ABSTRACT
Schools have opportunities to offer young people facts about themselves as sexual beings, living as they do in a cultural milieu of media stimulation and lack of serious information. They have the ability to develop age-appropriate curricula designed to enhance young people's understanding of sexuality as a natural and positive part of human life. There are three important constructs to consider when discussing this topic: sexuality, sexual learning, and sexuality education. Sexuality education is designed to help children be prepared for life changes—puberty, adolescence, and stages of adulthood. The nature of the debate surrounding sex education in schools has to do with a cultural tradition of privacy and silence about sexuality. Gradually, school systems are developing family life/sexuality education programs. The sexuality education curriculum should facilitate serious discussion of important sex-related knowledge in an age-appropriate manner, building on what we know about physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development during childhood and adolescence.
