Investigating the Impact of Learner-Centered and Co-designed Sex and Relationship Curriculum by College Students

Abstract

The current dissertation sought to address gaps found in learner-led, co-construction around materials for sexual health education by investigating participants’ project development and gathering both quantitative and qualitative data around the experience of designing and researching the SRE curriculum. This is necessary to pursue since young adults have shared a need for expanded materials beyond comprehensive sex education and are heavily impacted by poor or missing education. A mixed-methods design was implemented via survey responses (N = 38), curriculum creation (n = 6), and interview (n = 1) data. Analyses of the curriculum creation data included thematic and multimodal techniques. Findings indicated five main areas of interest: participants’ diverse sources of sexual health information, knowledge gaps and strengths in sexual health topics, dissonance between learning preferences and implemented curriculum techniques, thematic priorities in curriculum creation, and multimodal approaches and design philosophies used by learners. In conclusion, this research serves as a foundational step, providing support for ongoing iterations of work in the field of SRE. The aim is to contribute to a continuous discourse that is essential for the well-being and quality of life within our community, among our students, and for ourselves. Keywords: sex and relationship education, learner-led, co-construction, multimodal, collaborative, sex education