“All I do is present what is given to us as the facts”: Progressive sex education and the reproduction of inequality in public school classrooms

Abstract

In the context of controversial sex education curriculum, this research uncovers complexities of teaching sex education in Ontario, Canada. Based on ethnographic observations of four public school sex education classes and interviews with teachers, I show that these sex-ed teachers tend to engage several strategies or key dimensions of “progressiveness” in order to navigate the difficult work of teaching this curriculum. They use facts, teach choice, and promote diversity. I also show how systems of gender, sexual, class, racial, and ethnic inequalities are reproduced alongside their progressive efforts. This research highlights educators’ strategies for teaching this content as well as the taken-for-granted inequalities that persist in education, despite best intentions.