Practical Sex Health Education for Junior High School Students and Exploration

Author: Qiuhailong, Liguandi Middle School, Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province (Research Group Members: Qiuhailong, Chen Jingzhi, Dai Xiujian, Zhu Mingda, Qian Dingcheng). This paper was selected for the Fourth Academic Conference of the Chinese Mental Health Association and also won the Second Prize for Excellent Innovative Educational Achievements in Ningbo City.

Abstract: With the progress of modern material civilization, the enrichment of spiritual and cultural life, and the popularization of mass media and the Internet, carrying out adolescent sexual health education in schools has become a necessary requirement for comprehensively advancing quality-oriented education. The junior high school stage is a critical period for conducting adolescent sexual health education, and junior high school students are an important group for this type of education, so it is necessary to pay attention to the sexual education of junior high school students. Our school started adolescent sexual health education in October 2001 and conducted research on the topic of adolescent sexual health education. We have carried out in-depth exploration and research on the importance and urgency of adolescent sexual health education, as well as the sexual physiology, psychology, morality, and hygiene care of junior high school students during adolescence, and the methods and approaches of adolescent sexual health education. This provides a solid theoretical foundation for better conducting and researching adolescent sexual health education among junior high school students in the future, and improving the effectiveness and educational intensity of adolescent education.

Keywords: Adolescent Sexual Health Education, Sexual Physiology, Sexual Psychology, Sexual Morality, Junior High School Students

I. Introduction: As we enter the twenty-first century with its rapid technological development, with international competition intensifying and reform and opening-up deepening further, higher-level quality requirements have been placed on our education: strong bodies, healthy minds, excellent moral qualities, and high levels of scientific and cultural knowledge. Carrying out adolescent sexual health education in schools is a necessary requirement for achieving these goals, an important task for comprehensively promoting quality-oriented education, improving national quality, and promoting socialist spiritual civilization. Conducting adolescent sexual health education in schools is a major issue that education faces in the era. As early as 1954, 1963, and 1976, Premier Zhou Enlai emphasized three times "teaching adolescent boys and girls sexual hygiene knowledge using scientific knowledge to maintain their healthy growth." The progress of modern material civilization, the enrichment of spiritual and cultural life, and the popularization of mass media and the Internet have placed our students in an unprecedented living environment after entering adolescence, facing difficulties and problems that previous generations did not encounter. Nowadays, the age of sexual maturity for students has advanced, but due to the influence of traditional culture, there are still many obstacles to openly and frankly teaching children sexual knowledge both at school and at home. The proliferation of ugly phenomena in society, the diffusion of obscene works in the media and on the Internet, and the spread of inferior sexual consciousness like bacteria have made it an inescapable responsibility for schools to carry out adolescent sexual health education, and it has become quite urgent. In today's era of comprehensively promoting quality-oriented education, carrying out adolescent sexual health education is an important way to implement quality-oriented education. Both adolescent sexual health education in schools and quality-oriented education are based on "fully implementing the party's educational policy and improving the quality of the nation as the fundamental purpose." They aim to create "idealistic, moral, cultured, disciplined" individuals who develop comprehensively in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics, becoming socialist builders and successors. Adolescent sexual health education in schools promotes quality-oriented education by teaching students scientific sexual knowledge, providing sexual health education, advocating sexual health, promoting sexual civilization, cultivating students' sound personalities, and enhancing quality-oriented education.

In August 1988, the State Education Commission and the Family Planning Commission jointly issued a notice about carrying out adolescent education in middle schools. In 1996 and 1998, they again issued notices about carrying out and strengthening adolescent education, clearly requiring schools to conduct adolescent sexual health education. Carrying out adolescent sexual health education in schools is a necessary requirement for the physical and mental development of students. Upon entering adolescence, students' sexual organs gradually mature, and secondary sexual characteristics appear in males and females. Their physiology and psychology undergo drastic changes, entering the "stormy period" of physical and mental development. Facing numerous issues, more and more students exhibit anxiety and troubles. They long for timely answers, guidance, and help regarding related questions. At the same time, their sense of independence, sexual awareness, and sexual emotions begin to sprout. They yearn to interact with the opposite sex and hope to understand sexual knowledge. However, when they are confused, anxious, or impulsive, behavioral deviations often occur, making them a "high-risk group."

Within the overall educational system, sexual health education remains a blind spot. Under the pressure of exam-oriented education, sexual health education occupies a dispensable position. The only course that touches upon related knowledge is "Physiology and Hygiene" in the third year of junior high school, which merely introduces basic physiological development knowledge without addressing important content such as sexual ethics and sexual psychology. Therefore, it has become imperative for schools to carry out adolescent sexual health education. Adolescent sexual health education in schools aims to prepare students' rationality when their sexual instincts first awaken, helping them improve their threshold capacity for sexuality, form correct sexual ethical and moral views, and maintain sexual physical and psychological health. Junior high school students are an important group for adolescent sexual health education, and the junior high school stage is a crucial period for carrying out adolescent sexual health education. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the sexual education of junior high school students.

Our school is located in the central area of Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, adjacent to the Dongqian Lake Tourism Area in the east, the Ningbo Higher Education Park in the west, and the Yinzhou Industrial Park in the north. With the rapid development of the local economy and the increase in population density, the number of students in school has significantly increased, and the physiological and psychological problems of students in adolescence have become increasingly prominent. In September 2001, we conducted a questionnaire survey on the situation of sophomore students in our school, and the results were as follows:

Gender | Number of People | Average Age | Ejaculation or Menstruation | Desire for Sexual Knowledge Rate | Source of Sexual Knowledge

---|---|---|---|---|---

Appeared | First Average Age | Parents | Books or Teachers | Television, Video or Internet

Among the students, many classmates lack sexual hygiene knowledge and have bad sexual hygiene habits, resulting in numerous sexual hygiene problems. Many students have early romantic relationships and face various adolescent issues. Many parents have low educational attainment, lack proper methods for adolescent sexual health education, or even know nothing about it, causing the absence of adolescent sexual health education in many families. As the main battlefield of education, schools have an inescapable responsibility to carry out adolescent sexual health education. These situations have drawn our serious attention.

