Primary School Teachers’ Perspective of Sexual Education in Spain. A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Sexual education is a part of the teaching-learning process that addresses cognitive, psychological, physical and social aspects of sexuality. The purpose of sexual education is to provide people with knowledge, abilities, attitudes and values that will help them to have good sexual health, well-being and dignity. The objective of this study was to explore the perspective of primary school teachers regarding Sexual Education in school. A descriptive qualitative study was designed based on content thematic analysis. Fifteen open-ended interviews with primary school teachers were carried out, followed by inductive data analysis using ATLAS.ti software. Two key themes emerged from the analysis: “In search of a comprehensive approach to Sexual Education” and “Barriers to Sexual Education in schools: From the lack of training to fear of the families”. We conclude that despite the efforts to implement a comprehensive approach to Sexual Education that recognises sexuality as a right, primary school teachers face difficulties in delivering Sexual Education in schools due to a lack of training and the fear that parents will reject their children being spoken to about sexuality.

Factors Influencing Elementary Teachers’ Readiness in Delivering Sex Education amidst Covid-19 pandemic

“…The topic of sexual education has elicited interest among academics of all levels (Kim et al, 2021;Plaza-del-Pino et al, 2021). Kim et al (2021) investigated gender disparities in sexual behavior among 2460 high school students who reported having had sexual experiences.…”

“…SexEd Openness: As part of openness, teachers needed to be willing to answer questions without focusing on the topic (Booth-Butterfield & Sidelinger, 1998); maintain an open-minded attitude; balance openness with privacy; and take into account the characteristics of their students (Kirkman et al, 2005). Some studies (Pellejero Goni & Torres Iglesias, 2011;Plaza-del-Pino et al, 2021) pointed out that teachers of primary schools are often reluctant to speak openly about sexuality. Three questions were employed to measure Openness, which are as follows: 1) I'm open-minded to sensitive topics, 2) I am willing to discuss sexual content with others, and 3) I talk with kids considering their emotions and behaviors.…”

“…The need to transition primary school pupils to an online learning environment has prompted numerous concerns, particularly about digital security (Plaza-del-Pino et al, 2021;Russell et al, 2020). Children are routinely exposed to digital http://ijlter.org/index.php/ijlter devices, which exposes them to screen pornography, most of it is misogynistic and inappropriate for their age (Plaza-del-Pino et al, 2021). In some regions, parents and teachers are not adequately trained with information technology skills to mitigate the hazards (Bartau-Rojas et al, 2018).…”

“…Thus, teachers should be leaders in the education and training of the country's future generations. Only when teachers carry out their duty effectively in today's demanding environment will students be prepared with the required information, abilities, and attitudes concerning psychophysiology, allowing them to develop to their full potential (Jørgensen et al, 2019;Lameiras-Fernández et al, 2021;Plaza-del-Pino et al, 2021).…”

Inclusión de la Diversidad Sexual en los Centros Educativos desde la Perspectiva del Profesorado: Un Estudio Cualitativo

“…Es necesario conocer cuál es el nivel de formación del profesorado en España para llevar a cabo un plan de mejora de calidad adecuado y adaptado a la situación estudiada. Sin embargo, nos encontramos con dos limitaciones; por un lado, la escasez y parcialización de estudios institucionales que evalúen la formación y las competencias docentes, y por otro, la falta de cultura evaluadora sobre el desempeño de profesionales educativos para generar mejoras continuas en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje (Plaza-del-Pino et al, 2021). Además, algunas de estas investigaciones reflejaron que el profesorado considera haber recibido poca formación en materia de educación sexual percibiendo este hecho como uno de los mayores obstáculos para impartir educación sexual en el aula (Cunha et al, 2021;Martínez et al, 2014).…”