TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS ABSTINENCE-ONLY SEX EDUCATION CURRICULA.

TEACHERS; ATTITUDE (Psychology); SEXUAL abstinence; SEX education; CURRICULUM

Many components comprise a sexuality curriculum and are vigorously debated. The influence of teachers' attitudes on curricula has been investigated using controversial curricula such as sexuality education. Several researchers found that teachers' attitudes about the sexuality education curricula affected the integrity of the program implementation [7,8,9,10]. In this study, thirty-eight teachers, representing 20 schools, completed and returned the teacher survey. The teachers were assigned to teach the curriculum by their supervisor or principal. Most had not taught an abstinence-only type curriculum previously. The purpose of the research project was to evaluate the subjective concerns or attitudes of teachers towards and an abstinence-only curriculum. The attitude portion covered attitudes toward the teacher's role in teaching about an abstinence-only curriculum, attitudes toward teen sex, confidence in teaching about an abstinence-only curriculum, and the appropriate role for parents. Future research should examine the influence that attitudes have on actual student outcomes, particularly if matched with parent and student attitudes. Based on these research findings, teacher attitude may reflect on the presentation of abstinence-only or comprehensive sexuality education curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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