The article highlights a number of theoretical provisions and some areas of practical implementation of sexual education of students in schools abroad. The factors that actualize the problem of sexual education of children and youth are characterized. It was established that the progress of sex education abroad has not yet become a subject of systematic study by Ukrainian scientists. The definitions of sex education declared by UNESCO documents have been announced. It was determined that sex education programs implemented in European countries are quite effective: appropriate school classes either delay the beginning of the “sexual life” of students or make it more orderly, students involved in the programs realize their own sex life is less risky than their “uneducated” peers. The names of the basic documents regarding the design of the content of sexual education are presented, such as: “Standards of sexuality education in Europe”, “Fundamentals of comprehensive sexuality education”, “Guidelines for the development of policies in the field of sexual and reproductive rights of young people in Europe”, “Technical guidance on sex education” and others. It was noted that, in general, in the works of foreign scientists, the goal of sexual education is not broadcast as a prohibition of sexual relations, and how to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases through the formation of a culture of relationships between the sexes and human relations. It has been established that in the states of the European continent, it is customary to distinguish between three models of sexual education, each of which embodies the corresponding types of moral attitudes regarding sexuality, namely: restrictive (repressive, restrictive and protective); permissive (liberal); a model called the “golden mean”. None of these models is worse or better than the other models. It was concluded that foreign countries have accumulated quite a lot of experience in the use of sex education programs for secondary school students. The democratic approach is considered the most optimal for the implementation of sex education programs: this approach involves the recognition of the fact of the existence of the problem of gender and inter-gender relations; this approach predicts the need for scientifically based “embedding” in pedagogical actions those life values, knowledge, skills and norms of behavior that would limit possible deviations in the process of sexual socialization of children and youth.

Дослідження присвячено висвітленню низки теоретичних положень і напрямів практичної реалізації статевого виховання учнів у школах держав європейського континенту. Схарактеризовано чинники, які актуалізують проблему статевого виховання дітей та юнацтва. Відзначено ефективність програм статевого виховання учнів, які впроваджують в освітній процес закладів загальної середньої освіти. Представлено назви базових документів щодо проєктування змісту, методів і форм статевого виховання, як-от: “Стандарти статевої освіти в Європі”, “Основи комплексної статевої освіти”, “Керівництвo з розробки політики в галузі статевих і репродуктивних прав молодих людей у Європі”, “Технічне керівництво зі статевої освіти” та ін. Встановлено, що європейські учені й практики розрізняють три моделі статевого виховання ‒ ристриктивну, пермісивну, модель під назвою “золота середина”. Констатовано, що жодна з них не є ані гіршою, ані кращою за інші.