The purpose of this study is to overview school-based sexuality education in Japan and figure out its characteristics and examine the effects of sexuality education in terms of contraception and the gender-related attitudes among adolescents.
1) A Nationwide questionnaire survey conducted every six years since 1974.
2) Complementary surveys, which are the classroom observations and interviews to teachers and practitioners in 2005 and a questionnaire survey to university students in 2008
Results:
1) School-based sexuality education in Japan has been expanding during three decades in terms of the educational contents. It is mostly in the context of Health education, STI prevention and/or moral education. It means there is little gender perspective.
2) Sexuality education in Japan had little effects on actualizing contraceptive practice for now, while more students who received relatively more fulfilling sexuality education than students who did not receive it perceived that sexuality education was useful for them. The rates of adolescents who use condoms properly had no significant difference by the knowledge of contraception and the experience of sexuality education at schools.
3) It had also little effects on gender related attitudes and notions, e.g. masculinities and femininities, myth of male sexual desire and gender roles.
School-based sexuality education in Japan has lots of issues and tasks to be challenged. Teachers feel that sexuality education all together in the classroom is difficult because the sexual interest and development are varied between individuals. Further practical research is necessary.
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: The Japanese Association for Sex Education and The Grants-in-aid for scientific research by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan
Recorded at 19th WAS World Congress for Sexual Health - Sexual Health & Rights: A Global Challenge Göteborg (Sweden) - June 21 – 25, 2009
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