SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS IN CHINA: STRATIFIED EXPOSURE, EFFECTS, AND POTENTIAL BARRIERS

Utilizing data from a randomized controlled trial with 28 vocational high schools in China’s Guangdong and Yunnan province and over 3000 students, and in-depth interview data with over 50 teachers in these schools, this dissertation explores the current status of sex education and the possibility of online sexuality education in vocational high schools in China. Chapter 2 of the study investigates students' experiences with sexuality education, considering gender and geographical location. The results highlighted the overall lack of sex education in China, while indicating that students in the economically developed Guangdong province and those residing in urban areas have higher chances of being exposed to sex education in schools. Furthermore, girls consistently have higher odds of receiving sex education across almost all topics compared to their male counterparts, especially on subjects such as pregnancy and contraception, abortion, and sexual behavior. Chapter 3 examines gender differences in students' sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as the differential impact of the online comprehensive sexuality education module on students' sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The findings suggest that the online sexuality education intervention only had an impact on students' sexual knowledge and attitudes towards power, homosexuality, and premarital sex one year after the intervention, and the effectiveness does not differ by gender. Meanwhile, girls and boys exhibited differences in sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Chapter 4 explores how individual, structural, and cultural factors interact to influence teachers' decision-making processes regarding sexuality education. The findings revealed that teachers' personal experiences, interests, feelings of embarrassment, anxiety, and understanding of the subject matter significantly shape their decisions in China. However, it was evident that structural factors, at the education system level, the school level, the government level, and cultural factors play a more dominant role in influencing teachers' decision-making regarding sex education.