Sexuality Education in Philippines

• DepEd Order No. 031, series of 2018 concerns policy guidelines on implementing comprehensive sexuality education.

Purpose

• Aims to establish a common understanding of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) key concepts and messages.
• Ensures clear implementation of CSE protocols.
• The rationale, legal bases, guiding principles, mechanisms, and procedures assists teachers, school principals and other education stakeholders in relevant, meaningful and useful teaching and learning.

Amendments

• Inconsistent DepEd Orders, related issuances, provisions, rules, and regulations are replaced, repealed, or amended.

Effectivity

• The guidelines take effect immediately upon issuance.

Target Audience

• Public and private elementary, junior, and senior high school learners.
• Learning centers for Special Education and Alternative Learning Systems (ALS).
• Laboratory schools of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).
• Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs).
• Applicable to public schools, excluding certain provisions.

Integration

• Mandates Indigenous Learning Systems (ILS) and Madrasah Education Program (MEP) to integrate CSE Standards, core topics, values and life skills.
• Core subjects include MAPEH, Science, Values Education or ESP, Araling Panlipunan, and Personality Development.

Policy goals for adolescents:

• Enhanced wellness (physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual).
• Better learning outcomes, reduced dropout rates, increased completion rates, and improved quality of learning.
• Access to adequate and appropriate information and healthcare.
• Address reproductive health concerns, reducing the risk of unfavorable long-term consequences.
• Promotion of healthy and responsible sexual and social behavior.
• Development of health values, assisting in rational decisions for a satisfying and productive life.
• Teacher resources for developing decision-making and problem-solving skills related to adolescent reproductive health.
• Enable teachers to integrate key concepts and messages on reproductive health concerns into the curriculum.

Definitions:

• Adolescence: 10-19 years
• Assessment applies appraisal of information relative to learners' understanding of sexual education.
• Comprehensive Sexuality Education is an age-appropriate, culturally relevant program that teaches about sexuality and relationships by providing scientifically accurate, realistic, non-judgmental information.
• Gender: Culturally or socially constructed roles, personality traits, attitudes, behaviors, power and influence relating to males and females, also refers to one's masculinity/maleness or femininity/femaleness.
• Gender-based Violence: Violence inflicted by reason of one's sex.
• Health: Complete physical, mental, and social well-being.
• Sex: Characteristic at birth, whether male or female.
• Sexuality: Totality of personhood, encompassing sex, sexual orientation, gender, sexual identity, values, and attitudes.
• Reproductive Health: physical, mental, and social well-being in matters relating to the reproductive system.
• Teenage pregnancy: Pregnancy in girls aged 10-19.

Policy statement

• Commitment to implement comprehensive sexuality education with relevant curriculum that protects and promotes the rights of learners to health, education, information and care.
• Sets standards for efficient and effective teaching of comprehensive sexuality education, using constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative, and integrative pedagogical approaches.
• Institutionalizes CSE as an integral part of lesson planning, instructional design, and classroom/school activities.

Guidelines and Procedures in support of the DepEd vision and mission:

• The curriculum programs and projects are based on being child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating.
• Teachers should facilitate learning and nurture learners.
• Staff ensure a supportive environment.
• Family, community, and stakeholders actively share the responsibility for developing life-long learners.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education Goal:

• Curriculum based learning of cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality.
• Content should be scientific, age and developmentally appropriate, culturally and gender responsive, and rights-based.
• Goal is to empower students and help them realize their health, well-being, and dignity.
• Improves critical thinking in relations to risky behaviors related to poor reproductive health outcomes.
• Enhances self-esteem.
• Develops respectful interpersonal relationships.
• Implementation should involve the associations of parents, teachers, and the community.
• It should also involve school officials, civil society organizations and other interest groups, ensuring cultural acceptability, efficiency and appropriate messaging.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education Framework:

• It is aligned with the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum.
• Highlights support systems to make the program effective and sustainable.
• Includes core topics and subtopics integrated in various learning areas.
• Aims to develop and promote positive values and life skills among learners.
• Anchored on social learning theory, social cognitive theory, and the social-ecological model.
• Emphasizes personalization, relevance of content, motivation and emotion, susceptibility, skills, self-efficacy, social norms, and environment.

