Abstract (eng)
This diploma thesis deals with the efficiency and relevance of coeducation in sex education at school. The study aims at examining the emotions, interests and communication related to joint sex education and further analyses whether these conditions have a beneficial or hindering effect. Thus, the findings are indicative of the extent to which joint sex education constitutes an advantage or disadvantage for the individual pupil.
The main part of this thesis is formed by a questionnaire conducted with 256 students of the University of Vienna, which were retrospectively asked about their experience with sex education at school. Furthermore, the experience value of twelve teachers of biology was collected with the help of an extra questionnaire. However, the teachers’ data only constitutes an additional aspect of this thesis and has no statistical relevance. The collected data is evaluated using the statistical analysis programme SPSS.
The results are presented in terms of two aspects. On the one hand, the answers to the students’ questionnaire are contrasted in terms of the students’ sex, and, on the other hand, with regard to the students’ favourable or rejecting attitude towards coeducational sex education at school.
In general, the majority of students (65%), among them mainly men, are in favour of joint sex education. Strikingly, twice as many women as men advocate a separation between female und male pupils.
Although the thesis cannot demonstrate that issues such as emotions, communication or interests with regard to joint sex education directly correlate with the sex of the students, it may nevertheless be assumed that, on the basis of the gender - specific preference of a coeducational respectively monoeducational sex education, there is a gender- specific tendency in this respect as well.
In addition, results display that sex education lessons are more exciting in the presence of the other sex, that pupils are interested in the comments and questions of the other sex, that the type of questioning changes and that pupils gain more insight into the other sex when educated jointly. However, evidence cannot be provided for an increased sense of shame when asking questions during joint sex education, for inhibitions due to the presence of the other sex nor conversations between the two sexes.