Culturally congruent 4th grade puberty education for somali-bantu students

Background: Beginning in fourth grade, children in Vermont receive puberty education that can positively impact self-perception and health behaviors. Nursing theory emphasizes the importance of integrating cultural knowledge into education. Purpose: To begin to assess the cultural congruence of the fourth grade puberty education curriculum in the Burlington school district with the beliefs of Somali-Bantu students. Significance: This assessment will describe the prevailing values of a predominant ethnic group in the school district and determine how those values influence the impact of the puberty curriculum. Methods: A qualitative community based participatory research methodology was used. The main points of the fourth grade puberty curriculum were read to a focus group of Somali-Bantu high school students who discussed the alignment of their beliefs with the lesson points. The data were analyzed using Leininger and MacFarland's ethnographic data analysis method to discover prominent themes. Results: Three themes were developed from the data: ‘Appropriate Age', fourth grade; ‘Who's Teaching Whom', gender matched teacher/student classes; and ‘Role of Puberty Education', adult responsibility. Only the theme of ‘Appropriate Age' was found to be congruent with the current puberty curriculum. Recommendations: Adaptations to the curriculum and continued discussion among students and teachers are needed to address the lack of congruency between Somali-Bantu beliefs and the current puberty curriculum. Suggested changes include classroom gender division and classroom discussion about family values of increasing responsibility in becoming an adult. Further study is required with parents, male students, and other ethnic group in this and other school districts.