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The purpose of this study was to identify instructional practices that are effective for teaching boys in all-boys, independent schools in Virginia. Teachers' self-reported levels of preparedness to teach boys was also investigated. The study was a basic qualitative study that used a qualitatively designed survey to collect data regarding the instructional teaching practices used by teachers of all-boys, independent schools in Virginia. The reported data identified several instructional practices that align with prior research conducted by Reichert and Hawley (2010b). The findings of this study indicated that active movement and hands-on, interactive learning are effective instructional practices for teaching boys. Additionally, the study indicated that teachers are prepared to teach boys, and relationships built on trust and respect are important for boys to learn. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify instructional practices that are effective for teaching boys in all-boys, independent schools in Virginia. Teachers' self-reported levels of preparedness to teach boys was also investigated. For the purposes of this study, the term "instructional practice" refers to a specific teaching method used in a lesson, unit of study, or assigned task that is effective. The participants could deem the practice effective for a variety of reasons, either measurable or immeasurable, including but not limited to a boy's performance level, behavior, engagement, attentiveness, motivation, and/or overall quality of work. The study was a basic qualitative study that used a qualitatively designed survey to collect data regarding the instructional teaching practices used by teachers of all-boys, independent schools in Virginia. The reported data identified several instructional practices that align with prior research conducted by Reichert and Hawley (2010b). The findings of this study indicated that active movement and hands-on, interactive learning are effective instructional practices for teaching boys. Additionally, the study indicated that teachers are prepared to teach boys, and relationships built on trust and respect are important for boys to learn.

Social media technologies are networked technological tools that can provide opportunities for productive socialization and collaboration. While social media are being incorporated increasingly into formal classroom settings, there is very little research available providing specific evidence for the affordances and limitations of social media as educational tools. It is also unclear whether undergraduates are open to, or already using social media for educational purposes. The current study explores Facebook as a collaborative and participatory learning tool to provide information on sex-related topics to undergraduate students. Connected learning was used as the guiding framework for exploring the ways that social media blend peer culture, academics, and learner interests to promote learning through interactions with a learning community. Results of the study indicate that undergraduate students were open and willing to using social media in academic contexts. However, students did not contribute comments directly to the study page resulting in a lack of evidence confirming whether connected learning occurred. Based on student responses, instructors hoping to integrate social media into their courses would do well to focus on maintaining responsiveness to students, promoting the development of a learning community, and varying the style and format of posts. It was determined that social media sites such as Facebook would serve best as supplemental, but intentional educational technologies rather than the basis for creating entire courses. Further research should center on understanding the participation and lurking patterns of students in educational social media environments, as well as the driving factors behind these participation patterns. / Ph. D.

Sexuality education in public schools in the United States excludes a large population of students. These exclusions are due to a long history of legal and economic battles, as well as the politicized nature of adolescent sexuality. This critical interpretive inquiry explored the long history of sexuality education through the lens of economics, law, and psychological paradigms and examined the way in which each of these lenses furthered the exclusion of nonheterosexual males in curricula. Using a framework comprised of critical feminist theory, critical pedagogy, and queer theory, this manuscript provides an understanding of the social structures of sexuality education and how they continue to marginalize students labeled as “other.” Using critical discourse analysis, this study reviewed legal and political documents, state and private curricula, and works in the sociology and psychology fields. The outcomes of interpretive research do not lend themselves to specific answers, but to a greater understanding of the experience of marginalized individuals and the structures in place that keep this experience intact. Through a critical review of current programming initiatives, recommendations are made to continue moving toward a more gender- and identity-inclusive sexuality education curriculum. These recommendations, which are grounded in current legal and economic requirements, include teacher certification requirements, implementation of the Advocates for Youth 3Rs curriculum, utilization of a rights-based approach to program design, and adoption of national sexuality education by the Department of Health and Human Services, rather than by the Department of Education.

