A regional gathering was organized by the Higher Population Council and ShareNet Jordan to present and discuss knowledge products developed by educational experts from Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. The development of these products was funded by a grant from ShareNet International. These products are related to the need for and the means of integrating reproductive health concepts into educational curricula in a gradual manner, according to the developmental stages of children and adolescents, and based on the educational level

This two-day meeting was sponsored by the President of the Higher Council of the National Center for Curriculum Development, Dr. Muhi Al-Din Tawq, and the Secretary-General of the Higher Population Council, Dr. Issa Al-Masarweh. Participants in the meeting included educators from Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, and Tunisia. Jordanian participants included specialists from the National Center for Curriculum Development, the University of Jordan, the United Nations Population Fund, the Royal Society for Health Awareness, the Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Sites, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth, the Ministry of Health, UNRWA, the Directorate of Education and Military Culture, and the Jordan News Agency – Petra.

Dr. Akram Hassan from the Egyptian Ministry of Education presented a paper that included a proposed conceptual framework for integrating reproductive health concepts into the preparatory and secondary stages, according to the concepts and considerations related to the contents of this health and the needs of students in these two stages. The proposed framework included a clarification of the target groups, the objective of the framework, the concepts proposed to be included for the two stages, mechanisms for its application, and a matrix that includes the proposed standards to be included and models of activities proposed to be applied for the two stages

Dr. Hayam Ishaq, President of the Educational Research and Development Center in Lebanon, and Wael Kazan, also from the Educational Center, presented a study on "The readiness of teachers in Lebanon to establish competencies related to sexuality education and reproductive health." The study relied on a qualitative and quantitative methodology to identify the technical and psychological readiness of teachers in Lebanon to address such topics in order to apply the integration of concepts related to sexuality education and reproductive health into pre-university general education curricula in Lebanon, and the study came out with a set of recommendations

Professor Dr. Mohieddin Touq, Chairman of the Higher National Curriculum Development Center, emphasized in his speech at this meeting that knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and access to adequate care can significantly impact people's lives. Therefore, raising awareness about sexual and reproductive health and ensuring individuals have accurate information is crucial. He explained that the knowledge products developed during this meeting are vital for shaping the future direction, especially considering the similarities in social context and educational experiences among Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. This underscores the importance of exchanging expertise to gain a comprehensive understanding of the realities in these countries.

Professor Dr. Issa Al-Masarwa, Secretary-General of the Higher Population Council, stated that these knowledge products address recommendations from numerous Jordanian and international research and reports on adolescents and youth. They cover topics such as school textbooks, teacher attitudes towards sexual and reproductive health education, and parent-child discussions on related issues. Studies indicate the need for adolescents and youth to have knowledge about puberty, sexual and reproductive health protection, and the importance of stronger curricular and educator roles. Weak communication between parents and children on these topics highlights this need. The research results confirm the necessity of meeting the knowledge and protection needs of adolescents and youth in these countries. The Higher Population Council's approach involves fostering participatory discussions with various official and non-official bodies and learning from regional best practices that align with the cultural and social context. This is essential for creating supportive policies and programs to strengthen protective elements and reduce risks for adolescents and youth, especially in the digital age.

Ali Al-Mutlaq, Director of Studies and Policies at the Higher Population Council and Coordinator of Share-Net Jordan, noted that these grants were announced during the regional conference on comprehensive sexuality education held in Jordan. The conference, held last April, involved discussions and deliberations from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco. He emphasized the importance of learning from others' experiences and developing new ideas and initiatives to produce effective research and scientific studies. Additionally, exchanging knowledge and experiences is crucial for building policies and practices that benefit sexual and reproductive health.

The Jordanian study on analyzing the developmental kindergarten curriculum aimed to assess the inclusion of sexual education concepts and their components. The study population encompassed all components of the curriculum, including the framework document, learning outcomes, activity guide, child's workbook, stories, and cards.

The analysis showed that the overall relative weight of the components of the developmental kindergarten curriculum in Jordan ranged between (4.14% - 72.93%). The content of the teacher's activity guide ranked first with a relative weight of (72.93%), followed by "stories and cards" with a relative weight of (22.93%), and finally, the child's workbook came last with a relative weight of.  (4.14%)

Regarding the areas covered by each component, the results related to the teacher's activity guide showed that the area of hygiene ranked first with a relative weight of 49.34%, followed by the area of relationships and bullying with a relative weight of 22.71%, then the area of food with a relative weight of 14.41%, the area of family with a relative weight of 5.24%, and the area of sexual education ranked fifth with a relative weight of 2.18%.

As for the results related to stories, the area of relationships and bullying ranked first with a relative weight of 22.22%, followed by the area of hygiene with a relative weight of 20.83%. Regarding the results of the workbook, the area of family ranked first with a relative weight of 61.54%, followed by the areas of food and sexual education with a relative weight of 15.38%, and then the area of rights with a relative weight of 7.69%.

Among the most prominent recommendations of the Jordanian study is the preparation of a matrix of concepts, skills, and values related to reproductive health at the kindergarten level, the distribution of related concepts, skills, and attitudes across all curriculum subjects, the inclusion of value-based content in the texts and illustrations of stories, the incorporation of some reproductive health concepts into the songs included in the teacher's activity guide, conducting content analysis studies of the curricula of various subjects at different educational stages, and building a comprehensive matrix of reproductive health concepts based on content analysis studies of all curricula to enhance the integration of reproductive health concepts therein.

The meeting included a discussion session on the results and content of the knowledge products, led by Dr. Arij Othman, Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Jordan. In a related context, the knowledge products of the committee for integrating sexual and reproductive health concepts into the school curricula, formed by ShareNet Jordan and the Higher Population Council, were presented during the meeting. Ronahi Al-Kurdi from the Jordanian Ministry of Education presented a report on sexual education concepts in school curricula (adapting the UNESCO guide to the Jordanian context), while Dr. Ziad Al-Obaisat from the National Center for Curriculum Development presented a guide on integrating sexual health and reproductive health concepts and skills into the school curricula."