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Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools

Comprehensive sexual health education (SHE) programs are being implemented in many state and local jurisdictions. Much research has focused on the strength and effectiveness of such programs. However, the experiences of teachers and students in their implementation is underexplored. A case study of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Jarpe-Ratner, Elizabeth, Marshall, Booker
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7913844/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33557062
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041443
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author Jarpe-Ratner, Elizabeth
Marshall, Booker
author_facet Jarpe-Ratner, Elizabeth
Marshall, Booker
author_sort Jarpe-Ratner, Elizabeth
collection PubMed
description Comprehensive sexual health education (SHE) programs are being implemented in many state and local jurisdictions. Much research has focused on the strength and effectiveness of such programs. However, the experiences of teachers and students in their implementation is underexplored. A case study of the implementation of the SHE policy and curriculum in Chicago Public Schools sought to explore teachers’ and students’ experiences. Sixteen teachers were interviewed and five student focus groups, including 46 students, were conducted. Both teachers and students identified opportunities to improve upon the current program, including to (1) incorporate more student-centered learning opportunities and allow for tailoring to each specific group of students; (2) use discussion and dialogue to encourage students’ exploration of their own opinions and identities and development of a sense of agency over their own learning; (3) shift focus from risk reduction to a more holistic focus on healthy sexual wellbeing; and (4) directly discuss current health inequities, contributing factors, and intersectionality. These findings align with a critical pedagogical approach and underscore the need to understand SHE implementation within its sociopolitical context. Implications of the use of critical pedagogy as a framework for SHE in Chicago and beyond are discussed.
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spelling pubmed-79138442021-02-28 Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools Jarpe-Ratner, Elizabeth Marshall, Booker Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Comprehensive sexual health education (SHE) programs are being implemented in many state and local jurisdictions. Much research has focused on the strength and effectiveness of such programs. However, the experiences of teachers and students in their implementation is underexplored. A case study of the implementation of the SHE policy and curriculum in Chicago Public Schools sought to explore teachers’ and students’ experiences. Sixteen teachers were interviewed and five student focus groups, including 46 students, were conducted. Both teachers and students identified opportunities to improve upon the current program, including to (1) incorporate more student-centered learning opportunities and allow for tailoring to each specific group of students; (2) use discussion and dialogue to encourage students’ exploration of their own opinions and identities and development of a sense of agency over their own learning; (3) shift focus from risk reduction to a more holistic focus on healthy sexual wellbeing; and (4) directly discuss current health inequities, contributing factors, and intersectionality. These findings align with a critical pedagogical approach and underscore the need to understand SHE implementation within its sociopolitical context. Implications of the use of critical pedagogy as a framework for SHE in Chicago and beyond are discussed. MDPI 2021-02-04 2021-02 /pmc/articles/PMC7913844/ /pubmed/33557062 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041443 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Jarpe-Ratner, Elizabeth
Marshall, Booker
Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools
title Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools
title_full Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools
title_fullStr Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools
title_full_unstemmed Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools
title_short Viewing Sexual Health Education through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools
title_sort viewing sexual health education through the lens of critical pedagogy: a case study in chicago public schools
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7913844/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33557062
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041443
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