Acceptability and Evaluation

1

• Acceptability and Evaluation
• of
• Contraception the Board Game
• Barbara Hastings-Asatourian
• October 2002

2
Sex Education
Despite the efforts of the Department of
Education to integrate sound sex education into
the curriculum in a way that engages young
people, it would seem to be failing. Research
indicates that young people receive sex
education in a piecemeal way, and that the
connections between information and behaviour
and consequence are 'not getting through'.
3
Evidence of problems with SRE

• BMA, HEA and the Sex Education Forum (1997)
• http//www.medfash.org.uk/publications/documents/s
  chool_sex_education.htm
• Teenage Pregnancy Unit (1999)
• http//www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/publications
  /reports/pdfs/teen_preg.pdf
• DFEE (2000)(now the DFES)
• http//www.dfes.gov.uk/sreguidance/sexeducation.pd
  f
• National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV (DoH
  2001)
• http//www.doh.gov.uk/nshs/bettersexualhealth.pdf
• PHLS (2001 and now 2002)
• http//www.phls.co.uk/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/public
  ations/sti_report2001.pdf

4
Sources of Evidence for its acceptability/effectiv
eness

• Qualitative and quantitative data
• comments and numbers
• Lay and expert opinion.
• User opinion - students, teachers, others
• Media reviews and reports
• Direct / spontaneous responses
• Evaluation forms
• Press releases

5
What do young people think? Comments collated
from evaluation forms

• POSITIVE Very good design
• Gives group interaction
• Gives opportunity for talks
• Gives useful websites
• Better for small group work
• Good idea for youth clubs
• NEGATIVE
• Dont like board games - boring
• Needs more on personal relationships

6
Pupils/Students

• It was better than formal lessons, it was fun
  and very educational
• It was very interactive and much more
  educational. We were even asking questions to
  the male teachers which we wouldnt normally do
• Its a very good idea. You dont have to talk
  about anything personal. Its for all types of
  races and sexes of people

7

• Instead of having a teacher explain things, it
  was more like talking to your friends - if youre
  a quiet person it may be hard to talk about sex.
  The game provides a way of talking about it
  without embarrassment
• (14 year old girl)
• Id rather do it on a board game
• (13 year old girl)
• Its just what we need to talk about at the
  minute
• (14 year old boy)

8
What do teachers think?
The children thought it was superb, they liked
the fact that they played it in small
groups What this takes forward is the idea
that they are in control, they are the decision
makers, and the more they know and understand,
the better will be those decisionsthis is good
education (Head Teacher)
9
Direct response from teachers

• ...very well received indeed by the students in
  year 10 and 11.Our local health visitors have
  also been much impressed by them. The game is by
  far and away the best material I have ever used
  with young people (SRE Teacher)
• The general consensus.. praise, at last a fun,
  relaxed and INTERESTING tool for teaching PSD
  (SRE teacher)

10
Press releases from opponents to SRE

• This week saw a watershed of perversion and
  child abuse ...more suitable to an Anne Summers
  Sex Party than a class full of children

This game is just corrupting. The idea is for
children to work their way around a board using
counters in the shape of different
contraceptives. In any other setting an adult
who asked a child to play a game like this would
be arrested