Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools

Global Health Action

Farhana Akand¹  Leanne Unicomb¹  Mahbub-Ul Alam¹  Farjana Jahan¹  Farhana Sultana¹  Mahbubur Rahman¹  Shifat Khan¹  Mosammat Mobashhara¹  Mehjabin Tishan Mahfuz¹  Peter J. Winch²  Stephen P. Luby³  Erin C. Hunter⁴ 

[1] International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b);John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health;Stanford University;University of Sydney;

关键词: menstrual hygiene management (mhm);    menstrual health;    social and behavior change communication (sbcc);    education;    education barriers;   

DOI  :  10.1080/16549716.2021.1955492

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Objective To assess the perspectives of Bangladeshi teachers on the feasibility of delivery and potential for long-term sustainability of puberty and menstruation education in urban and rural schools. Method We developed a multi-module puberty and menstrual hygiene management education curriculum that teachers piloted for six months in four urban and rural government and private schools in Bangladesh. We conducted monthly assessments during piloting, discussion for manual revision and four group discussions with 20 participating teachers to understand perceived benefits, barriers, and sustainability of puberty and menstruation education among school children. Results Teachers acknowledged the importance of school-based puberty and menstruation education to improve students’ perception and preparedness. They found that the training and instructors’ manual they received were useful tools for effectively communicating with students. Teachers noted school and community pressure to de-emphasize educational content not included on nationally standardized examinations, and insufficient time and pre-service training for teaching sensitive topics served as barriers to implementing the pilot curriculum. Conclusion Pressure from school authorities and community may hinder the successful long-term delivery of school-based puberty and menstruation education programs that are external to the national curriculum. Our findings indicate that feasibly and sustainably improving education on these topics in Bangladeshi classrooms should be achieved through 1) revision of the current national curriculum to incorporate more comprehensive puberty and menstruation information including its physiology, management, and social context, 2) adequate training and support for teachers to deliver the content, and 3) incorporation of puberty and menstruation content into students’ national examinations which may better ensure teachers are given the tools and opportunity to prioritize teaching this content.

【 授权许可】

Unknown