Scope

This Research Guide focuses on sex education in the public schools. The demand for sex education programs has increased in recent years due to the AIDS epidemic and concerns about teenage pregnancy. While some believe that information at an early age will result in more responsible choices throughout a student's lifetime, others believe that issues such as contraception and abortion should not receive classroom coverage. Additionally, arguments continue over whether or not to base programs on the idea of abstinence.

Overview

Encyclopedia of American Education
College Library Reference Collection: LB 17 U54 2001
Refer to "Sex Education," volume 3

Encyclopedia of Birth Control
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 766 R442 2000
Refer to “Sex Education”

Encyclopedia of Marriage, Divorce and the Family
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 9 D38 2000
Refer to "Sex Education"

Encyclopedia of Sex
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 9 E54 2000
Refer to “Sex Education”

Encyclopedia of Social Issues
College Library Reference Collection: HN 57 E59 1997
Refer to “Sex Education”

Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 9 H846 1994
Refer to “Sex Education”

International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 9 E52 2003
Refer to "Sexuality Education"

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center 1990 - to date (updated daily)
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC) includes the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources and provides viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Finding Journal and News Articles

Below are links to databases that cover this subject area. The truncation symbol for all of them is an asterisk (*) unless otherwise noted.

Sample searches for databases:

sex education and school*
condoms and school*
contraceptives and education
AIDS and sex education
family life education
sexually transmitted disease* and education
abstinence and education

Recommended Databases:

Academic Search 1984 - to date (updated daily)
This library database indexes approximately 3,100 popular magazines and academic journals and provides the full-text articles from approximately 1,000 journals. Basic instructions for Academic Search

CQ Researcher November 1991 - to date (updated weekly)
Contains weekly reports from Congressional Quarterly that cover the most current and controversial issues. Basic instructions for CQ Researcher

Education Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 400 scholarly and trade periodicals and selected monographs in education, educational psychology, college life, teacher education and evaluation. Basic instructions for Education Full Text

GenderWatch 1980 - to date (updated quarterly)
A women's and gender issues database with full-text coverage of most journals. Basic instructions for GenderWatch

Health and Wellness Resource Center 1994 - to date (updated daily)
Provides health information for nursing and allied health students, as well as consumer health research. It offers full text for more than 150 periodicals, six reference books, and over 500 pamphlets.

ERIC 1966 - to date
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) contains citations and abstracts of the international journal and report literature in education and related fields. Subjects include all aspects of education, including child development, classroom techniques, computer education, counseling and testing, administration, higher education, and library science. Basic instructions for ERIC

ProQuest Research Library 1988 - to date (updated daily)
Indexes over 2,000 general-interest and academic journals. Nearly 1,000 periodicals are full-text. Dates vary, but many full-text journals go back to 1988. Basic instructions for ProQuest Research Library

Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) 1972 - to date (updated quarterly)
Indexes journal articles, books, government documents, statistical compilations, committee reports, directories, serials, reports of public, intergovernmental and private organizations, and most other forms of printed literature from all over the world. The full-text of the articles is not available in the database. Basic instructions for PAIS

Social Sciences Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 415 scholarly journals in economics, politics, public administration, public health, sociology, criminology, environmental and urban studies, psychology and anthropology. Basic instructions for Social Sciences Full Text

More Databases:

Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe Dates Vary (updated daily)
Contains the full-text articles from U.S. and international newspapers (including the New York Times, June 1980 - to date), as well as some news and business magazines and trade journals. The truncation symbol is an exclamation point (!). Basic instructions for Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe

ProQuest Newspapers Dates Vary (updated weekly)
Indexes articles from 41 national and Wisconsin newspapers; includes full text for most. The truncation symbol is a question mark (?). Basic instructions for ProQuest Newspapers

Readers' Guide Full Text and Retrospective 1890 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 240 popular magazines in a wide range of subject areas. Full-text coverage of 131 titles begins with 1994. Basic instructions for Readers' Guide Full Text

Finding Books

MadCat
Books on sex education can be found in MadCat, the UW-Madison library catalog.

Sample keyword searches:

"sex education" and "united states"
"sex educators"
"sex education" and video? (to find videos)
"sex instruction"
"marriage manuals"
"family life education"

Searches can be limited to recent publications.

Internet Sites

Fact Sheet on Sexuality Educaton
http://www.siecus.org/pubs/fact/fact0007.html
Information from the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS).

Sex Education that Works
http://www.avert.org/sexedu.htm
Information from Avert, an international AIDS charity.

The Education of Shelby Knox
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/shelbyknox/
The Point of View series on PBS addresses the issue of federally funded abstinence-only sex education.

United States Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov
Contains the United States Department of Education educational resources for health education, including sex education.

Statistics

Education Statistics of the United States
College Library Reference Collection: LA201 E38

Statistical Handbook on Adolescents in America
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 796 S8237 1996
Refer to "Sex Education"

Organizations

The Abstinence Clearinghouse
http://www.abstinence.net
The Abstinence Clearinghouse serves as an association for the abstinence community. The Clearinghouse is a non-profit educational organization that promotes practice of sexual abstinence through distribution of age-appropriate, factual and medically-accurate materials. The Clearinghouse was founded to provide a central location where character, relationship and abstinence programs, curricula, speakers, and materials could be accessed. The Clearinghouse serves agencies and individuals on national, state and local level, as well as internationally.

Coalition for Positive Sexuality
http://www.positive.org/
The Coalition for Positive Sexuality (CPS) is a grassroots direct-action volunteer group formed by high school students and members of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP), Queer Nation (QN), Emergency Clinic Defense Coalition (ECDC), and No More Nice Girls. The site’s purpose is twofold: first, to give teens the information they need to take care of themselves and in so doing affirm their decisions about sex, sexuality, and reproductive control; second, to facilitate dialogue in and out of the public schools on condom availability and sex education.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/news-articles-press/politics-policy-issues/teen-pregnancy-and-sex-education.htm
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., is the world's largest reproductive health care organization. The site includes educator guides, parental instruction and peer education information.

SIECUS
http://www.siecus.org/
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. This organization provides sexuality information for teens, parents, schools, religious institutions and policy makers.

Sex Education Forum
http://www.ncb.org.uk/Page.asp?originx_784wa_21042403840053g59p_200610203221g
National Children's Bureau, Great Britain. This organization promotes the interests and well-being of all children and young people across every aspect of their lives.