engleski

Parents’ Attitudes About School-Based Sex Education in Croatia: Findings from a National-Probability Study

Health Education (HE) in Croatia comprises of four modules: Healthy living, Prevention of violent behavior, Addictions prevention and Sex/gender equality and responsible sexual behavior. Experimental phase of program implementation (2012-2014) introduced HE in Croatian education system through maximum of 12 school lessons per year, depending on grade, within the homeroom classes in all grades of elementary and secondary school. This process was characterized by a significant public interest and a clash of polarized views regarding the fourth module (sex education), which amounted to the national culture war. The aim of this study was to explore parents’ support toward comprehensive sex education (CSE) in schools. The main dependent variable in the study was parental support for the health education curriculum, which in most cases pertained to the support for its fourth module (CSE). Among the predictors and correlates of parental support, we focused on parents’ familiarity with the program. Two independent probability-based samples of parents were used in the analyses. The first included 2, 287 parents who participated in a pilot study, while the second sample (N=957) represented parents who participated in a program evaluation study by completing questionnaires at two time points six months apart. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to explore correlates and predictors of parental support, as well as to analyse factors related to familiarity with the program’s contents. The implications for educational policy planning and the implementation of CSE in a highly religious, post-transitional society are discussed.

Health education; comprehensive sex education; parents’ attitudes; culture war; Croatia

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