Yes / Teenage pregnancy is often a very emotive subject. The media image of pregnant teenagers and young parents can be very negative, promoting the idea that young people become pregnant for financial reasons or for want of a responsible attitude. In reality, this is seldom true and the picture is far more complex. For many young parents the decision to become pregnant is not taken lightly. Their parenting, though perhaps more challenging than for older parents, is no less caring and effective. Sadly, this is not the experience for all young parents and their children. A number of negative outcomes for teenage parent families have been identified (see Box 1).1 As well as the difficulties faced by teenage parents, many young people become pregnant without intending to be and do not continue their pregnancies. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2015 almost 50% of under 18 pregnancies ended in termination. Risk factors for teenage pregnancy include poor school experience, low educational attainment, bullying and domestic violence, use of alcohol and spending time in local authority care.

The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancies, births, abortions, and sexually transmitted infections in the industrialized world. African American teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in many rural southwest school districts in the State of Georgia where the sex education curriculum is nonexistent or solely focuses on abstinence. Georgia ranked 4th in cases of primary and secondary syphilis, 6th in AIDS, 12th in gonorrhea, 14th in teen pregnancies, and 17th in chlamydia in the United States in 2012. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the perceptions of residents of a primarily African American rural southwest Georgia community regarding the importance of sex education and their knowledge of the school district's sex education curriculum. It specifically investigated abstinence-only sexual education using Bronfenbrenner's ecological learning theory. Study participants (n = 25) were African American youths in 9th grade, their parents, school officials, religious leaders, policymakers, and health advocates. The research questions were designed to investigate participants' knowledge of sexual health and effective sex education curricula for their school district. Data were collected from the participants via semi-structured interviews. MAXQDA 11.1 software was used for thematic analysis of transcribed interviews. The findings demonstrated community support for a comprehensive sex education curriculum and the need for a new paradigm in social policy that suggests initiatives should be evidence-based to achieve maximum efficacy in policy analysis. The study provides a baseline for school officials to assess community opinions regarding the acceptance of a comprehensive sex education curriculum.

The topic of my thesis is the issue of sex education in primary school. The main objective of this work is to analyze the curricular documents specified for Czech Education and especially to analyze the literature that could be helpful elementary school teachers to teach sex education. The thesis consists of two parts ? theoretical part and research. In the first chapter of the theoretical part I am dealing with the question of why sex education is important. Then I continue with sub-chapters dedicated to general definitions and principles of sex education. The second chapter is devoted to the National Programme of Development of Education or the ?Bílá kniha? and to how sex education is stipulated in this curricular document. In the second practical part of this thesis I am dealing with the analysis of another curricular document - Framework Education Programme (for Elementary Education) and its updates for 2013 from the perspective of sex education. Primary analysis of literature which is available from online catalogs forms another point in the research. The last point is the analysis of six selected titles from the perspective of their didactic facilities and subsequent evaluation.

Comprehensive sex education is a determinant of sexual health outcomes and healthy sexual/reproductive behaviors. The need for engaging, accessible, inclusive sex education conducted by community health workers is necessary to combat larger national issues such as the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections. After conducting summer research where I interviewed health educators about what makes health education programs successful, I planned, implemented, and created a sex education program at Scripps College. The event covered the topics of female anatomy, sexually transmitted infections, safer sex/barrier methods, and consent/communication in sexual relationships. The presentation mainly consisted of a PowerPoint that was supplemented with an interactive activity, a raffle and giveaway items, demonstrations of various barrier methods, and a question-and-answer session at the end. Through an evaluative survey, I received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback that indicated that many students learned new information and were likely to make concrete changes to their sexual/reproductive choices because of the program. The most common critical feedback requested that this program be repeated in more depth and cover additional topics such as conception and female orgasm.

Research indicates nearly one-fourth of college women fall victim to sexual assault (Cantor et. al., 2015). Two predictors of high proclivity to rape are endorsement of rape myths and adherence to traditional gender norms (King & Roberts, 2011). Additionally, research shows school-based sex education in the United States presents gender and sexual norms in troubling ways that disproportionately harm women (Kendall, 2013). However, research on sexual assault and rape myths have not examined the impact school-based sex education has on rape supportive attitudes. This study aimed to bridge that gap by using original survey data from undergraduate students at a large public university. Analyses indicate sex education has an inconsistent impact on rape myth acceptance; additionally, seeking sexual health information online was found to significantly lower endorsement of rape myths. Study outcomes suggest that further research is needed to explore the relationship between sex education curricula and rape supportive attitudes.