Sexuality education in Polish schools
Sexuality education in Polish schools

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this publication is to discuss the current state of sexuality education in Poland, officially referred to as “preparation for family life”. Its core curriculum is based on maintaining sexual abstinence, preferably until marriage. Hence, it tries to impose a fixed model of sexuality by providing cultural scenarios that, with reference to moral reasoning, focus mostly on the negative effects of becoming sexually active before marriage. These scenarios also tend to support traditional gender roles and point to the family as the most important part of social life. However, according to studies both experts and young people stress that “preparation for family life” is being taught in a poor manner, failing to introduce reliable, age-adjusted sexuality education. Therefore this paper points out that by trying to impose a fixed and unified model of what sex and sexuality should be, “preparation for family life” fails to take into account the conditions of late modernity, which provide both a diversity of accessible sources of knowledge about sexuality and a plurality of cultural scenarios available to young people through these sources. Consequently, this paper stresses the importance of designing a tailor-made sexuality education program which would be based on reliable information and supported by up-to-date, scientific research. Hence, it would not only meet young people’s expectations but also provide apparatuses corresponding both with young peoples’ actions and other, available sources of knowledge on sexuality. This would deliver a plurality of cultural patterns as a valuable resource to construct one’s sexual scripts.

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