Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2020 The Beliefs of Sex Education Instructors in the Classroom Denise Stewart Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/dissertations Part of the Public Administration Commons, and the Public Policy Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact ScholarWorks@waldenu. Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Denise T.
Stewart has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Mary Brown, Committee Chairperson, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr. Gary Kelsey, Committee Member, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr.
Lydia Forsythe, University Reviewer, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph. Walden University 2020 Abstract The Beliefs of Sex Education Instructors in the Classroom by Denise T. Stewart MA, Hamline University, 2013 BS, Jackson State University, 2004 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Administration Walden University February 2021 Abstract Data-driven research is an ethical precept for nearly every profession, and it holds a particular importance within any human-services field, including public health education. This research study used a phenomenological methodology and Brofenbrenner’s theoretical framework to construct descriptive themes, investigating how public school instructors' personal beliefs impact teaching practice.
Ten in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with public high school teachers who self-identified as being involved with sex education instruction. Participants were selected from several public Minnesota high schools responsible for providing sex education to public school students in Grades 9 to 12. The findings revealed several themes relating to how instructors experience and understand their role(s) as sex education instructors: (a) Students often receive unsubstantiated or ambiguous curricula that are ideologically or politically driven, (b) participants have complete discretion to modify the recommended curriculum, and (c) participants reported that some teachers' beliefs were incongruent with researcher recommendations to the detriment of sex education quality. Recommendations for further research include assessing the generalizability and transferability of the study's findings and replications with different populations.
This study's findings have significant implications for positive social change, they suggest that unbiased sex education instruction, guided by a detailed, standardized, evidence-based curriculum, are an effective means of equipping adolescents to make healthy, informed choices about sexual behaviors. The Beliefs of Sex Education Instructors in the Classroom by Denise T. Stewart MA, Hamline University 2013 BS, Jackson State University 2004 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Administration Walden University December 2020 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to those who supported me along the way. My family, specifically my parents, Paulette and David Stewart, whose words of encouragement and motivation kept me grounded.
My husband, Clyde Johnson, whose steady stream of love and support helped me through the difficult days and late nights. My brother and sister, Darren Stewart and Ashley Kolman, you two are always there for me, and for that, I am genuinely grateful. I love you all. Acknowledgments As I reflect on this experience, I am overwhelmed by the memories of support and encouragement.
I share this achievement with all of those who invested time and energy in my journey. Together we celebrate. This study would not have been possible if not for the patience and interest of many. I appreciate my dissertation committee, Dr.
Mary Brown; I am grateful for your wisdom and sense of humor. Your constant influence and honesty helped me navigate my work from start to finish. Gary Kelsey, you helped me maintain my focus and offered endless optimism. Both of you played a significant role in my study’s success.
I am grateful to those who chose to participate in this study; without you, this accomplishment is not possible Table of Contents List of Tables .v Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study .1 Personal Beliefs in Sex Education. 3 Data Driven Research and Sex Education in Public Schools .5 Purpose of the Study .7 Nature of the Study .10 Scope and Delimitations .13 Chapter 2: Literature Review .15 Literature Search Strategy.17 Sex Education Policy .21 Sex Education Material .27 i Personal Beliefs in Sex Education .37 Teaching Sex Education .44 Alternative Approaches to Teaching Sex Education .59 Summary and Conclusions .62 Chapter 3: Research Method .65 Research Design and Rationale .65 Role of the Researcher. 71 Procedures for Recruitment Participation and Data Collection. 72 Data Analysis Plan.
74 Issues of Trustworthiness .80 ii Data Collection .82 Evidence of Trustworthiness.88 Theme 1: Teachers Have Broad Discretion to Modify Recommended Sex Education Curriculum According to Their Beliefs. 89 Theme 2: Congruent Teacher Beliefs Promote Fidelity to the Comprehensive Sex Education Model. 91 Theme 3: Teachers’ Beliefs About Students’ Informational Needs Guide Their Planning of Additions to the Recommended Curriculum. 93 Theme 4: Teachers’ Belief that Sex Education Should Meet Students’ Needs Makes Their Practices Responsive to Student Feedback.
95 Theme 5: Teachers Strive to Minimize the Influence of Their Personal Biases .100 Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations .103 Interpretation of the Findings. 112 Limitations of the Study.121 Appendix A: Public School Teacher Interview Protocol .139 Appendix B: Research Study Question.140 Appendix C: Participant Interview Questions .141 iv List of Tables Table 1. Data Analysis Codes. Grouping of Codes to Identify Themes.
