Reports on Focus Group Interviews with Students and Parents
9 Reports on Focus Group Interviews with Students and Parents
This section of the report summarizes the results of eight focus groups with students and parents in four selected communities. The questions in the focus groups asked students and parents to give their views on the nature and quality of school and public health programs to promote sexual health and to prevent STD and HIV. The complete reports on these focus groups are available as part of the technical reports on this study.
Purposes
These focus groups were designed to seek responses to the following questions:
1. Is sexuality education considered to be important for young people by students and parents?
2. What sexuality education and sexual health services have students received?
3. How satisfied are students and parents with existing school sexuality education programs and sexual health services?
4. How could existing sexuality education programs and sexual services be improved?
These focus group were intended to gather voices to accompany and illustrate the other data that were collected within the larger national study. The findings reported here provide insight into what students and parents think about sexuality education and sexual health services.
Those who participated in these focus groups were not selected in a random manner. Consequently, their views should not necessarily be seen as representative of all parents or students in those schools, communities or the nation as a whole. As well, since there were difficulties encountered in recruiting parents to attend the focus groups, this suggests that these results should be interpreted with caution.
However, the amount of congruence in the findings of these eight focus groups suggests that the issues identified here are of considerable importance in our analysis of policies, programs and practices of Canadian school systems and public health systems relative to HIV/sexuality.
Methods
The participants in the six student and parent focus groups were selected in the following manner. Three school principals who had participated in the survey component of the study were asked to hold focus groups with students and parents. These schools were from a rural community in Nova Scotia, a small urban community outside of Montreal and a suburban community close to Vancouver. The principal of each school was asked to identify students and parents who he/she thought would be interested in participating in the focus group interviews.
A common set of questions was developed by the research team. As well, a common framework for the process used in the focus groups was developed by these researchers.
Two additional focus groups were organized in downtown Montreal to collect and describe the perceptions of gay, lesbian and bisexual youth and their parents about the sex education and sexual health services they had received. These older youth were already participating in a sexual health program.
The following numbers of students and parents participated in these focus groups;
British Columbia
The student focus group included seven grade nine students, all aged 14 years. The parent focus group included seven mothers and one father, ranging from 40-53 years of age.
Nova Scotia
The student focus group was comprised of four boys and six girls from grade 9, one grade ten boy and one grade 11 girl. Five women, including the public health nurse and one man attended the parent focus group. Most of these adults worked in a health related field and described themselves as openly supportive of sexuality education. This group was formed after unsuccessful attempts by the school principal to have other parents from the school attend a focus group.
Quebec
The student group was composed of five girls and four boys, all from grade 9, ranging between 14 and 15 years of age. It proved impossible to organize a focus group with parents of the selected school so a questionnaire with open-ended questions was sent to the members of the school parent advisory committee. Three mothers returned their questionnaires.
Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth/Parents
The focus group with gay, lesbian and bisexual youth was composed of the nine young men and one female, ranging from 17 to 22 years of age. The parent focus group here consisted two mothers of gay young men. They were interviewed as part of this investigation.
The discussions in the focus groups were transcribed and coded in a standard format appropriate to focus group investigations. The three reports were written independently by the three researchers and their respective research assistants.
Findings of Focus Group Interviews
The findings of the focus group discussions are reported separately for students and parents below. The discussion of these findings is combined with the discussion of the other study results in the next and final chapter of this report.
The findings of these focus groups are comparable to other studies done in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Minnesota and other jurisdictions. Students wanted better coverage of topics such as sexual orientation, oral and anal sex, and how to discuss sex with a partner. Parents strongly supported sexuality education and wanted programs to be more extensive.
Please refer to the section of this report that discusses these results in conjunction with those other studies. Further, this discussion section also compares the findings of these focus groups with the data collected from ministries, school districts, public health units, school principals, public health nurses and teachers.
Summary of Student Focus Group Interviews
A. General Perceptions
1. Students said that sexuality education is a very important part of their schooling. In the opinion of the students who participated in the focus groups, sexuality education classes should be offered in elementary schools, middle schools and senior secondary schools.
