Abstract
This article documents the research processes followed by a coordinating team for the subject of life orientation in a school. The aim is to enhance life orientation teachers’ professional curriculum practice in pedagogy. The focus is on sex education and cultural influences on the behaviour of four hundred and forty school community members in Motheo district. Critical emancipatory research was used as the theoretical framework to guide the research process. Participatory action research was used as an approach for data generation. Critical discourse analysis was applied for the interpretation of, and to arrive at the following findings: the impact of gender roles, age and experience of teachers has a bearing on teaching sex education; cultural beliefs are a barrier to teaching sex education; and the legacy of colonialism and apartheid education has had a profound impact on education in South Africa. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n6p287
Highlights
IntroductionDespite the inclusion of topics such as ‘Sexuality’ in the South African school curriculum, Francis and many scholars are troubled by the conspicuous silence on issues of sex education in life orientation classes (Beyers, 2012:369; Beyers, Nkoane, 2012:666;Francis, 2012:598; Beyers & Hay, 2011:99; Khau & Pithouse, 2008:40; Beyers & Hay, 2007:390)
Introduction and BackgroundIn South Africa, the Department of Basic Education’s curriculum theme ‘relating to decision making regarding sexuality’ is an issue which fits into the broader topics of the Life Orientation subject in grade 10 (DBE, 2011:10)
According to Francis, (2012:598) Life Orientation was introduced as a subject in South African schools in the late 1990s, due to educational reform aiming at the eradication of apartheid education
Summary
Despite the inclusion of topics such as ‘Sexuality’ in the South African school curriculum, Francis and many scholars are troubled by the conspicuous silence on issues of sex education in life orientation classes (Beyers, 2012:369; Beyers, Nkoane, 2012:666;Francis, 2012:598; Beyers & Hay, 2011:99; Khau & Pithouse, 2008:40; Beyers & Hay, 2007:390). This challenge does not just rest with South Africa. Russian schools do not provide health or sex education as part of the school curriculum; when such knowledge is imparted it takes place in the context of the science subject (Jaworsky, Larkin, Sriranganathan, Clout, Janssen, Campbell, Flicker, Standnicki, Erlich & Flynn, 2013: 228)
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