Using collage as a methodological and conceptual framework for re-conceptualizing knowledge in HIV/AIDS education, this thesis attends to young women’s understandings of HIV/AIDS and sexuality. Through engaging in the process of making collages, what stories do young women tell about HIV/AIDS? What discourses are produced when collage and narrative are used as methodological tools to address participants’ understandings of HIV/AIDS? By responding to their own collage texts, as well as the collage texts of others, how are issues of representation addressed? Using narrative and post-structural discourse analysis, this study explores how participants’ complex and contradictory understandings of HIV/AIDS diverge from the content and form of current school-based HIV/AIDS curriculum. Whereas the curriculum presupposes a rational and linear subject, participants’ reflexive understandings of HIV/AIDS shift throughout the study, varying as a result of roles performed, the context of the collage or image being discussed, and the dynamic interchange between participants.

Using collage as a methodological and conceptual framework for re-conceptualizing knowledge in HIV/AIDS education, this thesis attends to young women’s understandings of HIV/AIDS and sexuality. Through engaging in the process of making collages, what stories do young women tell about HIV/AIDS? What discourses are produced when collage and narrative are used as methodological tools to address participants’ understandings of HIV/AIDS? By responding to their own collage texts, as well as the collage texts of others, how are issues of representation addressed? Using narrative and post-structural discourse analysis, this study explores how participants’ complex and contradictory understandings of HIV/AIDS diverge from the content and form of current school-based HIV/AIDS curriculum. Whereas the curriculum presupposes a rational and linear subject, participants’ reflexive understandings of HIV/AIDS shift throughout the study, varying as a result of roles performed, the context of the collage or image being discussed, and the dynamic interchange between participants.

The aim of this study is to examine if early preventive work, focusing on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), can promote a decreasing need for future social work. Furthermore, the purpose is to examine preschool as a context for this kind of work, and whether students becoming preschool teachers experience that they have received adequate knowledge about SRHR. More importantly this also includes their perceived ability to pass the knowledge on to the preschool children. The study has a qualitative approach and is based on semi structured interviews with four students from two different university studying to preschool teachers. Earlier studies and the empirical result both display a lack of knowledge and interventions concerning SRHR from a broad perspective. Reasons for this includes the belief that the subject is taboo or not age appropriate. This eventuates in teachers not having the right tools how to handle situation concerning this area. Earlier research in this area is sparse, but it exist a demand from preschool teachers on how to provide an age adequate, curricula-based, comprehensive sexuality education. However, both this study and earlier research also show a positive potential of SRHR starting to become a prioritized topic in earlier ages. After all, the knowledge about SRHR is a human right for all the kids.

The thesis carries out a critical examination of the problematic and complex dynamics aroused by the conceptual gap between the Modernity and Tradition, suggesting that such polarization is present in the way people think and talk about sex and sexuality in Kenya. Considering the difficulties of implementing Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Kenyan secondary schools, the study questions the possibility of isolating and distancing different sexual values and attitudes, and supports instead the need for a different approach to teaching sexuality, capable of bridging those differences through an inclusive language. Digital Platforms are critically examined as potential spaces for the realization of the theoretical project of an “Ecology of knowledges”, thus as places for developing respectful and comprehensive dialogue about sexuality among adolescents.

This study examined the extent to which human sexuality topics are covered in Florida middle school science classrooms and the process by which curricular decisions are made regarding human sexuality education on a county-wide basis. Primary data included interviews with county-level administrators who oversee curricular decisions related to the middle-grades science curriculum or health curriculum in twelve school districts within the state. These districts represented four geographic locations and districts of various sizes. Administrators from four of the twelve studies in the sample chose to provide information regarding their human sexuality education curriculum. In two cases, teacher leads were identified and were interviewed to understand the implementation of the curriculum within the classroom. Additional data were collected from the district curriculum guides for human sexuality education and the adopted middle-grades science textbook for each county. The interview and documentary data were analyzed by comparison to established criteria for a comprehensive human sexuality education curriculum. The analysis revealed that the scope of human sexuality education varied considerably within the sample and that much of the curricula in place failed to include topics and activities that have been identified as important in a successful human sexuality education program. These findings are limited because few counties chose to fully participate. Additional research is clearly needed to examine the effectiveness of existing human sexuality education curricula in Florida. In addition, research is needed to understand the characteristics, values, and beliefs of successful human sexuality education instructors across the state.

Studiens övergripande syfte är att undersöka möjligheter och hin-der till att genomföra sex- och samlevnadsundervisning inom gym-nasiesärskole- och habiliteringsverksamheter. Bakgrunden är att unga med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar har sämre kun-skaper om kropp, sexualitet och samlevnad än andra. Studien syftar till att undersöka personalens attityder till och erfarenheter av sex- och samlevnadsundervisning. Fokus ligger på 1) målsättningen med sex- och samlevnadsundervisning, 2) sexualitet, könsnormer och heteronormen, och 3) egna förutsättningar att arbeta med sex- och samlevnadsundervisning. Empirin insamlades med hjälp av kvalita-tiva fokusgrupper och analyserades med stöd av teorin om sociala representationer. Studiens resultat visar bl.a. att sexualitet hos unga med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar främst ses ur ett riskper-spektiv. De tillskrivs ett ansvar att hantera sexuella risker samtidigt som de anses sakna förmåga att ta detta ansvar. Deras sexualitet görs till en annorlunda typ av sexualitet där den s.k. normala sexua-liteten definieras som den hos personer utan intellektuella funkt-ionsnedsättningar. Flickors och homo-, bi, -trans- och queerperso-ners sexualitet problematiseras oftare jämfört med pojkars och heterosexuella ungdomars. Personalen anser sig sakna utbildning och mandat från arbetsgivares sida att arbeta med ämnet. Studien visar på vikten av utbildnings- och stödinsatser riktade till gymnasi-esärskole- och vuxenhabiliteringspersonalen avseende sex- och samlevnadsundervisning, vilket kommer unga med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar till gagn. / The overall aim is to investigate the possibilities and barriers to the implementation of sexuality education in special schools and habili-tation services in Sweden. Young people with intellectual disabilities have less knowledge about their body, sexuality and relationships compared to others. The study aims to examine attitudes to and ex-periences of sex education among staff in special schools and habili-ation services. It focuses on their view on 1) the objective of sex and relationship education, 2) sexuality, gender norms and heteronor-mativity, and 3) the staff´s own abilities to work with sexuality edu-cation. The empirical data has been collected using qualitative focus groups and analyzed on the basis of the theory of social representa-tions. The results demonstrate among other things that sexuality in young people with intellectual disabilities is mainly viewed from a risk perspective. They are attributed a responsibility to deal with sexual risks while lacking the capacity to take on this responsibility. Their sexuality is made to a different type, where the so-called nor-mal sexuality is defined as that in individuals without intellectual disabilities. Girls and lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people's sexu-ality is problematized more often than that of boys and heterosexual adolescents. Staff lacks training and support to work on the topic. The study shows the importance of education and support interven-tions aimed at special schools and habilitation services regarding sexuality education, which will be beneficial young people with in-tellectual disabilities.

Master of Science / Family Studies and Human Services / Karen S. Myers-Bowman / This study investigates the domains and boundaries of sexuality education between two educational fields: sexuality education and family life education. The goal was to understand how scholars and practitioners in these fields conceptualize sexuality education. The journalistic questions of Who, What, When, For whom, and Why were identified within each field by using the constant comparative method to complete a content analysis of publications by scholars and by interviewing certified professionals in each field. Through the lens of Social Constructionism Theory and a Phenomenological Approach, this study helped clarify the similarities and differences of two professional fields, in turn, advancing each field. Results indicated that sexuality education and family life education are similar in many ways; it is the approach that each takes that makes them different. Sexuality education takes a holistic approach while family life education takes a contextual approach when teaching sexuality education. This approach, in turn, affects the rest of the education, including the domains that were identified.

The diploma thesis "Sexual education on primary school from teacher's point of view" defines in the theoretical part the sexual education, it's objectives, it's content and principles. The thesis specifies the actual conception of the sexual education on primary school as per the RVP ZV document. The thesis characterizes the physical and emotional development of a primary school child and describes a child sexual development. The target of the practical part is to prove at what extent in Czech schools the primary school teachers apply sexual education, furthermore what attitude does primary school teachers' have towards this subject. Empiric methods of quantitative questioning and statistic data processing were used in the survey. The aim was to address a significant amout of respondents, teachers. KEYWORDS Sexual education, sexuality, teacher, primary school, current concept

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the relationship between counselors' sexual comfort and their willingness to discuss sexual issues with the couples they counsel. I surveyed 2000 members of the American Counseling Association (ACA). This study examined the relationships between counselors' sexual comfort and their willingness to discuss sexual issues with couples with a variety of variables. The results revealed that counselors' sexual education and training experience, supervision experience discussing sexuality, sexual attitudes, and age were all associated with both counselors' sexual comfort and willingness to discuss sexual issues with couples. Counselors' years of practice was found to be associated with their sexual comfort. Types of graduate specialization were found to be associated with counselors' willingness to discuss sexual issues with couples. The results of this study have implications for counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors. My hope is that counselor educators will utilize this knowledge to address counselors' in training sexual comfort level and willingness to discuss sexual issues with the couples.

O objetivo desta pesquisa de doutorado é compreender as trajetórias de autoidentificação de indivíduos assexuais, com destaque para suas interações sociais na escola durante os anos da educação básica. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório, de natureza qualitativa e de perspectiva sociológica, que se insere nos estudos de diversidade sexual no âmbito escolar, sob a ótica de gênero. A assexualidade é compreendida, neste trabalho, como forma de viver a sexualidade caracterizada pelo desinteresse pela prática sexual, que pode ou não ser acompanhado pelo desinteresse por relacionamentos amorosos. O desinteresse sexual/amoroso - construído social, histórica e culturalmente como transtorno psicológico ou fisiológico - tem sido ressignificado, a partir do início do século XXI, como forma distinta e legítima de sexualidade, situada no espectro mais amplo da diversidade sexual. A emergência de comunidades assexuais virtuais, com vários graus de mobilização em diferentes países inclusive no Brasil - tem dado visibilidade a esta categoria e contribuído para fomentar a discussão e os estudos sobre a assexualidade. Para esta pesquisa, foram entrevistadas 40 pessoas autoidentificadas como assexuais - sendo 8 entrevistas presenciais e 32 entrevistas por e-mail -, as quais foram contatadas pelo Blog Assexualidades, ferramenta virtual de pesquisa criada com o objetivo de facilitar a comunicação com comunidades e indivíduos assexuais brasileiros. A análise teve por base a bibliografia construcionista sobre a sexualidade, com destaque para a Teoria dos Scripts Sexuais dos sociólogos norte-americanos John Gagnon e William Simon, bem como a teoria de gênero de Joan Scott, entre outros/as estudiosos/as da sexualidade na perspectiva construcionista. Os resultados da investigação mostram de que modo os scripts sexo-normativos - diretrizes baseadas em normas sociais que estabelecem o interesse sexual/amoroso como universal e a atividade sexual como compulsória nas relações amorosas, presentes nas construções de sexualidade e gênero - permeiam as experiências de autoidentificação dos/as entrevistados/as, sobretudo, em suas interações na internet e com os pares na instituição escolar. Por um lado, as comunidades virtuais e redes sociais têm um peso significativo na afirmação da assexualidade na contemporaneidade, uma vez que o conceito de assexualidade nasceu e tem se propagado na internet, agregando pessoas do mundo todo em torno da identidade assexual. Por outro lado, a escola se revela local imprescindível para a imposição dos padrões de gênero e sexualidade que chancelam scripts hetero e sexo-normativos, porém, muito ausente em relação ao debate sobre as especificidades da assexualidade e pouco presente na mediação das tensões que podem garantir ou violar o reconhecimento da diversidade sexual em suas ações no âmbito da educação em sexualidade. / The purpose of this doctoral research is to understand self-identification trajectories of asexual individuals, giving emphasis to their school experiences and interactions during basic education. This is an exploratory qualitative sociological research, part of school sexual diversity studies, under the perspective of gender. In this research, asexuality is understood as a form of sexuality characterized by the disinterest in sexual activity, which may or may not be accompanied by the lack of interest in romantic relationships. Sexual/romantic disinterest - constructed socially, historically and culturally as a psychological or physiological disorder - has been reinterpreted as of the beginning of the 20th century, as a distinct and legitimate form of sexuality, situated within the broader spectrum of sexual diversity. The emergence of online asexual communities, with varying degrees of mobilization in different countries - including Brazil - has given visibility to this category and has contributed to discussion and research about asexuality. For this research, I interviewed 40 self-identified asexual people 8 face to face interviews and 32 e-mail interviews - who were contacted through Blog Assexualidades, an online research tool created to facilitate communication with Brazilian asexual individuals and communities. The analysis was based on the constructionist literature on sexuality, particularly John Gagnon and William Simons Sexual Script Theory, as well as Joan Scotts gender theory, among other constructionist theorists. Research results show how sexual normative scripts i.e. assumptions based on the universality of sexual/romantic interest and the naturalization of sexual activity in romantic relationships as part of social construction of sexuality and gender - permeate respondents self-identification experiences, particularly in their internet interactions and their peer relations during the school years. On one hand, online communities and social networks play a significant role in the affirmation of asexuality in contemporaneity, taking into consideration the fact that asexuality was created and has expanded on the internet, gathering people from all over the world around an asexual identity. On the other hand, research findings show that the school environment has been essential for the imposition of gender and sexuality standards that legitimate sexual and heteronormative scripts. However, the school institution has been neglectful about the discussion of the specificities of asexuality and has been doing very little to mediate the tensions that can either guarantee or violate the recognition of sexual diversity in sexuality education initiatives.