Promising Practice Programs

share

Agency SHine SA
Website http://www.shinesa.org.au/go/special-projects/share
Contact SHine SA
Address 17 Phillips Street,
Kensington SA 5068
Telephone: (08) 8431 5177
Facsimile: (08) 8364 2389
Email: sally.gibson@health.sa.gov.au
Start date March 2003
End date Official project will finish in 2006 but funding is recurrent to allow for ongoing implementation of key elements of the project.
Program type Community awareness/education
Geographical area State/Territory wide
Target group Children and adolescents
Description

share, which stands for "sexual health and relationships education", is a new project that aims to improve the sexual health, well-being and safety of young people by supporting school communities to deliver education in a safe, supportive environment.

share is a collaborative project between SHine SA and the Department of Education and Children's Services made possible with the financial support of the Department of Health.

The main strategies are:

  • Three year project with 15 metropolitan and rural schools
  • Each school has committed to teach a specific curriculum of 15 lessons of relationships and sexual health education to year 8,9,10 students for years 2003, 2004, 2005
  • Each teacher delivering the curriculum will receive 15 hours of professional development
  • Creation of student health and wellbeing teams comprising parents, students, teachers and community agencies to identify ways of supporting healthy relationships and sexual health in the school
  • Schools to participate in a range of evaluation processes including student questionnaires

Rather than merely focusing on the biology and physiology of sexual health and relations, share aims to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of students in years eight to ten, so that they can make informed decisions about their sexual health and the relationships they will form throughout their lives.Share aims to engage students in their own learning and encourages communication and participation with parents or carers.

Promising practice examples

The share program is about promotion of positive sexual relations, and incorporates sexual violence prevention themes. Prevention of sexual assault with school-aged children is considered fundamental to prevention of sexual assault in later life. Within the federal government's National Framework for Sexual Assault Prevention policy document, schools are considered as key sites of prevention (Urbis Keys Young 2004)

The share program and curriculum has devised taking account of current research, including an extensive literature review and includes extensive external evaluation. Rather than viewed as a one of short term program share has been designed with replication in mind, and resources are made available from SHine through the internet (the educational resources are able to be purchased through SHine SA). All SHine programs have a focus on diversity and within the share curriculum, there is attention given towards the prevention of homophobic violence and respect for sexual diversity.

Based on existing program The curriculum describes a comprehensive relationships and sexual health program. It is based on the scope described in the Middle Years Band of the Health and Physical Education learning area of SACSA (South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework). It is also consistent with the national framework for education about STIs, HIV/AIDS and blood borne viruses known as Talking Sexual Health, released by the Australian National Council on HIV/AIDS and Related Diseases in 2001.
Philosophical framework N/A
Research informing program

La Trobe University (Victoria) was contracted to undertake a literature review on the critical factors for success in conducting effective sexual health education in schools. The draft review has identified the following factors:

  • be positive about sexuality
  • move beyond information provision
  • address the social and cultural world in which young people make decisions
  • address the issue of gender
  • refrain from teaching abstinence alone
  • promote an understanding that sexuality and sexual behaviours are diverse
  • address the issue of risk
  • focus on the development of particular skills
  • incorporate peer education and peer support
  • create a supportive learning environment
  • involve the wider community, particularly parents.
These findings were incorporated into the planning of the share project and are outlined in: Factors for success in conducting effective sexual health and relationships education with young people in schools: a literature review (PDF) (see below).
Publications

A number of publications have been produced, which are available on the share website. These include:

Funding South Australian Department of Health
Evaluation
  • External/independent
  • Written evaluations following attendance
  • Program participants are compared to members of a control group ("no treatment" group)
    There are two types of evaluation:
  1. Process evaluation being undertaken by SHine SA. This includes surveys with students doing the lessons, surveys with parents, feedback from teachers on training and every teacher keeps a record of their response to the activities they are teaching.
  2. Impact evaluation: This is being done through a contract with the Australian research Centre in Sex Health and Society and includes surveys at the beginning and end of the project with a sample of students in the share schools and comparing this with a sample in schools not part of the share project. Key informants in the control and share schools are also being interviewed as part of this impact evaluation process.

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