VOA慢速英语2012 Education Report - Puberty Lessons for African Girls May Raise Attendance（在线收听）

Education Report - Puberty Lessons for African Girls May Raise Attendance

教育报道 - 青春期教育可能有助于提高出勤率

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。

A new study shows that simple, low-cost interventions can help teenage girls in Africa stay in school during their monthly periods.

一项新的研究表明，简单低成本的干预措施就能帮助非洲十几岁的女孩月经期间继续上学。

Paul Montgomery led the study. He is a professor in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at Oxford University in England.

保罗·蒙哥马利(Paul Montgomery)领导了这项研究。他是牛津大学社会政策与干预学系的教授。

"Women are the driving force of economic development across Africa. And so it's particularly important to do what you can to keep girls going to school."

“女性是整个非洲经济发展的驱动力。因此尽可能让女孩不旷课就特别重要。”

One hundred twenty girls in Ghana took part in the study. They were an average of almost sixteen years old. They attended three secondary schools in urban areas and one in a rural area.

120名加纳女孩参与了这项研究，她们平均年龄差不多16岁，分别就读于三所城市地区的中学和一所农村地区的中学。

In the study, girls at two of the schools received free sanitary pads and lessons on puberty. Their attendance increased by an average of six days, or nine percent, during a sixty-five-day term.

在这项研究中，两所学校的女孩得到了免费卫生巾和青春期教育。在为期65天的期限里，她们的出勤率平均增加了6天，或9%。

The puberty lessons included information about personal care during menstruation. The girls also learned about the biology of their developing bodies and about pregnancy.

青春期教育包括月经期间个人护理品的相关信息。这些女孩了解了和她们发育中的身体有关的生物学，还了解了怀孕。

At the third school, the girls received the lessons but not the free pads. Attendance by these girls also improved by nine percent, but that took about five months.

第三所学校的女孩们得到了青春期教育，但不包括免费卫生巾。这些女孩的出勤率也提高了9%，但花了大约5个月时间。

At the fourth school the girls did not receive the pads or the lessons. That group showed no improvement in school attendance.

第四所学校的女孩们没有得到青春期教育，也没有得到免费卫生巾。这组女孩在学校考勤方面没有改善。

Professor Montgomery says the girls in the study had several reasons for missing school during their monthly bleeding. A majority expressed embarrassment about the changes in their bodies.

蒙哥马利教授说，该研究涉及的女生在月经期间旷课有几个原因。大多数女孩都表示对自己身体的变化感到难为情。

"Embarrassment was a big part of it, certainly, and that was reported by well over half the girls. But ignorance, I think, was a very big part of it, too, and they just didn't know what they were doing."

“难为情是一个重要原因，一半以上的女孩都报告了这个原因。但我想无知也是一个重要原因。她们只是不知道自己怎么了。”

He says the interventions might not only keep girls from missing school, but also reduce teen pregnancies.

他说，干预措施可能不仅可以让女孩不旷课，还能减少青少年怀孕。

"I think one of the things menstruation does is that it signals the onset of the girl transitioning into womanhood. And that in turn, I think, sets them up to get pregnant. So I think we'll be able to help reduce teen pregnancy, improve their entering the labor market and the economic development of those women."

“我认为月经的作用之一是，它标志着女孩过渡到女人的开始，进而准备好怀孕。所以我认为我们能够帮助降低青少年怀孕，提高这些女性进入劳动力市场的比率，以及提高她们的经济发展。”

The Public Library of Science published the study in its journal PLOS One. A larger study is taking place in Uganda until twenty fifteen. The Oxford professor says the hope is to learn more about the effects of puberty on school attendance.

该研究发表在公共科学图书馆（Public Library of Science）的《公共科学图书馆·综合》（PLoS ONE）期刊上。这位牛津大学教授表示，希望了解更多有关青春期在学校考勤方面的影响。

"So, we already know that education is important. We know that pads are important. We know that both are important. And we 'll be able to separate out these key issues, and then be able to give some really strong advice for development officers as far as sub-Saharan Africa is concerned."

“那么，我们已经知道（青春期）教育很重要。我们知道卫生巾很重要。我们知道这两者都很重要。我们就能找出这些关键问题，然后就能就撒哈拉以南非洲给发展官员提供一些坚定的建议。

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Laurel Bowman.

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Contributing: Joe De Capua and Jerilyn Watson