Sex education from the perspective of adolescent students, teachers, and managers of Elementary School in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Bruna Layza Gonçalves Lourenço,Bárbara Albuquerque Barbosa,Gentil Paiva De Oliveira Júnior,Maria Lucia Neto De Menezes,Maria Das Neves Figueiroa,Thaísa Cristina Xavier Soares Arruda Falcão,Waldemar Brandão Neto

doi:10.3823/2603

Bruna Layza Gonçalves Lourenço, Bárbara Albuquerque Barbosa + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3823/2603

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Abstract

Sexuality in adolescence is a major focus of interest and concern for parents and educators, thus family and school involvement is indispensable for adolescent sex education. This article analyzes educational scenarios, themes, and difficulties related to sex education, from the perspective of adolescent students, managers, and teachers from Brazilian public schools. This is a cross-sectional, exploratory, and descriptive survey, developed in 5 schools from the 2nd political-administrative region (PAR) of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. The sample consisted of 196 individuals (168 teenagers, 19 teachers, and 9 managers) and data was obtained through interviews, conducted in September and October 2017. The results indicate that the school infrastructure has deficiencies in relation to: living spaces, teaching scenarios, teacher education, dialogue with families, and integration with other teaching and health institutions. All this contributes to the persistence of sex education as a theme of biology-based classes. It is concluded that psychological, cultural, and relational aspects of healthy and safe sexuality persist as knowledge gaps according to the teenagers themselves, something which indicates the need to expand spaces for dialogue and embracement of human diversity within the school environment.

Highlights

Sexuality in adolescence is a major focus of interest and concern for parents and educators, family and school involvement is imperative for adolescent sex education
These risks may be associated with early onset of unprotected sex life, exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), unplanned pregnancy, among others [2]
Considering the large territorial extension of Recife, we chose to conduct the study within its 2nd political-administrative region (PAR), where the University of Pernambuco (UPE) is located, a Higher Education institution that fulfills a large part of its university outreach and research activities in the health and education fields

Summary

Introduction

Sexuality in adolescence is a major focus of interest and concern for parents and educators, family and school involvement is imperative for adolescent sex education. The development of sexuality in adolescence is a major focus of interest and concern for parents and educators, because curiosities and discoveries that take place in this field may be synonyms for pleasure, and for risks to the life and future plans of teenagers. These risks may be associated with early onset of unprotected sex life, exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), unplanned pregnancy, among others [2]. Sexuality is the result of a historical construct, produced in the culture, and this may involve instability, multiplicity, and provisionality [4]

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