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A Survey of Rural Parents' Attitudes Toward Sexuality Education
Author(s) -
Welshimer Kathleen J.,
Harris Shirley E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1994.tb06202.x
Subject(s) - human sexuality , sex education , sexuality education , psychology , rural area , medicine , gender studies , sociology , pathology
Although local attitudes and values influence a community's support for sexuality education, educators rarely assess local views in a systematic way. A survey of community parents provides a simple, relatively inexpensive way to assess support for sexuality education and strengthen the school's leadership in implementing an effective curriculum. This paper describes the use of a parent survey for building a comprehensive sexuality education program in a rural community. Most respondents supported sexuality education even for the elementary grades. Compared to a survey conducted 10 years earlier, respondents were significantly less confident of themselves and other parents as sexuality educators. Attitudes varied by demographic characteristics. Using these findings, the paper illustrates how the strategic use of a parent survey can strengthen school‐based sexuality education by minimizing potential controversy and building a broader base of active community support and involvement for sexuality education. (J Sch Health. 1994; 64(9): 347–352)