Population education in elementary and secondary schools of the United States
Viederman, S.
Health Educators at Work 23: 28-41
1972
PMID: 12332638 Document Number: 500757
Population education teaches students the nature and meaning of population processes, changes, and characteristics. Students learn what these processes, changes, and characteristics mean to himself, his family, his community, and his world. Students learn that individual actions can have demographic consequences. It is hoped that such education will help students make rational and responsible decisions, individually and collectively, about population issues. The content of population education programs will be interdisciplinary. The program will not be the same as sex education or family life education which focus on the individual. Population education programs can vary but all will include discussions of demographic processes, of human reproduction, and of the interaction between population factors and governmental policy. At present there is a scarcity of well-planned and integrated curricula, trained teachers, and good teaching materials in the population field. Funds to aid in filling these gaps are lacking.