National Public Radio/kaiser Family Foundation/kennedy School of Government Survey on Education

A new poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard'southward Kennedy School of Government finds the vast majority of Americans agree that sex didactics should exist taught in schools. Corbis hide explanation

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The debate over whether to have sexual practice education in American schools is over. A new poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard'south Kennedy Schoolhouse of Government finds that only vii percent of Americans say sex educational activity should not exist taught in schools. Moreover, in most places at that place is even niggling fence most what kind of sex activity education should exist taught, although there are however pockets of controversy. Parents are generally content with whatever sex education is offered by their children's school (encounter Parents Approve sidebar), and public school principals, in a parallel NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School survey, written report little serious conflict over sex pedagogy in their communities nowadays. Near three-quarters of the principals (74 per centum) say there have been no recent discussions or contend in PTA, school lath or other public meetings near what to teach in sex ed. Likewise, few principals report being contacted by elected officials, religious leaders or other people in their communities about sex activity pedagogy.

All the same, this does not hateful that all Americans agree on what kind of sex educational activity is best. There are major differences over the issue of abstinence. Fifteen percent of Americans believe that schools should teach only about abstinence from sexual intercourse and should not provide information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraception. A plurality (46 percent) believes that the most appropriate approach is one that might be chosen "abstinence-plus" -- that while abstinence is best, some teens do not abstain, and so schools besides should teach about condoms and contraception. Thirty-half-dozen percent believe that abstinence is not the near of import thing, and that sex ed should focus on teaching teens how to make responsible decisions about sex.

Advocates of abstinence take had some success. Federal funds are now being fabricated available for abstinence programs; in his Country of the Union address President Bush-league called for an increase in the funding. And in spite of the fact that just fifteen per centum of Americans say they want abstinence-only sex didactics in the schools, 30 percent of the the principals of public middle schools and high schools where sex education is taught written report that their schools teach forbearance-only. Forty-seven percent of their schools taught abstinence-plus, while xx pct taught that making responsible decisions near sex was more than of import than abstinence. (Heart schools were more likely to teach abstinence-simply than high schools. High schools were more probable than heart schools to teach forbearance-plus. Loftier schools and heart schools were equally likely to teach that forbearance is non the almost important thing.)

In many ways, abstinence-just teaching contrasts with the wide sex ed curriculum that most Americans want -- from the basics of how babies are made to how to put on a condom to how to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Some people thought that some topics were better suited for high school students than eye school students, or vice versa, simply few thought whatever of the topics suggested were inappropriate at all. The most controversial topic -- "that teens tin obtain birth control pills from family planning clinics and doctors without permission from a parent" -- was establish to be inappropriate past 28 percentage of the public, merely even there, vii out of x (71 percentage) thought it was appropriate. The other nearly controversial topics were oral sex activity (27 percent found information technology inappropriate) and homosexuality (25 percent). (See Table 1 in the Survey Tables sidebar.)

Parents Approve

Although in that location may be some disconnect between the breadth of sexual practice education Americans want taught and what is really taught in many places, parents whose children take taken sex ed generally like their school's program. Read more than.

Poll-Based Stories on NPR

Morning Edition, January. 30, 2004: Twoscore percent of adults say abstinence even includes abstaining from passionate kissing. Sanovia Jackson of Youth Radio talks with her girlfriends and finds out they have a different view.

Interestingly, in a separate question about what schools should teach about homosexuality, only 19 percent said schools should non teach about it at all. For the most function, Americans want teachers to talk about homosexuality, but they want them to do so in a neutral way. Fifty-two percent said schools should teach "only what homosexuality is, without discussing whether it is wrong or acceptable," compared with eighteen percent who said schools should teach that homosexuality is wrong and 8 per centum who said schools should teach that homosexuality is acceptable.

A majority of Americans (55 percentage) believes that giving teens information about how to obtain and utilise condoms will not encourage them to accept sexual intercourse earlier than they would have otherwise (39 per centum say it would encourage them), and 77 per centum think such data makes information technology more than likely the teens volition practice safe sexual practice now or in the time to come (only 17 percentage say it will not go far more likely).