Students said that they wanted sexuality education to include a broad understanding of the nature of sexuality that includes physical, social and psychological elements. Most students reported that the sexuality education that they had received had been limited to topics such as anatomy, pregnancy, condom use and HIV/AIDS.
2. Students in all of the focus groups were not satisfied with the sexuality education that they had received. They found that the content and activities were repetitive, and that similar or the same resources and teaching activities were used all too often. The Quebec focus group suggested that sexuality education curricula be tied more directly to the age and development of the students. Students rated only a few teachers of sexuality education highly.
3. Few students recalled that there had been a specific focus on sexually transmitted diseases. Nova Scotia students, in particular, wanted more information about these diseases. Quebec students felt that the prevention of HIV and STD were important parts of a sexuality education program but that the program needed to be holistic in nature and also deal extensively with relationships and sexual orientation.
4. Students in all focus groups reported that they also learn about sexuality from the media, educational television, libraries, and other places in the community. However, most students did not view these other sources as being as reliable as the school. Students in all focus groups had discussed sexuality with their parents and found that, at times, discussions at school were more objective and effective than discussing some issues with their parents. Students also noted that, very often, the first source of information about sexuality was from their friends.
At the same time, Quebec students noted that some school-based discussions of sexuality can be upsetting and detrimental to some youth if they are not well planned and well facilitated. These discussions have to be sensitive to the needs and experiences of a variety of students.
5. Students groups also noted that the media can put pressure on youth to be sexually active. They wanted schools to discuss and study the media’s role and influence on sexual behaviour.
B. Specific Comments
1. Students in all focus groups said that teaching materials and resources used in sexuality education classes were often outdated. They wanted to use more recent videos that portray a realistic picture of the situation facing young people today.
2. Students also wanted more emphasis to be placed on sensitive topics within sexuality education programs. These topics include; sexual orientation, abuse, dating risks, STDs, self-examination for sexual health problems, sexual assault, relationships, and explicit sexual behaviors. Students also felt that topics such as anatomy, pregnancy, HIV, birth control pills and condom use were covered too extensively in their sexuality education programs. Students often noted that sexual orientation and discussions of homosexuality and homophobia were considered to be taboo by their teachers.
Students also recalled that they had heard presentations from public health nurses in their sexuality education programs. These were often done in large assemblies.
3. Students in all communities reported that their teachers did not often use active learning/teaching methods in their sexuality education classes. The methods most often used by teachers were lectures, videos, whole class discussions and other didactic strategies.
4. Students also said that teachers often appeared to be uncomfortable in the eyes of their students in discussing and teaching about certain topics related to sexuality. BC students also wanted the teachers to establish a comfortable environment in class for discussions of sexual health issues. Nova Scotia students said that their teachers rarely revised seating arrangements in class to facilitate open discussion. Quebec students said that their teachers often avoided discussions of feelings or emotions related to sexuality. In their view, the ideal teacher would use humor and other techniques to help students relax and participate in discussions.
C. Student Suggestions for Sex Education
1. Students suggested that more coverage be given to the following topics in sexuality education programs:
2. Students in all focus groups also suggested that teachers use more active learning/teaching methods such as role playing, small group discussions and more presentations from guest speakers.
3. However, students said that these guest speakers should not always repeat the condom demonstrations so often used in sex education classes. The Quebec students wanted to have guest speakers screened so that they can be trusted to respect confidentiality. Students also noted that the public health nurse is often too busy to spend time in single classes and leaves brochures at the school.
4. Students wanted easy access to condoms at school. All three focus groups mentioned this need. Some students commented that teachers, parents and administrators promote safer sex through condom use but will not allow condoms to be dispensed in their schools. In some cases students tried to get condom dispensers installed in the school but had been turned down by their administrators and teachers.
5. No students reported that they had participated in extracurricular school activities that involved them in HIV/STD prevention. Students reported that they would like to see a variety of such activities.
D. Student Perceptions of Preventive Sexual Health Services
1. Students in the BC and Nova Scotia focus groups said that they were not aware of clinic-based preventive health services on sexuality offered in their communities. They noted that few physicians offered appropriate information or counseling for adolescents. Students also said that they were reluctant to ask pharmacists questions about sexual health. Nova Scotia students thought that the public health nurse was based in another community. Quebec students did not view the local youth center as being a safe place for sexual health information, believing it to be a place where young people exchanged drugs.
