J. Except. People 2021, 10(2):67-79

Sexuality education from the perspective of teachers and pupils with intellectual disability

Zdeňka Kozáková, Petra Hermanová
Institute of Special Education Studies, Faculty of Education, Palacky University in Olomouc, Žižkovo náměstí 5, 771 40 Olomouc, Czech Republic

The purpose of the paper is to present the selected results of a research study aimed at sexuality education of pupils with intellectual disability (ID). The main objective of the research was to examine the perspective of teachers and pupils with intellectual disability concerning sexuality education in a school setting. Another aim was to identify the degree to which sexuality education is implemented in classes and whether teachers and pupils consider such implementation sufficient. The opinions and practical experience of teachers and pupils were investigated by means of semi-structured individual interviews.
The results of the research suggest that from the perspective of both teachers and pupils the implementation of school-based sexuality education is insufficient. Pupils report that sexuality education was little discussed and that the information they received was insufficient. Therefore, sexuality education should be more supported in schools and should be more frequently implemented in classes. This is especially important in the case of pupils with mild ID who have had fewer practical subjects in the past years. These subjects used to provide sufficient space for topics such as sexuality education. The research revealed several ideas and suggestions for improvement. They mostly relate to high-quality school equipment including visual aids as well as spatial arrangement. Greater attention should also be paid to further training of teachers and their methodological guidance in this area.

Keywords: sexuality education, teacher, pupil with intellectual disability, special elementary school, elementary school
Grants and funding:

The paper was supported by the following specific research project implemented at the Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc: "Research on partnerships and sexuality in persons with intellectual disability (IGA_PdF_2020_038)".

Published: June 11, 2021  Show citation

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Kozáková, Z., & Hermanová, P. (2021). Sexuality education from the perspective of teachers and pupils with intellectual disability. Journal of Exceptional People, 10(19), 67-79
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