Based on the notification spirit of the Ministry of Education and the National Family Planning Commission, and the "Protection Law of Minors of the People's Republic of China," under the leadership of the Publicity Department of the Yinzhou District Committee, the District Family Planning Commission, the Women's Federation, the Education Bureau, the Health Bureau, and the Youth League, our school established a research topic on the practice and exploration of sexual health education for junior high school students in October 2001. We provided scientific and systematic education on sexual physiology, psychology, hygiene care, morality, and legal education for the students of our school.

II. Implementation of the Topic

(1) Research Subjects

The research subjects are all students in grades one and two of junior high school. We emphasize popularizing education among the entire student body while also providing individual consultation and counseling for specific cases. Through home visits, student seminars, questionnaires, etc., conducted by class advisors, we conducted baseline surveys to deeply understand the physical and psychological development status and existing problems of students during adolescence. We then comprehensively analyzed the survey data and identified key targets.

(2) Research Methods

1. Classroom Teaching Method: Establish courses on adolescent sexual health education to provide group-wide popular education.

2. Individual Counseling Method: Set up psychological counseling rooms, suggestion boxes, etc., to conduct individual psychological counseling.

3. Case Analysis Method: Use typical examples from newspapers, magazines, and surrounding incidents to provide students with sexual morality education. Combine with survey methods, observation methods, behavior correction methods, etc.

(3) Research Process

1. Unify Understanding, Create Atmosphere

The school established a specialized research team composed of professional health teachers and class advisors. Among all faculty and students, especially within the research team, we changed concepts and unified understanding: carrying out adolescent sexual health education is sacred and scientific, an important task for comprehensively promoting quality-oriented education, improving national quality, and promoting socialist spiritual civilization. Through various channels, we vigorously promoted and created a civilized and scientific learning environment for sexual culture. At the same time, through parent training, home visits, and discussions, we widely listened to parents' opinions and gained their strong support. With the leadership and emphasis from the Publicity Department of the District Committee, the District Family Planning Commission, the Women's Federation, the Education Bureau, the Health Bureau, and the Youth League, we combined internal and external forces, coordinated top-down actions, and formed a good educational atmosphere.

2. Improve Systems, Standardize Education

The school highly values this initiative, with direct participation from leadership. Based on actual curriculum needs, scientifically scheduled classes, each class receives one session of sexual health education per week. And we persist in combining adolescent sexual health education with daily education by class advisors, forming a "class-based" model for adolescent sexual health education. The research team collects relevant learning materials and data on adolescent sexual health education from bookstores, hospitals, epidemic prevention stations, public security departments, and online resources. Simultaneously, we learn from regions and schools that have successfully implemented adolescent sexual health education. We invite experts to train the research team in professional knowledge and skills. We meticulously plan educational programs and determine textbooks based on students' actual conditions.

3. Face All Students, Carefully Implement Education

"The first principle of quality-oriented education is to face all students." As an important component of quality-oriented education, adolescent sexual health education must address all students. During specific educational processes, the main form is classroom teaching to educate groups. Depending on gender and age, we conduct cross-class education. In the classroom, we fully leverage students' subjectivity, encouraging active participation, creating democratic and harmonious classroom atmospheres. Using role-playing, group discussions, debates, and multimedia teaching, we stimulate students' interest in learning, allowing them to receive beneficial education in a relaxed and lively atmosphere. The main content of classroom education focuses on sexual morality and legal education, with sexual physiology, psychology, and hygiene care as the foundation. We practically and scientifically introduce male and female reproductive structures, secondary sexual characteristics, and sexual hygiene care knowledge to students, enabling them to understand necessary sexual physiological knowledge, cultivate good sexual psychology, possess positive sexual concepts, form sound personalities, and establish proactive and upward-looking worldviews.

Classroom education adheres to the principles of timeliness, moderation, and appropriateness based on students' age and gender characteristics, determining priorities. For grade seven, the focus is on physiological hygiene knowledge during adolescence, self-care, and self-protection. We introduce the structure and function of male and female reproductive organs, primary and secondary sexual characteristics, menstruation for girls, nocturnal emissions for boys, characteristics of sexual responses, and sexual hygiene care knowledge. We educate students to protect themselves, rationally reject temptations from the opposite sex, recognize harassment from the opposite sex, and avoid unsuitable places.

For grade eight, building on physiological knowledge, we further let students grasp the characteristics of sexual psychology, instill moral concepts, strengthen guidance on sexual impulses, and focus on self-assessment of early romantic relationships. Currently, early romantic relationships among middle school students are social issues of widespread concern, bringing significant negative effects that can affect students' bloodlines and induce bad behaviors. In education, we appeal emotionally and reason logically. We make students realize the harm of early romantic relationships while ensuring mutual respect, equality, and friendly interactions between male and female students. Normal interactions break the mystery of sex, educating students to be positive, self-respecting, and self-loving.

4. Focus on Individual Cases, Educational Intervention

Considering the individual differences in physiology and psychology among different individuals, we pay attention to individual cases, conduct psychological counseling and guidance, and guide students out of psychological dilemmas.