This study aimed to provide base data for diverse and balanced research development on the topic of sex education for children. Trends of master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, and journal articles on the topic of sex education for children were a...
This study aimed to provide base data for diverse and balanced research development on the topic of sex education for children. Trends of master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, and journal articles on the topic of sex education for children were analyzed for 10 years, from 2007 to 2016. Specific research topics were set as below:
1) What is base data analysis on thesis for sex education for children like?
1-1) What is the trend on year-to-year analysis?
1-2) What is the trend on research topic distribution?
1-3) What is the trend on journal types?
1-4) What is the trend on theses?
2) How are researches on sex education for children conducted?
2-1) What is the trend on research materials?
2-2) What is the trend on research types?
2-3) What is the trend on research tools?
2-4) What is the trend on data collection methods?
3) What are the primary findings from studies on sex education for children?
A total of 103 research materials used for this study include 45 master’s theses/ doctoral dissertations, and 58 academic journals. Analysis standards for each research topics were set by modifying earlier studies conducted by Hwang Jeong Sook (2007), Woo Min Jung (2011), Lee Eun hae, Lee Mi Lee, Park So Yeon(2006). The validity of such modifications were then confirmed by a professor from the department of early childhood education. All data collected through this method were converted to frequencies and percentages using Microsoft Excel 2016 to verify research topics.
Primary findings for research topics raised from this study are as below.
First, after analyzing theses on sex education for children, it was found that, from 2007 2016, the number of studies conducted increased most rapidly from 2006 to 2011. Moreover, most frequent research topic was raising awareness and requiring sex education to teachers and parents. For academic journal types, most journals were published from The Journal of Korea Open Association for Early Childhood Education. There were more theses published from special graduate schools, including graduate schools for education, than from general graduate schools. Besides, the number of master’s theses far exceeded that of doctoral dissertations. Ewha Womans University published the most number of theses, and more theses were written by those with degrees on childhood education.
Second, research subjects on sex education for children were concentrated on demographics, and majority of studies were conducted on children under five. For research types, most were quantitative, including research studies and experiment research, and for research tools, Sex-Role Learning Index (SERLI) was most commonly used. Surveys were chosen most frequently for data collection, followed by tests conducted on children.
Third, analysis on theses for childhood sex education frequently revealed the importance of raising awareness. Common results from studies showed that the necessity for childhood sex education was higher for teachers than parents, and parents were not alert of sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors children must know. Moreover, studies repeatedly found that while teachers lack professional knowledge and data when educating children on sex, parents find more difficulties in contents and methods for education.