Adoption of an Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Curriculum: A Case Study in a South Carolina School District

Abstract

Continued efforts are needed to reduce teenage pregnancy in the United States. Implementation of evidence-based curricula in schools is one strategy toward meeting this goal. In 2010, the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (SC Campaign) received funding to implement a teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) curriculum. Congruent with South Carolina law, the curriculum had to be approved by a school district advisory committee. A case study was conducted to explore factors that led to adoption of the curriculum in one school district. In-depth interviews (n = 17) were conducted with school district staff, advisory committee members, community stakeholders, and SC Campaign staff. An inductive analysis identified several key themes that promoted curriculum adoption: developing networks among TPP advocates, partnerships with local media, establishing a school district commitment to address TPP, assembling a diverse advisory committee, a comprehen-

Comparing School‐Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programming: Mixed Outcomes in an At‐Risk State

“…The fact that students in the comprehensive program still had slightly better outcomes suggests a further need to understand differences in school-level implementation and intervention components, given the importance of how these programs are selected and taught. 33,34…”

Reviewing Tools for Evaluating K-12 Instructional Materials Through an Implementation Lens

“…This study found that the district leaders convened a committee of relevant stakeholders. In contrast to the findings reported by Workman et al (2015), committee members were not prepared for the task of evaluating science instructional materials and making an adoption recommendation, and the adoption criteria were flexible throughout the exploration stage.…”

“…Notably, fewer than one-third of the respondents indicated that they valued evidence of the effectiveness of the program when deciding to select and implement the program. Workman et al (2015) used case study methodology to document how one school district evaluated and selected sexuality education instructional materials. They found that the district leaders convened a committee of relevant stakeholders and evaluated the possible instructional materials using an evaluation tool designed for that purpose.…”

“…The resources necessary for implementation of the instructional materials, and to assess the adequacy of current resources at the implementing site all, LEAs use instructional materials evaluation tools to help screen and evaluate potential instructional materials during the exploration stage (Rolf 2020;Workman et al 2015). Instructional materials evaluation tools come in a variety of formats (e.g., checklists, guiding questions, rubrics, etc.…”