Teachers' Perception of Sexualities Education : A Study of Secondary School Teachers in Montreal

The author points out that at the time of writing her thesis, there was no sexuality education program formally mandated by the Quebec Ministry of Education. Since the reform of 2005, teachers were expected to integrate sexuality related topics into their respective fields, for example, ethics and religious culture, English literature, and even mathematics. The author examined the perceptions of teachers on the teaching of sexualities education in this particular context. Her data was collected through interviews and aimed to answer three questions: 1) how do secondary school teachers in Montreal English schools perceive the current state of the sexualities education program at their school?; 2) how do the teachers view/describe their role in developing students’ sexual knowledge? and 3) how do the teachers believe sexualities education should be taught and why? The author's research showed that teachers were very critical of their current situation. She found that due to a lack of organization and specific training, the participant teachers felt confused about what they should teach, fearing they would be viewed in a negative light for integrating a “program” that is not mandated by the formal curriculum.

Master's Thesis

McGill University

Montreal

2014

115p.

en