The #MeToo movement exposed widespread vulnerability to sexual abuse, while digitalization increased online risks for youth. Recent changes in the curriculum for the Swedish Upper Secondary school have expanded sexual education, emphasizing consent and relationships, underscoring its importance across school activities, including the subject social studies. Despite the potential for integrating these themes, research indicates reluctance among several teachers. Research primarily focuses on teaching methods from both teacher and student perspectives, yet there is a gap in understanding teachers of social studies needs and challenges in light of these new curriculum guidelines, hence the purpose of this study. Our aim is to capture a result that can develop sexual education, furthermore get an insight into what teachers need to integrate the topic of sexuality, consent and relationships. We gathered empirical material using mixed methods; a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The result, presented through thematic analysis and discussed using theoretical concepts and current research, shows that teachers of social studies lack a unified view on integrating these topics due to the broad curriculum, as they have varied experiences, unclear guidelines or insufficient preparation. Challenges include content overload, time constraints and the sensitivity of the subject. Teachers navigate these challenges using their pedagogical skills and relationship-building, highlighting the need for clearer guidelines, collaborative work, and professional development to effectively address the controversial topics that the subject can arise. The subject is crucial for students' lives and their future as democratic citizens. We propose reviewing the guidelines and the curriculum of social studies to provide concrete guidance for teachers. This would ensure the subject is neither forgotten nor overwhelming and reduce the risk of it being intended to be covered in all subjects but actually included in none.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-68154 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Landtmanson, Ingrid, Lexert, Tilda |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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