84 v 1 Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study While sex education in public schools has been in existence for several decades, legislation in each local jurisdiction continues to differ throughout the United States. Some leaders at the federal level support the legislation of abstinence-only education and can make it difficult for educators to know what to teach in the classroom or the ability to secure the funding necessary to create and implement a comprehensive sex education program. Proponents such as political interest groups, lawmakers, and advocates of comprehensive programs frequently compete with proponents of abstinence-only education, and each side aggressively advocates the position that best represents their constituency (Arons et al. Such conflict is typically rooted in different moral perspectives on how best to develop sex education policy.
This conflict can lead to educators presenting unsubstantiated or ambiguous curriculums created for the purpose of avoiding political discourse. This ambiguity translates to students failing to receive information that fully explains their choices related to healthy lifestyle options. Background The competing interests and conflicting opinions of state legislators and public- school district officials is, in part, the result of the indecisiveness at the federal level (Arons et al. Because no federal law exists that mandates public schools to provide sex education or what should be taught, the ambiguity places states and individual districts to decide what programs to implement.
Ultimately, the uncertainty creates confusion and dissent among community leaders, parents, and teachers. Furthermore, the lack of clarity from government officials is compounded by a fear of the 2 potential socioeconomic and religious implications that accompany sex education. According to Arons et al. (2016), all of these factors lead to sex education programs that are, at times, poorly designed and, at other times, incorrectly executed.
Poorly designed programs force public school health education instructors to decipher how to implement the best possible sex education curriculum that meets applicable federal, state, and local funding requirements and refrains from impeding on the cultural, moral, or religious beliefs of the students (Arons et al. Educators must also consider the degree to which available data are consistent with their personal ideology, and the ways in which instructors may be reluctant to adopt sex education material written by the school district deemed contrary to the cultural, moral, or religious mores of their students. A significant challenge to creating curriculum includes finding a way to acknowledge the beliefs and viewpoints of policy makers, parents, and teachers without eliminating instructional best practices. In addition to balancing conflicting philosophies, the lack of an accepted statewide sex education curricula or standards presents another layer of confusion.
Currently, regardless of the significant progress in science, the implementation of an equitable and data driven model for broad sex education is still inhibited by political, sociocultural, and systems obstacles (Hall et al. I begin this chapter with a presentation of the impact of introducing personal beliefs in the classroom and the lack of instructional preparedness and access to adequate training for educators. I did not intend to advocate for a particular intervention or practice. Instead, this purpose of the study was two-fold: (a) to examine and reflect on 3 how the personal beliefs of public school educators impact sex education practice and (b) to determine the ways these beliefs impact sex education practice.
Personal Beliefs in Sex Education Because sex education is such a personal subject, subjectivity or personal beliefs may affect sex educators in their teaching of sex education. Williams and Jensen (2016) posited that there is a lack of research examining the influence or impact of sex educators’ personal beliefs or experience in sex education practice. With a historical importance on disease prevention, most sexuality-based programs are developed and implemented in alternative and charter schools, substance abuse treatment programs, after-school programs, juvenile detention-deferred programs, and other settings where vulnerable adolescents are reached. Even though these programs usually have more latitude in the content of sex education curricula, they are hampered by both funding issues and the lack of qualified sexuality and health educators.
Typically, community- based sex education is funded to provide educational instruction that promotes particular ideology (e., sexually transmitted disease [STD] prevention, abstinence, contraceptives, family planning options); rarely are dollars included in funding for comprehensive sex education (Hall et al. Additionally, the teachers working in these programs are trained in the program’s primary area of focus and are not typically qualified to be sexual health educators in general or in an academic setting specifically (Hall et al. Elliott (2014) analyzed how sexual health educators use the neoliberal rhetoric of individual responsibility in their abstinence-only and comprehensive lessons by way of ethnographic observations based on two high schools. 4 The perspectives of teachers in sex education may influence what is taught in class and inherently the impact on the long-term sexual health outcomes of students.
The literature has indicated significant challenges regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) subjects (Lynch, 2017; McNeill, 2013), as well as heteronormativity, including gendered and racial norms (DePalma & Francis, 2014; Francis & DePalma, 2014). Teachers may be unaware of their negative influence when teaching students, which may be even more problematic when teaching sex education. Schutte et al. (2016) stated the need for comprehensive program implementation regarding sex and health education to be successful, but added that it was often overlooked.
Teachers play a significant role in school-based sex education practice, yet teachers are often only in a supporting role during the implementation phase (Schutte et al. Data Driven Research and Sex Education in Public Schools Public school officials steadily contend with demands to use data in their decision making. These mandates create an environment by which education policy researchers and policy makers will appreciate what data-driven research requires and the conditions that may support it (Lynch, 2017). For that reason, a thorough review of the research of data driven material used in public school settings is complex.
To determine what is evidence in an academic setting requires educators to better understand its implications for instructional practice. These implications contain political factors and require the participation of parents, policymakers, and educators whose opinions may not align with scientific research.