2. Students in all focus groups indicated that they would not likely visit clinics or use services offered outside of the school. In rural communities, a car and driver’s license would be required to drive to those clinics. In Quebec, two students in the focus group had visited the local clinic. One had a positive experience and the other had a negative one.
3. Students also wanted more public awareness campaigns about sexuality aimed at youth.
Summary of Parent Focus Group Interviews
A. General Perceptions
1. The parents were strong supporters of comprehensive sexuality education in schools. Parents said that, sometimes, they are not able to answer all of their children’s questions about sexuality. They also know that they will not always be able to influence their child's decisions about sexuality as children grow older.
2. Parents believed that too little time is spent on sex education in schools. They perceive that what has been delivered is minimal, often being too late or too little in scope to be effective.
3. Parents in all of the focus groups did not think that the teachers were comfortable with many topics in the sexuality education program. Parents from Nova Scotia noted that teachers should be qualified to deliver sex education. Quebec parents suggested that multidisciplinary teams be used to deliver sexuality education in schools.
B. Access to Information about Programs
1. Parents said that they were not well informed about what was being taught to their children in sexuality education classes. Parents had little information on the contents and methods being used and they were not satisfied with this level of knowledge about the program. They indicated that they wished to be better informed.
2. Parents in BC suggested that a handbook or brochure be sent to them on the sex education program. This information could include suggestions on how to discuss sexuality with their children.
3. BC parents said the official parents’ committee should be consulted on content of the sexuality education program. They also suggested that this recognized parent body should use formal surveys to obtain parental opinion. This way, a formal consultation process would help to reduce the controversy often associated with sexuality education programs.
C. Parent Suggestions for Sex Education
1. Parents suggested that more coverage be given to certain topics in the sexuality education program including; contraception, abstinence, sexual ethics, dating, gender stereotyping, the role of the media, homosexuality, abuse, assault, incest, STDs, male sexuality and family values.
2. Parents also suggested that sexuality education programs be holistic, sustained, and supported actively by the school districts. Sex education needs to begin earlier, end later and be in more depth according to the parents from these focus groups.
3. According to the parents, more use should be made of community resources including speakers in school sexuality education programs. Nova Scotia parents noted that such guest speakers were often the favorite method for sex education in the opinion of their children.
4. Parents also favored the use of more active learning/teaching methods used in sex education. Parents also wanted more variety in the methods being used by teachers. Parents from BC wanted more use of Internet resources and CD-ROMs.
5. Parents from BC and from Nova Scotia said that more time should be devoted to sexuality education so that the program could be more comprehensive in nature and could cover more aspects of sexuality.
6. Parents from Nova Scotia and Quebec suggested that students be consulted directly about the content and the methods used in sexuality education programs. Parents from Nova Scotia also wanted more consultation with public health and other experts in the community on the content of the sexuality education program.
7. Parents in Nova Scotia were also aware of a new community-based program involving parents and teens that helped to facilitate family discussions about sexual health issues. These parents were interested in the expansion of such programs and the public health nurse taking a more active role in promoting sexuality education in schools.
D. Parent Perceptions of Sexual Health Services
1. Most parents were not aware of any youth-friendly sexual health preventive services in their communities. Also, most parents thought that their children would not be aware of such community-based services.
2. Parents thought that public health should provide preventive health services in schools, noting that students would not go to community clinics because of transportation difficulties and a lack of comfort with those services.
In Nova Scotia, parents were not satisfied with the confidentiality and accessibility of the services offered in their communities particularly in small rural areas. Parents thought that such preventive sexual health services should include access to pregnancy counseling and information, condoms and STD testing for teenagers.
3. Parents in Nova Scotia and Quebec were not satisfied with the lack of access that youth have to condoms in the community. Quebec parents wanted condom dispensers to be available in the schools.
4. Quebec parents said that the public health staff should ensure continuity and coordination of sexuality programs for youth being delivered in the school and the community.