McKenzie Roedig
Dr. Claudia Skutar
English 2089, Section 008
12 March 2013
Proposal for Argument on Earlier Sex Education in School
Abstract
In educational psychology, some psychologists think that teaching adolescents sex in grade
school does more harm than good, while others like to differ. Adolescents should be taught about
sex not just when they get to high school, but preferably before seventh or eighth grade. Teenage
pregnancy is on the rise. Teens acquire STDs every day. It is better to expose adolescents to sex
early, which some people say jeopardizes their innocence, than to have a tragic "accident" caused
by sex later on when they get to high school. The majority of people that do not see this are the
parents of kids all over the nation. Early sex education is not going to prevent all negative sexbased consequences from occurring, but it is one step forward in giving adolescents some
knowledge and tools that could benefit them in the future.
Proposal
Sexual education should be taught at a younger age, so not just in the high school teenage
years. This argument is relevant to make in my field of study, which is psychology, because it
falls into the subfield of educational psychology. Many teenagers have sex and are not prepared,
mentally, emotionally, and physically, and that can make them live a life of regret and
unhappiness. A lot of psychologists have to care for people who have dealt with traumatic sexual
experiences, such as rape, STIs, and teen pregnancy. Sexual education is a hot topic in
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psychology because of the many parents who have differing views for what they think is "best"
for their child. Some parents like to expose their children early to sex and others would rather
keep the truth about sex from their children as long as possible. There are also those that would
rather teach their children about sex themselves and not have teachers at school do it. Parents are
the underlying reason as to why sexual education is not taught earlier to adolescents in all
schools across the United States. Many psychologists think it is best to teach adolescents about
how to be safe during sex, the risks of it, what to do when you get in tough situations, where to
go for help, and any other resources they might need. A lot of kids enter into high school not
knowing any of this valuable information about sex and with that they can easily fall victim to
the emotional and maybe even life-changing consequences of sex. Earlier sex education is the
first step to preventing these consequences from happening. Of course there are those
psychologists that think it could be detrimental for the wellbeing of adolescents for sex education
to take place in such an early and fragile time in an adolescent’s life. With all this said, I would
like to express my argument in a speech/presentation at the undergraduate research conference.
How I will go about this is I will give my reasons for why my argument is important, making the
larger college audience relate and open their eyes with stories and statistics. Then I will present
and expand upon both sides to the argument. Also, I will cite reliable evidence that past
psychologists have found in order to support my argument. I want to convince adults, young or
old, that it can be an uncomfortable situation to talk to children about sex but it is also a very
important situation that needs to be addressed sooner, rather than later.
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Evaluative Annotated Bibliography
Barrett, Michael, et al. "Adolescent Sexual Health Education: Does It Work? Can It Work
Better? An Analysis Of Recent Research And Media Reports." Canadian Journal Of
Human Sexuality 10.3-4 (2001): 127-135. PsycINFO. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
This article denounces what previous researchers have stated, which is that sexual
education is ineffective. The authors of this article talk about how sexual education is
effective since it can reduce certain risks, such as teen pregnancy and STIs. To help them
do this they give examples and provide credible research from outside sources. The
authors also explain how sexual education needs to be improved, for example in teacher
training. These points make my argument valid and lay the groundwork for why my
argument is what it is. For instance, since sexual education is effective in prevention then
it needs to be taught sooner in school. Furthermore, the point that sexual education itself
needs to be changed adds another interesting layer to my argument, which could be
another reason why negative sexual consequences occur during high school.
Brough, Keith. "Sex Education Left At The Threshold Of The School Door: Stricter
Requirements For Parental Opt-Out Provisions." Family Court Review 46.2 (2008): 409424. PsycINFO. Web. 9 Mar. 2013.
This article focuses on my point of parents being an obstacle to earlier sex education in
schools. It says that a stricter opt-out provision for parents, meaning that parents can only
excuse their children from sex education in school after they take a STI prevention course
and obtain the sex education course material used in schools. The article emphasizes the
need for parents to talk to their children about sex if the school is not going to do it.
Through this article, I can support the point of my argument about how sex education is
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needed early in school because of the lack of it at home and elsewhere. The article's
credibility can be seen through the extensive list of both outsides sources and the author's
credentials, which shows his significant experience in law.
Reiss, Michael. "What Are The Aims Of School Sex Education?." Cambridge Journal Of
Education 23.2 (1993): 125. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 10
Mar. 2013.
This article is used to inform readers about the underlying reasons for why sex education
is in schools. It can help me with explaining to the audience what positive effects sex
education can have on adolescents and then in turn seeing why my argument is vital. The
author, who is a lecturer in education at Cambridge University, provides an adequate
amount of past literature to explain the reasons for sex education. Some of those reasons
being reducing incidence of STIs, decreasing guilt, and stopping adolescent pregnancy.
Reiss, Michael J. "Conflicting Philosophies Of School Sex Education." Journal Of Moral
Education 24.4 (1995): 371. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 10
Mar. 2013.
This article informs readers about the positions people take in response to why sex
education should not take place in schools and why it should. The same person as the
source above wrote this article. However, now he is a doctor and lecturer in biology at
Homerton College. In the article, the author uses past literature and studies to identify the
weaknesses and strengths of the various positions. This article can help me in explaining
to the audience what people on both sides of my argument think.
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Sabia, Joseph J. "Does Sex Education Affect Adolescent Sexual Behaviors And Health?."
