Greece
Education beyond books
Let's see what is going on in Greek schools
Poland
Sexual education in Poland.
Certainly we have sexual education in Poland. It’s very important in every teenager’s life. It learns us ‘how to survive addesence’ and ‘how to set up home’. First of all we have this subject I 4th class in primary school (we’re about 10 years old). We learn things about our first period, changers in our body and behavior. We also talk with teachers about our family, housework and things, which are important in adult life. Later, we have sexual education in high schools, when we’re older and more mature (but sometimes there are some exceptions ;)). We learn new things, for example: about having a baby, methods of contraception, we also listen things about being a good person and having good life in the future. Sometimes in high school we hear the same news as in Primary School. In my opinion sexual education in Polish schools I good, but I could be better. Authorities should make professional trainings for teachers, who will keep this subject. They also should prepare the program of teaching. If they make it, teenager’s sexual education will improve, so they’ll be better prepared for being an adult.
Patrycja K.
Portugal
Sexual education in Portuguese schools
Portugal was a pioneer in the connection between health promotion and school. In 1901, it had already been created the Scholar Sanitary Inspection, mainly focused in the controlling of epidemics and endemics.
With the passage of time, school's role has been transformed, and it is no longer just a place where knowledge is transmitted; is now faced as the domain of education broadly understood, including in this concept the citizenship promotion, involving deepening of the sense of personal and social responsibility. It is in this context that the education for health in schools is framed, a goal which has won great strength in the educational projects of the Portuguese schools during the last decade.
Associated to health education appears sex education as one of its many facets, in an approach that has been the promotion of health in the broadest sense, involving the physical, psychological and social well-being. Thus, in the year 1999 a law, which strengthens guarantees regarding reproductive health was published; in 2000 it was attributed to the schools the role of integrating strategies to promote sexual health not only by organizing activities to develop curriculums, but also activities to complete curriculum, always requiring a school-family relationship.
The Portuguese legislation foresees the sex education in a school context, in primary and secondary school, and is embedded in the educational programs for health, along with nutrition, physical activity and the prevention of harmful consumption and violence in the school environment.
Only in 2005 the government made mandatory the inclusion of health education in educational projects for each school. Later, in August 2009, was regulated by law of Parliament, the requirement for planning specific time in the curriculum for sex education. Until publication of this law, approaches to sex education were not universal or regular, depending greatly on the willingness of teachers in classes and teams of draft health education. The law of August 2009, reaffirms the need for sex education arise from the complementarity of roles between family and school on behalf of existing conceptions of pluralism in Portuguese society. Already in April this year the Government set out the content to be addressed in sexual education. These are long and variable depending on the course. Are distributed across all years of primary and secondary education.
1st to 4th year deal, among others, topics such as:
- The notion of body and harmony with nature and the social and cultural environment;
- The notion of family;
- Differences between boys and girls;
- Body protection and limitations on abusive approaches.
In the 5th and 6th grade, new topics are introduced, such as:
- Puberty and its defining transformations;
- Sexuality and gender;
- Human reproduction and growth;
- Birth control and family planning;
- Menstrual and ovulatory cycles;
- Maltreatment and abusive approximations;
- Ethical extent of human sexuality.
Between the 7th and the 9th grades, those topics are recalled and new ones are introduced
- STD (sexual transmitted diseases) and its impact worldwide;
- Motherhood an fatherhood in youth;
- Voluntary interruption of pregnancy, meaning and consequences.
Between the 10th and 12th grades, knowledge on the previous topics are deepened, focusing in ethic approach to human sexuality. Other topics such as:
- Initiation in sexual relationships in Portugal and in the European Union;
- Pregnancy and abortion rate in Portugal and in the European Union;
- Contraceptive methods, its safety and reasons of improper contaception.
Romania
Sexual education in Romania
In Romania it is legal to speak about the sexual education in schools but we don’t have teachers who speak about because law does not approve. In the High Schools it is absolutely ok to exist some people who are interested in learning students about this problem. Appropriate sex education might therefore have a major role in preventing some sexual problems in adulthood.
Sex education can help to:
- prevent the spread of sexual diseases;
- prevent unwanted pregnancies;
- by preventing unwanted pregnancies, prevent unnecessary abortions;
- learning to form responsible views on own sexual behavior;
- encourage resistance to group pressure to engage in unwanted sexual activities;
- understanding the difference between male and female views on romantic relations;
- understanding that sex is part of the normal life of most adult people (at least in some stage of their life), and not something which need to be associated with feelings of shame and guilt.
In Romania, I mean in the High Schools there are not teachers who teach you about the sexual education. I think it would be a good idea to exist teachers to speak and teach you what to do from a young age (14-15 years old). Some schools offer no sex education, since it remains a controversial issue in several countries.
Taught properly, sexual education and development could easily become part of any other scientific course of study like Human Biology, Human Behavior, Human Anatomy or Health. More importantly, perhaps if administrators present a more dignified and academic approach to the delivery of sexual education, complete with test and grades, it may just impress upon the children that they should view sex a serious part of their human development rather than a recreational activity.
Results of recent polls have estimated that less than 7% of the population does not believe that sexual education should be a requirement in schools. This is 93% who are in favor of this subject matter as a part of the regular curriculum. However, there are pros and cons that must be considered by parents when dealing with sexual education classes that one would not have to consider with a less controversial topic such as math or reading. In general, a parent needs to be aware of his or her own family or religious beliefs and values and know their child’s intellect and maturity levels.
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