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ERIC Number: EJ895893
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Aug
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4308
EISSN: N/A
Exploring Identities to Deepen Understanding of Urban High School Students' Sexual Health Decision-Making
Brotman, Jennie S.; Mensah, Felicia Moore; Lesko, Nancy
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v47 n6 p742-762 Aug 2010
Sexual health is a controversial science topic that has received little attention in the field of science education, despite its direct relevance to students' lives and communities. Moreover, research from other fields indicates that a great deal remains to be learned about how to make school learning about sexual health influence the real-life choices of students. In order to provide a more nuanced understanding of young people's decision-making, this study examines students' talk about sexual health decision-making through the lens of identities. Qualitative, ethnographic research methods with twenty 12th grade students attending a New York City public school are used to illustrate how students take on multiple identities in relation to sexual health decision-making. Further, the study illustrates how these identities are formed by various aspects of students' lives, such as school, family, relationships, and religion, and by societal discourses on topics such as gender, individual responsibility, and morality. The study argues that looking at sexual health decision-making--and at decision-making about other controversial science topics--as tied to students' identities provides a useful way for teachers and researchers to grasp the complexity of these decisions, as a step toward creating curriculum that influences them. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 12; High Schools
Audience: Teachers; Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A