Peer Educators In Comprehensive Sex Education Will Improve Efficacy: A Proposed Study
Abstract
Sexuality education is high school settings is a topic that taught in many
different ways depending on state laws, district policies, and resources
available. However, sexuality education falls into two main overarching
categories: Abstinence-Only programming and Abstinence-Plus or
comprehensive programming. The current study proposes to analyze the
effects of peer educators co-teaching comprehensive sexuality education
courses alongside adult educators. This study proposes to assess the progress
of two sections of the comprehensive sexuality education program Safer
Choices facilitated by Planned Parenthood of Michigan to determine whether
lessons are more effective and/or enjoyable when co-taught with a peer
educator. The control section of the Safer Choices program will be taught
solely by an adult educator, and the control section will be co-taught by an
adult educator and a peer educator, with post-test scores of both sections
compared for efficacy. I predict that not only will those students in the classes
co-taught by the peer educator score higher on the post-test given than the
classes taught by an adult alone, but also that the section of classes featuring a
peer educator will be rated as more enjoyable by students. Implications of this
study are also discussed.