What can Australian schools do better? : supporting students during menstruation

Tania Ferfolja; Kathryn Holmes; Christina Curry; Sherry Sherry; Kelly Parry; Mike Armour

What can Australian schools do better? : supporting students during menstruation

Tania Ferfolja, Kathryn Holmes, Christina Curry, Sherry Sherry, Kelly Parry, Mike Armour

Western Sydney University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Menstrual management is recognized as a critical issue for young people internationally. Relatively little published research explores issues pertaining to menstruation in school education. This paper is based on the results of an Australian survey of 5007 young women aged 13–25, which examined their experiences of menstruation and dysmenorrhea. It focuses specifically on participant qualitative responses to the question, “What do you think schools could do to better support girls during their period?” Six key themes were identified across responses. These related to sanitation; pain management; removing stigma; adequate breaks; and being considerate. The findings reported herein highlight some of the challenges menstruating young people encounter at school and give voice to their needs; these have important implications for school improvement in this area.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	497-514
Number of pages	18
Journal	Australian Educational Researcher
Publication status	Published - 2023

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Cite this

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abstract = "Menstrual management is recognized as a critical issue for young people internationally. Relatively little published research explores issues pertaining to menstruation in school education. This paper is based on the results of an Australian survey of 5007 young women aged 13–25, which examined their experiences of menstruation and dysmenorrhea. It focuses specifically on participant qualitative responses to the question, “What do you think schools could do to better support girls during their period?” Six key themes were identified across responses. These related to sanitation; pain management; removing stigma; adequate breaks; and being considerate. The findings reported herein highlight some of the challenges menstruating young people encounter at school and give voice to their needs; these have important implications for school improvement in this area.",

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AU - Ferfolja, Tania

AU - Holmes, Kathryn

AU - Curry, Christina

AU - Sherry, Sherry

AU - Parry, Kelly

AU - Armour, Mike

PY - 2023

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N2 - Menstrual management is recognized as a critical issue for young people internationally. Relatively little published research explores issues pertaining to menstruation in school education. This paper is based on the results of an Australian survey of 5007 young women aged 13–25, which examined their experiences of menstruation and dysmenorrhea. It focuses specifically on participant qualitative responses to the question, “What do you think schools could do to better support girls during their period?” Six key themes were identified across responses. These related to sanitation; pain management; removing stigma; adequate breaks; and being considerate. The findings reported herein highlight some of the challenges menstruating young people encounter at school and give voice to their needs; these have important implications for school improvement in this area.

AB - Menstrual management is recognized as a critical issue for young people internationally. Relatively little published research explores issues pertaining to menstruation in school education. This paper is based on the results of an Australian survey of 5007 young women aged 13–25, which examined their experiences of menstruation and dysmenorrhea. It focuses specifically on participant qualitative responses to the question, “What do you think schools could do to better support girls during their period?” Six key themes were identified across responses. These related to sanitation; pain management; removing stigma; adequate breaks; and being considerate. The findings reported herein highlight some of the challenges menstruating young people encounter at school and give voice to their needs; these have important implications for school improvement in this area.

UR - https://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:69409

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ER -

What can Australian schools do better? : supporting students during menstruation

Abstract

Open Access - Access Right Statement

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