities and risks of sexual activity, and to prepare them with the knowledge that will help them to reduce those risks. This is born of the widespread social recognition that things like HIV / AIDS, teenage pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) are public health problems that need to be reduced or eliminated. Also, it is understood that information is effective in reducing these problems. Further, that youth are the most vulnerable to these issues -- in the case...

Lastly, a critical point is that there is a lot of misinformation about sex that is communicated in the school setting from student-to-student, and that it is in the interests of public health outcomes to combat this misinformation.
The structure of sex education in schools is subject for considerable debate. There is evidence that it is most effective when it is a standalone subject in schools, or at the minimum when it is a standalone subject within a broader curriculum in life skills. Where it is neither, the quality of sex education will be found to be failing to meet the needs of students (Whelan, 2013).

While the literature is clear about the importance of sex education in high school and the manner in which it should be taught, there remains difficulty in implementing sex education in a consistent manner. Part of the problem stems from myths. For example, county officials where there is weak sex education will often cite demand…

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Works Cited:

Tortolero, S., Johnson, K., Peskin, M., Cuccaro, P. & Markham, C. (2011). Dispelling the myth: What parents really think about sex education in schools. Journal of Applied Research on Children. Vol. 2 (2) 1-19.

Whelan, C. (2013). A survey of grade 10 learners. Africa Centre for HIV / AIDS Management. Retrieved May 9, 2013 from scholar.sun.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10019.1/80037/whelan_survey_2013.pdf?sequence=2
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