Path2Health (P2H) with support from UNESCO Bangkok and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) held a two-day workshop on ‘Preparing Teachers to Deliver Comprehensive Sexuality Education’ (CSE). The workshop took place 11-12 September 2014 in Nonthaburi, Thailand following the first National Conference on Healthy Sexuality which took place 8-10 September.
The workshop was developed to draw on the SIECUS experience in the U.S. developing guidelines and standards for curriculum and teacher education on sexuality education. It targeted Thai educators, trainers, and those providing programme support to scale up CSE in Thailand. Over 40 participants from across Thailand attended the workshop, including educational supervisors from primary and secondary education institutions, school directors, Faculty of Education and of Nursing staff from Rajabhat University and Walailak University, CSE teachers, and NGO staff including CSE trainers, and programme staff supporting information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns, from P2H and AIDS Access Foundations.
The workshop began with a review of the evidence base for CSE, drawing on the UNESCO 2009 publication: International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education.
In small groups, participants considered how these essential characteristics are currently being delivered in Thailand. One participant commented that people sometimes say that they don’t want to do sex education because it is a Western concept. “But when we look at the essential characteristics we see that this is good practice for any kind of education. If Thailand wants to achieve good education we need to do this in all subjects,” he shared. Another CSE teacher said “I hadn’t seen the 17 characteristics but I realised I think about this every day.”
Many participants agreed that moving to participatory methods is the most challenging aspect along with teacher skills including listening, facilitating, time and creating a safe space in the classroom. There was a practical element also associated with this. For example, some teachers mentioned that rearranging classrooms can be difficult as the next class comes in immediately afterwards, and is typically set up for lectures. Other challenges raised included: developing lesson plans with learning objectives, conducting learning assessments, and having appropriate teacher resources (textbooks) for all teachers.
Participants also reviewed the SIECUS Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, which have been translated into Thai by Path2Health and used in Thailand. Participants felt largely some of the concepts and learning objectives included in the SIECUS Guidelines were covered in the Thai CSE curriculum but “the devil is in the detail” and detail was often lacking. Human development (e.g., body changes during puberty) was felt to be covered in many settings most comprehensively, while frank discussion about sexual behaviour and cultural/social norms can be more challenging aspects. There is little discussion of sexual orientation or sexual identities, or on sexual behaviour such as masturbation, sexual fantasy and sexual disfunction. Curriculum was felt to be generally “sex-negative” and encourage abstinence.
Participants also reviewed the recently-published National Teacher Preparation Standards for Sexuality Education developed by partners in the Future of Sex Education project. The Standards identify seven basic areas within which teacher-candidates must show competence to effectively teach sexual health education after graduation: Professional Disposition; Diversity and Equity; Content Knowledge; Legal and Professional Ethics; Planning; Implementation; and Assessment. Each standard includes a rationale and measurable indicators or learning objectives that teacher-candidates must master to meet the standard.
Monica Rodriguez, President and CEO of SIECUS, encouraged participants to consider the Teacher Preparation Standards in the Thai context. “Think about them as in inspiration and starting point. Really specify them to your setting and your work, don’t have to use them as they’re laid out, and make adjustments for the students, teachers and communities you are working with.”
There was a consensus that it would be useful to incorporate the Teacher Standards to Thai school and cultural contexts. P2H shared that they would like to do similar work to SIECUS and to develop technical pieces and tools to work with the teacher colleges; however it would need to be the teacher colleges that supported the teachers and schools in the implementation.
Some participants indicated that the teacher standards were an important step in the right direction, but that “whole school standards were required.” These standards could promote respect for all, and focus not only on teachers but all members of a school and connect people to services and more information if they needed it.
Many participants shared that they found the U.S. experience enlightening and surprising. One participant shared “I imagined that the US would be much more advanced than us in terms of the coverage and the intensity of the level of learning. It was unexpected to hear that there is a lot of trouble. We think the US should have more liberty to talk about these things.”
P2H and UNESCO agreed to use this brief workshop as a springboard for future opportunities to collaborate and advance sexuality education in Thailand in partnership with national stakeholders and other development partners.
For the full workshop report click here: Workshop Report
Contact: Justine Sass (j.sass@unesco.org)