Journal Of Policy Analysis And Management 25.4 (2006): 783-802. PsycINFO. Web. 25
Feb. 2013.
This article will help the audience in seeing where the people on the other side of my
argument are coming from. What is made clear in this article is that proponents of
sex education are right in thinking that sex education does not influence adolescents to
become involved in risky sexual behaviors, but they are wrong in thinking that sex
education at school gives adolescents health benefits. When it comes to the opponents of
sex education, this article says that they are right in thinking that sex education is related
to adverse health outcomes. There is not enough substantial evidence to say that sex
education reduces the negative sexual outcomes or behaviors, such as pregnancy, STIs,
unprotected sex, etc. These conclusions are based off of data from the National
Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, so this is not the author's study but it is still a
reputable study nonetheless. The author also refers to past literature and what past
researchers have also said about the data to help make his conclusions.
Sivulich, Stephen. "Sex Education And The School Administrator." Education 94.1 (1973): 23.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
This article is in support of my point that sex education is not a preventive act that is
going to solve all the sex-related problems with adolescents, but it is one giant step that
can cause a lot of positive change. It also provides information about the disapproval that
school workers receive in regards to sexual education. The information will help show
how those on both sides of my argument feel. Overall, this article gives you the positives
that come along with sex education and the dirty work and negatives that school
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administrators face because of it. Also, this article's credibility is shown through past
research and the author's job at a respectable university.
Somers, Cheryl L., and Matt W. Eaves "Is Earlier Sex Education Harmful? An Analysis Of The
Timing Of School-Based Sex Education And Adolescent Sexual Behaviours." Research
In Education 67 (2002): 23. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 10
Mar. 2013.
This article details a questionnaire-based experiment done on high school students. The
experiment’s results show that sex education at an earlier age can be very beneficial and
that sex education as a whole is not significantly correlated with how much the
participants are involved in sexual behaviors. The first finding provides support for my
argument, but the second finding supports the opposing side of my argument. Also, this
article explores past research on sex education in public schools and the growing change
in adolescent's sexual attitudes and behaviors. Credibility is shown through the reputable
colleges the authors work for and their use of a significant amount of outside research.
Somers, Cheryl L., and Amy T. Surmann. "Sources And Timing Of Sex Education: Relations
With American Adolescent Sexual Attitudes And Behavior." Educational Review 57.1
(2005): 37-54. PsycINFO. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
This article details a study preformed on female high school students. The study
concludes that learning about sex in a school setting leads to more positive outcomes than
learning about it from peers, media, and parents and that sex education needs to be put
into the school curriculum earlier on. These conclusions provide solid evidence to
support my argument, since they take on the claim that sex education in a school setting
and sooner than in high school is for the best. In addition, the authors add a twist to my
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argument by saying that the timing of sex education should be centered on the children's
development and capacities at each grade level. Throughout the article, the authors use a
lot of past research, especially statistic based, to support their claims and make their
claims fit into a clear and scientific structure (introduction, method, results, discussion,
and references). Both the authors relate to the subject material of the article, since they
work in the educational psychology department at Wayne State University.
Stout, James W., and Frederick P. Rivara "Schools And Sex Education: Does It Work?."
Pediatrics 83.3 (1989): 375. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 10
Mar. 2013.
This article reviewed five different studies that included conclusions on the effects of sex
education on sexual behaviors or situations. After the discussion of the studies, the
authors, who are both doctors, presented the point that there is little to no effect of sex
education in school on adolescent pregnancy, contraception, and sexual activity. With
that said, this article gives evidence that is in support of the opposing side of my
argument. The evidence is taken from credible literature and the five different studies,
which can be used in my paper to explain one of the points of the opposing side.
Weaver, Angela D., et al. "An Adolescent Perspective On Sexual Health Education At School
And At Home: II. Middle School Students." Canadian Journal Of Human Sexuality 12.1
(2003): 19-33. PsycINFO. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
This informative and well-balanced article details a questionnaire-based study done on
middle school students. The conclusions indicate that the majority of adolescents think
that sexual health education (SHE) should take place in middle school or even sooner
than that. They also indicate that middle school students are more positive about learning
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about sex from teachers at school than from their parents. The study's conclusions show
students' perspectives of sex education at home and at school, which can be used as
evidence in my paper to display the positives of sex education before middle school. In
addition, all of the authors of this article are credible, as seen by the fact that they work in
the department of psychology at the University of New Brunswick. Throughout the
article they support their ideas and arguments with other sources that have been published
in renowned psychological journals and also with visuals, such as figures and tables.
Wylie, Kevan R., et al. "Sex Education In Schools Is Insufficient To Support Adolescents In The
21st Century." Sexual And Relationship Therapy 21.4 (2006): 485-490. PsycINFO. Web.
23 Feb. 2013.
This article is about the Sexual and Relationship Therapy's inaugural debate, which
discusses what needs to be done with sex education in schools. Many conclusions are
made at the debate, all of them backing up my argument. The conclusions that seem
the most beneficial in building my argument are that schools need to develop the
adolescents' knowledge about contraceptive and STIs and also develop an ability and
comfort to talk about sex and their feelings and experiences dealing with it. Another
conclusion in the article that is important to mention is that schools need to focus on
teaching how to critically analyze aspects of sex, so that adolescents can be better
protected. The article's authors utilize outside research to provide the readers with more
of an understanding about sex education. The article is in the peer-reviewed journal
called Sexual and Relationship Therapy, which is actually the sponsor of the
inaugural debate, making this source credible.