Creating the S.E.T.ting

Koushita Gouri Reddy V -

Hey everyone!

 

As promised this blog post will be more exciting! At least more than me just listing off tasks.

This week I worked on annotating my readings I’ve collected online (I’ll put the links to the some websites at the end of the post) and gotten from my advisor, Dr. Bhakti. Each reading allowed for a better understanding about the setting this curricula would be entering and previous research/programs.

This week’s research led me to UNESCO’s Comprehensive Sexulatiy Education (CSE) program which is making significant strides in sex education in 48 countries. CSE focuses on empowerment and reflection for the newer generations, such as their environment, which are “all critical factors for improving health outcomes and HIV infection rates.”

Additionally, one of the biggest hurdles in creating a curricula is looking into the effectiveness of it being implementing. While the implementation, per say, isn’t a step in my project (due to time constraints) it is something to look into. In India specifically it is navigating the complex relationship with religion, mainly Hinduism. 

“Understanding R.D. Karve” brought more insight into this complex relationship. Here are some main points I gathered from the reading:

  • Karve used sexual science to challenge prevailing cultural norms and nationalist arguments about brahmacharya (sexual restraint)
  • He rejected hybridizing sexual knowledge with indigenous traditions, emphasizing a purely “rational” approach based on European sexology
  • Karve criticized classical Indian texts like the Mahabharata and Kamasutra for their unscientific views on sexuality 

This is just the beginning of my research journey. In the coming weeks I will be looking into specific programs/curricula around the world and analyzing their effectiveness and what makes them effective.

 

As Malcolm X once said “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today.” This quote is what I aim for my curricula to establish, a generation who enter tomorrow, enter the new world, aware of the world.

Here are some articles I recommend if you wish to look more into the CSE program:

https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/03/comprehensive-sexuality-education/ 

https://arrow.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Thematic-Paper-Religious-and-Cultural-Barriers-to-CSE.pdf

 

Thank you for reading! 

  • Koushita

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Comments:

All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.

    camillebennett
    Hi Koushita! It sounds like your research is taking shape. I think implementation should definitely be a consideration within you curriculum development. I'm interested in your opinion on the effectiveness of R.D. Karve's stance on sex education in India. Do you think following a wholly western perspective is the most effective approach?
    February 22, 2024 at 11:01 am - Reply
    Jen Smetanick
    Thank you for sharing your discoveries. I am interested in finding out if there are countries who recently entered the UNESCO’s CSE program. Has the CSE program made any updates in the past years to adapt to our changing environment?
    February 23, 2024 at 12:26 pm - Reply
    Alana Rothschild
    I love the quote you included! Have you run across opponents of the CSE program- like religious sectors, per se. This research is very valuable I am particular interested in the empowering piece. Great job!
    February 23, 2024 at 1:47 pm - Reply
    koushitagourireddy_v
    Hi Mrs. Bennett! Thank you! I actually disagree with looking wholly at a western perspective as India itself is so different from America. Even though the country has influences of western culture, in terms of sex education it’s important to look at the country through it’s history and social view points which are more traditional.
    February 25, 2024 at 3:03 pm - Reply
    koushitagourireddy_v
    Hi Mrs. Smetanick! CSE has made efforts in updates and adapted to fit the current societal events and expanded to more countries but it hasn’t been fully implemented. For example the program looked into the effects COVID-19 had on the younger population and made efforts to fight against it. Here’s a link on the impact COVID-19 had: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10132217/
    February 25, 2024 at 3:09 pm - Reply
    koushitagourireddy_v
    Thank you Ms. Rothschild! I haven’t looked into religious sectors which combat CSE in particular but I have read that some countries may have not implemented CSE due to religion but again, it is not simply because of religious arguments but over all that country’s social stigmas/views.
    February 25, 2024 at 3:11 pm - Reply
    nithya_s
    Hi Koushita, I like how Karve's approach is purely objective and does not mix in any beliefs that could not be universally agreed on. I can't wait to see your own approach to a sex ed curriculum.
    March 14, 2024 at 1:00 pm - Reply

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