Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #103710

Tammy Jordan Wyatt, PhD, Health and Kinesiology, University of Texas at San Antonio, 6900 North Loop 1604 West, San Antonio, TX 78249, Fred Peterson, PhD, Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Bellmont Hall 222, Bellmont Hall 222, Austin, TX 78712, 512-232-5877, fpeterson@mail.utexas.edu, and Christopher White, MA, Health Education, The University of Texas at Austin, Campus Mail Code: D3700, Bellmont Hall 222, Austin, TX 78712.

Research, regarding diffusion of education innovations, reveals that teachers' concerns affect their adoption of curricular innovations. Similarly, teacher efficacy has been examined in relation to teacher effectiveness and student outcomes within numerous studies. Teacher efficacy is strongly associated with student-efficacy, student achievement, and student task engagement as well as teacher task initiation. Additionally, empirical studies suggest that during their formal education process, pre-service educators do not receive sufficient sexuality education training, and thus are not adequately prepared to deliver comprehensive sexuality programs nor address the needs of their students' concerning sexuality issues. Therefore, critical research issues include how knowledgeable and confident are pre-service educators at addressing and managing child and adolescent risk behaviors, specifically sexuality, within the classroom setting.

The purpose of this session is to examine pre-service educators' perceptions regarding the age-appropriateness of various sexuality education concepts for students grades K-12 as well as one's confidence or self-efficacy in teaching such sexuality education topics to students. The design for this study was a cross-sectional, quantitative analysis, which used a survey instrument designed to assess attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and knowledge of sexuality education issues among approximately 500 pre-service educators enrolled in two large universities in Central Texas. Results suggest the need for effective, pre-service sexuality education training programs to include information regarding age-appropriate sexuality education as well as methods designed to enhance self-efficacy in teaching fundamental sexuality education concepts to students within grades K-12.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will discuss the implications of teacher knowledge of and efficacy in teaching sexuality concepts to students.
• Participants will recognize the importance of teacher training regarding sexuality issues.

Keywords: School Health, Sexuality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.