Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools
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 th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Global Health Action |
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2021.1955492 |
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| author | Mehjabin Tishan Mahfuz Farhana Sultana Erin C. Hunter Farjana Jahan Farhana Akand Shifat Khan Mosammat Mobashhara Mahbubur Rahman Mahbub-Ul Alam Leanne Unicomb Stephen P. Luby Peter J. Winch |
| author_facet | Mehjabin Tishan Mahfuz Farhana Sultana Erin C. Hunter Farjana Jahan Farhana Akand Shifat Khan Mosammat Mobashhara Mahbubur Rahman Mahbub-Ul Alam Leanne Unicomb Stephen P. Luby Peter J. Winch |
| author_sort | Mehjabin Tishan Mahfuz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d62af733b00348e4b82bb64bef956b5e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1654-9880 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Health Action |
| spelling | doaj-art-d62af733b00348e4b82bb64bef956b5e2025-08-20T04:03:21ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGlobal Health Action1654-98802021-01-0114110.1080/16549716.2021.19554921955492Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schoolsMehjabin Tishan Mahfuz0Farhana Sultana1Erin C. Hunter2Farjana Jahan3Farhana Akand4Shifat Khan5Mosammat Mobashhara6Mahbubur Rahman7Mahbub-Ul Alam8Leanne Unicomb9Stephen P. Luby10Peter J. Winch11International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)University of SydneyInternational Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b)Stanford UniversityJohn Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthObjective 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.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2021.1955492menstrual hygiene management (mhm)menstrual healthsocial and behavior change communication (sbcc)educationeducation barriers |
| spellingShingle | Mehjabin Tishan Mahfuz Farhana Sultana Erin C. Hunter Farjana Jahan Farhana Akand Shifat Khan Mosammat Mobashhara Mahbubur Rahman Mahbub-Ul Alam Leanne Unicomb Stephen P. Luby Peter J. Winch Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools Global Health Action menstrual hygiene management (mhm) menstrual health social and behavior change communication (sbcc) education education barriers |
| title | Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools |
| title_full | Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools |
| title_fullStr | Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools |
| title_short | Teachers’ perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in Bangladeshi schools |
| title_sort | teachers perspective on implementation of menstrual hygiene management and puberty education in a pilot study in bangladeshi schools |
| topic | menstrual hygiene management (mhm) menstrual health social and behavior change communication (sbcc) education education barriers |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2021.1955492 |
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