According to Donovan (1998), not all undergraduate curricula require aspiring teachers to take a course in sexuality, or HIV/AIDS prevention (p. 191). Often, if teachers of sexual education programs receive training, it is “on the rudiments of the physiology of sexual education” (Gursimsek, 2010, p. 82) . Most teachers who teach sexual education are primarily physical education or biology teachers. Since teachers have not been trained as sexual health instructors, they don’t often possess in-depth knowledge on the topics that sexual education programs cover (Donovan, 1998, p. 191). According to Gursimsek (2010), teachers report that their lack of training affects their performance and that teaching sexual education is more difficult for them than teaching other classes, and that they are often embarrassed by the subject matter (p. 82). They also express concern about not being up-to-date on student lifestyles, or being accused by parents of pushing their own perceptions and values on students (Wight et al., 2003, p. 522). As a result of the lack of training and these concerns, teachers are significantly less comfortable discussing topics such as oral sex and abortion than they are discussing family values and abstinence-related topics, which significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the sexual education course (Donovan, 1998, p. 192). These teachers also report not preparing adequately to teach these courses, as sexual education classes are often under-prioritized by the school, parents, and students. Teachers of sexual health classes often spend a bulk of their time working on their other courses rather developing the sexual education course or preparing for lessons (Wight et al., 2003, p.
According to Donovan (1998), not all undergraduate curricula require aspiring teachers to take a course in sexuality, or HIV/AIDS prevention (p. 191). Often, if teachers of sexual education programs receive training, it is “on the rudiments of the physiology of sexual education” (Gursimsek, 2010, p. 82) . Most teachers who teach sexual education are primarily physical education or biology teachers. Since teachers have not been trained as sexual health instructors, they don’t often possess in-depth knowledge on the topics that sexual education programs cover (Donovan, 1998, p. 191). According to Gursimsek (2010), teachers report that their lack of training affects their performance and that teaching sexual education is more difficult for them than teaching other classes, and that they are often embarrassed by the subject matter (p. 82). They also express concern about not being up-to-date on student lifestyles, or being accused by parents of pushing their own perceptions and values on students (Wight et al., 2003, p. 522). As a result of the lack of training and these concerns, teachers are significantly less comfortable discussing topics such as oral sex and abortion than they are discussing family values and abstinence-related topics, which significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the sexual education course (Donovan, 1998, p. 192). These teachers also report not preparing adequately to teach these courses, as sexual education classes are often under-prioritized by the school, parents, and students. Teachers of sexual health classes often spend a bulk of their time working on their other courses rather developing the sexual education course or preparing for lessons (Wight et al., 2003, p.