Ruth Shinoda: Education Evaluation Centre leader on the need for the sexual education curriculum in schools to be revised

There's a recommendation schools put clearer relationship and sexuality education in place. 

An Education Review Office report has found too much inconsistency in what students are learning. 

It calls on secondary schools to increase sex-ed teaching and tell parents what will be taught, rather than consulting them. 

It also found young people are being exposed to risks, particularly online. 

Education evaluation centre lead Ruth Shinoda says the curriculum should be revised. 

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan that schools should be required to inform and explain to parents what they’re going to teach, as they found that parents are more comfortable with the curriculum when they’re better informed.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Parents are getting too much of a say on what's
being taught on the old sex ed in school. The
ERO has done some research reckons there should be less
consultation and more explanation instead. In the head of Ro's
Educational Evaluation Center, Ruth Schanoda's with us. Hey, Ruth one
less consultation or no consultation.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
What we're saying is who should be requiring schools to
inform parents about what they're going to teach and explain
it really well. Because we found out that when parents
are better informed, they're a lot more comfortable and that's
what they want rather than confooting informat explain it and
the maketual parents who aren't comfortable with what's been taught
are able to take their child out of that class.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Okay, so what are we talking about here? What are
the things that are sticky? Because it sounded like it
might be that the more controversial stuff, right, gender stuff,
sexual identity stuff, rather than actually, this is how it
all works.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
So you're right. We were asked by the ministication to
review the whole of relationship and sexual education and we
found actually nearly all nine out of ten parents and
students really support it. Being taught at school, particularly as
we're in a more challenging world with those online risks
and that the students are now are facing. So there's
a lot of supports that have been taught at school,
and there's a lot of support for actually been taught

(01:08):
more on key subjects because this currictum has been in
place since two thousand and seven and the world has
changed then. So most parents and students want personal safety
and bullying taught earlier. And the third parents want their
children to learn more about consent. And then, as you said,
there are just some topics where parents have differing views
and that makes it really difficult for schools because they're
stuck in the middle trying to reconcile that. And that's

(01:28):
not really fair on schools.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Why do you reacon dads want least sixty than mums.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
So what we found is that mothers have a stronger
focus on sort of safety as their children. We found
in this report, so key topics that mothers want to
is around consent and ensuring that their kids are safe,
that they know the things that they need to know,
and that was just less of a focus for fathers.
We also found though that boys wanted to learn all
topics later than girls year why so some of that

(01:55):
we heard from the boys, some of them just mature
a little bit later, so they're wanting to learn it
when it's more relevant. So that's why we're recommending that
we keep teaching it after the age of fourteen.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
And does that make sense to you, because I mean
boys are going online and looking at the you know,
you know, the things I shouldn't be looking at from
a really young age way before girls.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
So what we're finding from boys saying is some of
those body changes are later, but also girls have got
stronger focus on keeping themselves safe. So the things that
girls are wanting earlier, in particular were those online safety
where they're facing quite a lot of risks that didn't
feel the same level for boys. But what they are
both saying to us nine out of ten is they
want this taught at school and actually on keyo topics

(02:32):
that girls and boys agreeing they want it more. And
then we recommending we should keep teaching it after fourteen.
It's just too early to stop.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, Ruth, you are prepared for the pushback you're going
to get back again on this side from parents.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
So actually the parents we spoke to there was a
huge support for having it taught, and in those key
topics where they're just saying the curriculums a bit out
of data, there was a lot of support for some
of those topics being spoken earlier. And then parents said
they actually want to be more informed. So I think
they'll welcome our recommendation that we require schools before they
teach it to inform and explain it to parents and

(03:06):
make your parents know they're not their child out.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
More like the parents I tell you now, Ruth, the
ticks machines already started up on the say parents will
be I imagine quite upset about not being consulted.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Don't you think the parents we do were mostly focusing
on wanting to be informed. If we had time in
a game that parents didn't know what their students were learning,
and we found that if they didn't know, they were
less comfortable with it. When parents were better informed, they
were more comfortable. But it's definitely true that parents also
said to us, if it doesn't align with their views,

(03:39):
values and faith, they want that ability to take their
child out of the class. And we think that's important too.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, Hey, listen, good luck of it because I think
you're onto something here, but I do think a unied
it's some resistance. It's Ruth Shanoda, hit of the ero's
Educational Evaluation and Center. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
listen live to news talks.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio