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

Summary/Abstract: 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.

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