When it comes to the general arroyo to teaching sexual practice and sexuality in schools, Americans split almost evenly. Respondents were asked to choose which of two statements was closer to their belief: (1) "When information technology comes to sex, teenagers need to have limits set; they must be told what is acceptable and what is non." Or (2) "ultimately teenagers demand to make their own decisions, so their educational activity needs to exist more than in the course of providing information and guidance." Forty-7 percent selected the first statement; 51 percentage selected the second. Parents of seventh and eighth graders were more likely to choose the first statement (53 percent) than the 2d (45 percent); parents of high school students were evenly divided. Conservatives were much more probable to cull the get-go statement over the second (64 percent to 32 pct), as were evangelical or born-once more Christians (61 percent to 35 percent). Liberals and moderates were more likely to choose the second statement over the first (61 per centum to 37 per centum for liberals and 56 percent to 42 percent for moderates).

Historically, the impetus for sex activity education in schools was educational activity children nigh avoiding pregnancy and keeping them prophylactic from sexually transmitted diseases, but many parents say they are more than worried almost the effects of sexual activity on their kid'southward psyche. Asked what concerns them about nearly their seventh-12th grade children ever having sexual intercourse, 36 percentage of parents said "that they might have sexual intercourse before they are psychologically and emotionally set up." That compares with 29 pct who said their biggest business was illness (23 percent said HIV/AIDS and vi percent said other sexually transmitted diseases) and 23 percentage who said pregnancy.

Moreover, given a list of bug teens might confront, virtually half (48 percent) of all Americans chose as the biggest problem "utilize of alcohol and other illegal drugs," which was double the number who chose whatsoever sex-related problem (nine percent said unwanted pregnancy, 8 percent said getting HIV/AIDS, and 4 percent said getting other STDs).

Just as the initial impetus for sex education in schools came from health advocates, the historical impetus for abstinence teaching has come from evangelical or born-again Christians. In general, evangelical or born-once again Christians have very different views from other Americans about sex and sexuality. Eighty-one per centum of evangelical or born-once again Christians believe information technology is morally wrong for unmarried adults to appoint in sexual intercourse, compared with 33 percent of other Americans. Likewise, 78 pct of evangelical or born-again Christians believe that sex outside of spousal relationship is likely to accept harmful psychological and concrete effects; 46 percent of other Americans believe this. Moreover, such Christians are much more than likely to believe that schoolhouse-age children should abjure from almost whatever kind of arousal: 56 percentage include passionate kissing amidst the activities they should abstain from; 31 per centum of the residue of the population say that. (Come across Table two in the Survey Tables sidebar.)

Evangelical or born-again Christians also have different views on many questions nigh sex education. Twelve percent of them say sex education should non be taught in schools -- a small number, but iii times the percentage establish amid non-evangelicals (iv percent). Moreover, more than than twice as many evangelicals equally non-evangelicals (49 percent to 21 pct) believe the government should fund forbearance-simply programs instead of using the money for more than comprehensive sex education. And on what should exist taught in sex ed classes, evangelicals are much more than likely than non-evangelicals to retrieve sure topics are inappropriate. (Meet Tabular array 3 in the Survey Tables sidebar.)

Interestingly, there are some differences between white and non-white evangelicals -- not on questions about sex activity or sexuality, but on questions nearly sexual activity education. On some sex educational activity questions, non-white evangelicals are closer to not-evangelicals than they are to white evangelicals. For instance, while 23 percent of not-Latino white evangelicals believe it is inappropriate for sex ed classes to teach where to get and how to use contraceptives, only 13 percent of non-white evangelicals believe this, compared with 8 percent of not-evangelicals. (The other items in Tabular array 3 were asked of one-half-samples of the survey, and in that location were non enough non-white evangelicals in the half-samples to make accurate comparisons.) Likewise, asked about the best method to teach sex activity ed, 27 percent of non-Latino white evangelicals prefer forbearance-merely. Fewer than half as many non-white evangelicals (12 percent) prefer abstinence-only, which is in line with non-evangelicals (10 percent).

Other interesting findings from the survey:

Adult Americans ascertain abstinence broadly. The survey asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "Forbearance from sexual activity outside union is the expected standard for all school-age children." Sixty-two percent of Americans agreed with the statement, which is a principle that must exist taught in federally funded abstinence education programs; 36 percent disagreed. Regardless of respondents' answer to that question, they so were asked how they were defining the word abstinence when they answered it. Did they include abnegation from sexual intercourse? Oral sex? Intimate touching? Passionate kissing? Masturbation? A large percent of Americans said yes to all of those, with 63 per centum thinking abstinence included abnegation from intimate touching, 40 percentage thinking information technology included abstaining from passionate kissing, and 44 percentage thinking it included abstaining from masturbation. (Run into Table 2 in the Survey Tables sidebar.) Equally suggested earlier, born-again or evangelical Christians (of all races) were more likely to say yes to the last three than other Americans.

