Providing Sustained and Sustainable Support for Implementation and Maintenance
11.2 Providing Sustained and Sustainable Support for Implementation and Maintenance
The reduced levels of support within both systems needs to be addressed if sexuality education, adolescent sexual health services, appropriate forms of social support and healthy, safe school climates are to be maintained adequately.
This suggested policy direction has four components: (1) Improving teacher awareness of and access to high quality teaching materials, (2) Involving parents more in sexuality education, (3) Engaging youth in sexual health promotion activities and (4) Cooperating more with community groups and resources.
Improve Teacher Access to Good Materials
This study has found that teachers are not aware of or are not using appropriate teaching/learning materials on a variety of topics. We have also found that the purchasing of site licenses and electronic materials is not widespread. As well, the amount of support for teachers from health education consultants at the ministry and school district level is declining. Teachers do not have the time to search for, assess and catalogue good materials.
We recommend that good teaching/learning materials and lesson plans/learning activities be catalogued (and digitized) by age/grade and learning outcomes. We further suggest that this catalogue of materials be posted on the Web for easy teacher access and that this catalogue be publicized among teachers.
Involving Parents More in Teaching and Learning
We have found that parents are not often involved in nor informed about sexuality education programs. The teachers are not experienced in the use of take-home activities and schools and school districts do not often include sexuality education when explaining school programs.
We recommend that a variety of high quality educational materials be identified or developed for parents to assist them when talking with their children about sexuality, sexual health issues and in understanding the different elements of a high quality sexuality education program. We further recommend that these materials be disseminated to schools and parents.
Engaging Youth in Promoting Sexual Health
The use of peer helper and student leadership programs in schools is widespread. Further, there are opportunities to use curriculum-based opportunities such as community service learning to engage students in promoting their sexual health. However, we have found that this strategy is not supported by public health and school systems in regards to sexual health. We are aware of some community-based youth programs on HIV that are starting up, but these programs do not appear to be gaining access in schools.
We recommend that school-based peer helper programs, student leadership programs and curriculum-based community service programs be used to engage students in promoting sexual health and preventing HIV and STD.
Cooperating More with Community Groups
We have found that AIDS and sexuality groups are not often used by schools to teach about HIV, STD or sexuality. Nor are these organizations often used for teacher inservice. These groups are not often consulted about social marketing campaigns. Nor are these organizations working closely with many public health nurses. As well, the awareness campaigns organized by public health usually do not involve the business community. Further, the role, support and education of public health professionals in forming the necessary school-community links to achieve this need strengthening.
We recommend that greater use be made of these community-based resources in formal and informal sexuality education, social marketing campaigns and other aspects of sexual health promotion.