A study of attitudes and training of physical educators teaching sexuality education in Tennessee.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the relationship between physical educators' sexuality education training and their attitudes toward teaching sexuality education and (2) the relationship between their attitudes toward teaching sexuality education and the sexuality topics included in their course content. The study was conducted in selected high schools in the South Central area of Tennessee.

The Attitudes Toward Teaching Human Sexuality Scale, developed by J. B. Schultz, was modified and mailed to 120 physical educators in selected high schools in the South Central area of Tennessee. The study was designed to test two null hypotheses: (1) There was no significant relationship between teacher attitudes and teacher sexuality education training. (2) There was no significant relationship between teacher attitudes and the sexuality topics included in their course content.

The Chi-square test of significance showed there was a significant relationship {dollar}(p\le.05){dollar} between teachers' attitudes toward teaching family life/sexuality education and the sexuality topics included in their course content. The other hypothesis, which examined the statistical significance of teacher attitude and the amount of training in sexuality education the teacher has, also showed a relationship that was highly significant {dollar}(p\le.0001){dollar} using the Chi-square.

The latter hypothesis was also supported by Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) which showed that there was a positive relationship between teacher attitude and the degree of emphasis placed on various topics. Both hypotheses were supported in the literature. These findings led to the recommendations that teachers need more exposure to sexuality education training, not only to fill the gaps of the sexual knowledge of adolescents, but also to correct incorrect information and myths about sex. These findings will also serve to correct maladaptive attitudes and behaviors teenagers often have about sex.