Introducing sex education to secondary school curriculum of Maldives : stakeholders perspective / Mariyam Ifa

Abstract

Effective sex education strategies could tackle important public health issues like sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancy and abortions among adolescents. This qualitative study examined parents and teachers perceptions on the introduction of sex education through school curriculum of secondary schools in Maldives. An exploratory research design was used and qualitative methods was used to collect data. In-depth interviews were conducted for stakeholders to find their attitudes towards sex education inclusion in schools. The findings of this study indicated that almost all the study participants had favorable attitude towards the importance of school sex education. Most of the participants agreed that the content of school sex education should include abstinence-only and it must be based on the principles of Islam only. Moreover, parents and teachers also agreed that the ages at which school sex education should be introduced are between 12 and 14 years of age. Teacher teaching experiences and field of studies have a supportive idea about the starting of school sex education. However, transmission of sex education to adolescents is very much limited currently in the country. As a result, it is important for them to be aware of family planning methods/services in the community and make them accessible to these services when needed. It is evident that there is support for sex education, thus, future research should be carried out using a larger scale which could validate the findings of this study more.

KEYWORDS: Sex education, Attitude, Knowledge, Perception, Adolescents