Parents think their daughters are meliorate prepared to deal with sexual issues than their sons. In the grade of this survey, parents of children in grades seven through 12 were asked a number of questions about one of their children (if they had more than one in that age group, the child was chosen randomly). 1 of those questions was, "How well prepared do you feel your (x-course) child is to deal with sexual issues -- very prepared, somewhat prepared, non very prepared, or not at all prepared?" Sixty percent of parents said their girl was very prepared; only 36 percent said the same of their son. Interestingly, fathers (60 percent) were every bit likely as mothers (59 percent) to say their girl was very prepared. However, fathers (23 per centum) were much less likely than mothers (45 pct) to say their son was very prepared. (Whether the kid had attended sex activity teaching in school fabricated no deviation in parents' assessments.) In answering the question about what worries parents well-nigh well-nigh their kid always having sexual intercourse, parents of girls (41 percentage) were more likely to place psychological well-being as their pinnacle concern than were parents of boys (31 percent). Parents of girls were not more probable than parents of boys to choose pregnancy or disease.

There is no double standard regarding how long Americans think boys or girls should wait to have sex, but adults don't think either boys or girls will actually wait that long. Xl-seven pct think girls should await until they are married to have sexual intercourse, and 44 percent call back boys should wait until they are married; the divergence is non statistically pregnant. Well-nigh nine out of 10 (89 percent), though, don't retrieve girls will wait that long; the number is similar for boys (91 percent). The responses were like when people were asked about oral sex; they said boys and girls should wait, but probably won't. Again, there was piffling divergence betwixt people asked about boys and those asked nigh girls. Nigh 1 out of six people said that boys (sixteen percent) and girls (xviii pct) should never experience oral sex, but they also were likely to say that it was non a realistic expectation.

Methodology

The NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School National Survey on Sex Education is part of an ongoing project of National Public Radio, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard Academy's Kennedy Schoolhouse of Authorities. Representatives of the iii sponsors worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining sole editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys. The project squad includes:

From NPR: Marcus D. Rosenbaum, Senior Editor; Susan Davis, Associate Editor; Ellen Guettler, Assistant Editor

From the Kaiser Family unit Foundation: Drew Altman, President and Chief Executive Officer; Matt James, Senior Vice President of Media and Public Pedagogy and Executive Manager of kaisernetwork.org; Mollyann Brodie, Vice President, Managing director of Public Opinion and Media Research; and Rebecca Levin, Research Acquaintance

From the Kennedy Schoolhouse: Robert J. Blendon, a Harvard University professor who holds joint appointments in the Schoolhouse of Public Health and the Kennedy Schoolhouse of Authorities; Stephen R. Pelletier, Research Coordinator for the Harvard Opinion Inquiry Programme; John M. Benson, Managing Director of the Harvard Stance Research Programme; and Elizabeth Mackie, Enquiry Acquaintance

The results of this project are based on two nationwide telephone surveys: a survey of the full general public and a survey of school principals. The survey of the general public was conducted among a random nationally representative sample of ane,759 respondents 18 years of historic period or older, including an oversample of parents of children in 7th through the 12th grade, which resulted in interviews with 1001 parents. Statistical results for the total survey were weighted to be representative of the national population. The margin of sampling error for the survey is plus or minus three percentage points for total respondents and plus or minus four.7 percentage points for parents. The survey of principals was conducted among 303 principals of public center, junior and senior high schools across the country. Schools were randomly and proportionally selected from a national database of public schools by type of school (middle, junior and senior high). Statistical results were weighted to be representative of public center, junior and senior high schools in the Us based on geographic region and type of residential area (urban, suburban, non-metropolitan). The margin of sampling error for the survey is plus or minus 6 percentage points for total respondents. For results based on subsets of respondents the margin of error is higher.

Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted the fieldwork for both surveys betwixt September and October 2003. Note that sampling mistake is only one of many potential sources of mistake in this or any other public opinion poll.

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Source: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1622610