Sexuality Education in Western Australian Schools 2013-2014: Results of the First Western Australian Survey of Educators of Sexuality Education

Abstract

1 ABSTRACT 1.1 Aim The First Western Australian Survey of Educators of Sexuality Education 2013-2014 (WA Survey) aimed to assess the current state of sexuality education (SE) in the state of Western Australia (WA). 1.2 Significance The 2010, 1st National Survey of Secondary Teachers of Sexuality Education (NS) by La Trobe University, only had 16 respondents from Western Australia (WA). The National Survey (NS) outlined a number of recommendations for further research, which the WA survey aimed to address. This was achieved by gaining a more representative sample size than the NS through the design and execution of the survey. This difference involved providing the opportunity for all K-10 educators to participate. 1.3 Methods An online survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to all schools in WA. This included government, Catholic and independent schools and external agencies. The survey was open to all educators within the schools and obtained 1000 valid respondents. 1.4 Results Secondary school teachers are providing more hours of sexuality education instruction than the national average. However, they are mainly teaching about ‘abstinence from intercourse until married’, ‘effects of alcohol/drug use on decision-making’, ‘puberty’, and ‘sex and ethics (respectful relationships)’. The least taught subjects included ‘Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI)’, ‘birth control’, ‘impact of media on sexual identity’, and ‘sexual orientation’. The WA Syllabus does not cover these topics. The updated 2015 version of the GDHR website also does not offer any learning activities on pregnancy prevention. This is of concern considering WA has proportionally high rates of STI in youth aged 15 to 19 (Department of Health, 2015), and teen pregnancies (Hilder L, 2014) when compared nationally. 1.5 Implication of findings The results of the WA Survey and key findings of this thesis are significant as they provide a snapshot of SE in WA. These results form a baseline measure ahead of the role out of the Australian Curriculum (AC) and new WA Syllabus which mandates SE from 2017. This baseline can be used to inform future policy and provision of training and support for educators to provide evidence based, comprehensive SE.