Research and evaluation in sexuality education: an allegorical exploration of complexities and possibilities

Meaningful evaluation of sex and relationship education

“…The reason for the difficulties (and there are many) is intimately bound up with the claim made by Ron Morris (2005) who, elsewhere in this special issue, argues that good sex and relationship education programmes or interventions are those that 'provide young people with opportunities for agency'. In this same issue, Vera Paiva (2005) argues that effective sex and relationship education programmes enable young people to engage in 'projects of happiness' in which they act on the world and change it.…”

Unmet Needs in Sex Education—What Adolescents Aim to Understand About Sexuality of the Other Sex

“…Extensive research has been conducted in the last decades, showing increasing evidence of the benefit of sex education [2][3][4][5][6][7][8], which led to the inclusion of sex education in public school curricula in many different countries [9,[13][14][15][16]. However, research has been focused mainly on the effects of sex education regarding sexual risk behaviors [2][3][4][5][6][7][8], and sex education programs worldwide are still limited to SRH content with the aim of reducing sexual risk behavior [9,[13][14][15]17]. By providing a definition of sexuality that is limited to unhealthy aspects, this approach neglects the context of adolescents' everyday life.…”

“…Sexuality contributes significantly to a happy and healthy life [1]. As comprehensive sex education (CSE) in schools has proven to be effective in improving sexual knowledge and lowering sexual risk behavior [2][3][4][5][6][7][8], it has become part of the national curriculum in most European countries [9,10]. CSE is more effective if adolescents participate actively in knowledge exchange, and the impact of teaching programs is proven to be higher when the content meets participants' needs [11,12].…”

Developing sexual competence? Exploring strategies for the provision of effective sexualities and relationships education

“…SRE can do little to influence the contexts for sexual practice or the prior biographies that mediate sexual conduct. However, SRE can influence the outcomes of sexual practices by providing young people with knowledge and skills that enhance their opportunities for enacting agency (Morris, 2005). While knowledge alone is not enough, it is a prerequisite, and research has demonstrated a 'significant positive relationship between knowledge and practice over time' (Kippax & Stephenson, 2005, p.368).…”