Integrating Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the K to 12 Curriculum

• Adapt and develop a grade level, age and developmentally appropriate teaching, and evaluation for enhanced basic education.
• Teaching and learning objectives should proceed from simple (basic information, cognition skills) to complex knowledge.
• It should focus on the anticipated psychological milestones that start with puberty and early adolescence.
• Integrate CSE contents and learning competencies ahead of anticipated biopsychosocial milestones by about two years.
• The CSE curriculum involves core topics and subtopics across grade levels and subject areas.

Core topics and subtopics:

• Human Body & Human Development: Includes Sexual & Reproductive Body, Human Development & Reproduction and Puberty & Adolescence;
• Personhood- Values, Norms & Peer Influence and Life-skills
• Healthy Relationships - Families; Friendship, Romantic Relationships, Long-term relations, Marriage & Parenting and Sex and Marriage
• Sexuality and Sexual Behaviors- Sexuality & Sexual Life Cycle and Sex and Sexual behaviors
• Sexual and Reproductive Health- Reproductive Health, Consequences of Early Pregnancy and STIs and HIV-AIDS
• Personal Safety- Privacy & Bodily Integrity, Gender-Based Violence and Bullying
• Gender, Culture, and Human Rights- Gender Equality, Media and Sexuality and Human Rights

Integration Guidelines:

• Integrate within identified learning areas in ways that align with existing learning objectives and competencies.
• Learning areas include: Music, Arts, PE, Health, Araling Panlipunan, Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao, Science, and Personal Development.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The The Department of Education (DepEd) units shall collaborate to properly use relevant and appropriate units.

• Central Office: The formulation of national policy and the framework for reviewing the CSE curriculum is assigned to the Bureau of Curriculum Development (BCD).

• The Burearu of Learning Develivery (BLD) will coordinate with NEAP and BCD in the development and management of CSE-related training programs.

• The Burearo of Learning Resources (BLR) will coordinate with BCD and NEAP in the development of CSE learning resources.

• The Bureau of Educational Assessment (BEA) will ensure integration of CSE concepts and messages in the national assessment.

• The National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) will integrate CSE in its relevant learning and develop programs.

• The Planning Service is responsible to ensure the inclusion of CSE programs and projects in the Work and Financial Plan (WFP) of concerned units and bureaus.

• The External Partnerships Service (EPS) will strengthen cooperation and partnership with stakeholders and development partners in implementing CSE.

• The Bureau of Learner Support Services (BLSS) will coordinate with the BCD in the development of the CSE core topics and key messages.

• The Office of Public Affairs will establish a media network and mechanism for effective public relations on the CSE.

• Regional curriculum: The Learning Management Division (CLMD) will contextualise the national CSE policy and framework and its mechanisms

• The CLMD's regional trainings ensure that wide learning and developments will incorporate research data.

• Divisions such as the HRDD, PPRD, ESSD, FTAD and QAD will ensure a holistic approch.

At the is Division Office Level

• School governance and operations (SGOD) shall spearhead CSE programs through projects such as the implementation of campaigns for advocacy.

At the School Level

• Implement CSE programs and projects through curriculum integration across learning areas, information dissemination and advocacy campaigns, networking and partnerships.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Establish a mechanism to assess the progress and effectiveness of CSE implementation.
• Regularly monitor and report on core content integration in various education systems.
• Assess program implementation across all governance levels to find gaps and opportunities.
• Assess governance structures, teaching capacity, inputs, processes, and outputs.

Monitoring and Evaluation Team

• A diverse team with members from the DepEd Central Office, Regional Offices, Division Offices, School Level, and Learning Centers.
• All offices will comply with all reporting requirements as prescribed by the Central Office including the submission of all reports to partner agencies.
• DepEd collaborates with various government agencies, development partners, and NGOs for semisemestreal monitoring and evaluation.

Effectivity and Transitory Provision

• Budget allocated for orientation, capacity building, materials etc shall be incorporated each year.

Exploration of sexuality education in the Philippines. Topics include CSE goals, reasons for not attending school, HIV cases, and sexual violence among adolescents. Analysis of reports from DOH, DSWD, and NDHS.