“We’re All Still Learning About How to Talk About Porn”: Teacher and Administrator Perspectives About Inclusion of Education About Pornography in Massachusetts High School Sex Education Programs
Public Deposited- Creator
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Nelson, Kimberly M.
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8893-5764
- Other Affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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Campbell, Julia K.
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2674-1830
- Other Affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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Rahimian, Arianna N.
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Health Behavior
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Frieson, Tomeka M.
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9397-6752
- Other Affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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Moslander, Delaney E.
- Other Affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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Richardson, Victoria E.
- Other Affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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Rothman, Emily F.
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0113-2577
- Other Affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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Nelson, Kimberly M.
- Abstract
- Introduction Despite evidence that pornography is used by adolescents to learn about sex, there are no empirically supported, school-based sex education programs currently available in the United States (US) that include education about pornography. Methods This qualitative study, conducted in 2022, inquired with high school health teachers (n = 9) and administrators (n = 8) in Massachusetts about students’ sex education needs and barriers and facilitators to the provision of education about pornography as a part of school-based sex education. Results There is a clear need and desire to include education about pornography in school-based sex education, but there are also substantial barriers. Some of these barriers are logistical (e.g., having enough time to cover the topic), while others are more political (e.g., concern about pushback from the school board, parents, and the community). Even with those concerns, participants provided multiple strategies to decrease the likelihood of pushback and expressed hope that the needs of the students would prevail. Conclusion A critical next step will be to take a community-informed approach to develop and assess the feasibility and acceptability of education about pornography within a school context. Policy Implications Teachers and administrators in the US are facing a barrage of political and legislative campaigns that seek to limit or control the topics they teach. To facilitate the inclusion of education about pornography in school-based sex education, policies at the local, state, and national levels will need to state that such education is a necessary component of current sex education curricula.
- Date of publication
- March 5, 2024
- Keyword
- next steps
- campaign
- needs
- acceptance of education
- adolescents
- levels
- approach
- educational needs
- program
- education curriculum
- education
- sex education programs
- provision
- sex education
- units
- high school health teachers
- administration
- school context
- context
- national level
- feasibility
- legislative campaigns
- health teachers
- qualitative study
- study
- school
- likelihood
- curriculum
- topics
- steps
- Critical next steps
- hope
- facilitation
- Massachusetts
- state
- acceptance
- provision of education
- MethodsThis qualitative study
- ResultsThere
- inclusion
- teachers
- school-based sex education programs
- school-based sex education
- expressed hope
- United States
- school health teachers
- evidence
- barrage
- policy
- concerns
- students
- sex education needs
- sex education curriculum
- MethodsThis
- sex
- pornography
- education programs
- barriers
- participants
- school sex education programs
- inclusion of education
- community-informed approaches
- pushback
- DOI
- Identifier
- DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-00944-1
- Dimensions ID: pub.1169459687
- Resource type
- Article
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Journal title
- Sexuality Research and Social Policy
- Page start
- 1
- Page end
- 10
- Funder
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- ISSN
- 1553-6610
- 1868-9884
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
Relations
- Parents:
This work has no parents.
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Correction: “We’re All Still Learning About How to Talk About Porn”: Teacher and Administrator Perspectives About Inclusion of Education About Pornography in Massachusetts High School Sex Education Programs | Public | ||
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s13178-024-00944-1.pdf | 2024-10-17 | Public | Download |