2nd World Curriculum Studies Conference, Tampere2006

Department of Applied Sciences of Education Faculty of Behavioural Sciences

"Curricula enacted on-the-spot" or "Cross Curricular Thematic Framework"?

Is Sexuality and Relationships Education in or out of the Greek primary school?

Margarita Gerouki margarita.gerouki@helsinki.fi The Second World Curriculum Studies Conference, Tampere, Finland, May 21-24, 2006

Sexuality and Relationships Education in the Greek primary school An old story … “the issue of sexuality education has not been officially discussed yet.

There are no plans or projects for that matter, however, there exist the certainty that the Ministry will very soon engage on the discussion” (newspaper To Vima 30/10/1964). revives … “the school by introducing sexuality education, has the ability to develop a pedagogical tool that can provide not only accurate information but also contribute in developing responsible attitudes and behaviours” (Ministry of Education, 2000)

The " Cross Curricular Thematic Framework" educational reform of 2001  A bottom up approach within the Greek school system - student - centered - inquiry-based - holistic teaching approaches - collaborative learning

 New methods of teaching - project work - extra/curriculum enriching activities (Health Education, Environmental Studies)

 New schedules: flexible zone (4-2 hours weekly for cross curricular activities)

Health Education projects as extra-curriculum activities

 Working on a HE program  Thematic Units: (1) nutrition; (2) cardiovascular diseases/physical exercise; (3) consumers’ education ; (4) road and vehicle /prevention of road accidents; (5) dental hygiene; (6) addictions/mental health; and (7) sexuality and relationships education.

First research study about Sexuality and Relationships Education in Greece - Spring 2003 Questionnaire - 128 primary school teachers Gerouki (forthcoming) “Sexuality and Relationships in the Greek primary school – See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”, Sex Education, Taylor & Francis group

The research tasks: A. The primary school as the arena for sexuality and relationships interventions.

Do respondents subscribe in the suitability of primary school for teaching about sexuality issues?

B. C.

The current situation at schools. Are sexuality related issues topics for discussion in the primary school classes at present?

Teaching issues that enhance or inhibit the implementation of sexuality and relationships interventions. What are respondents’ perceptions on advantages, disadvantages and obstacles for teaching the subject?

Research Sample Questionnaire

Results Questions

Answers

No %

Is primary school suitable for teaching systematically sexuality and relationships issues?

Yes No Total

Have students’ particular behaviors / Yes questions prompted you to discuss No sexuality issues in class?

No reply Total

114 14 128

89.1 10.9 100

105 18 5 128

82.0 14.1 3.9 100

Sexuality education is in the Greek school but hidden!

Koch (1992) “Much teaching about sexuality issues occurs from curriculum enacted “on the spot” in response to what is happening in the classroom at the moment”.

Second research on Sexuality and Relationships Education in Greece - Spring 2005 Questionnaire – 34 Heath Education Coordinators Gerouki (under submission), Innovations “on hold” – Examining the case of teaching about sexuality and relationships education in the Greek primary schools.

The basic hypothesis: there is an uneven distribution of HE topics for developing HE projects in the Greek primary schools.

Additional tasks: a. what reasons obstruct teachers in selecting sexuality and relationships for project development as opposed to the reasons that make them favour some other categories. b. the extend of teachers' awareness on the possibility to implement sexuality and relationships education projects, as well as, of the material available for this purpose.

Results Popular thematic units for Health Education activities

Mean value

1. Nutrition

1.52

2. Road and vehicle Education – prevention of road accidents

2.52

3. Dental hygiene

3.24

4. Addictions – mental Health

3.59

5. Consumers’ Education

5.14

6. Cardiovascular diseases - physical exercise

5.31

7. Sexuality and relationships Education (SRE)

6.69

nutrition SRE

33 (= 1,6%) among 2066 HE programs

No 1= most popular to No 7 = least popular

Sexuality and Relationships education is out of the Greek school!

Nutrition Positive factors for selecting “Nutrition”….

Related to

No

the students: -change in the traditional nutrition habits -students’ particular needs / troubles / behaviours

7 5

the particular thematic unit: -plenty of material & references in the textbooks -plenty of topics to discuss

7 6

the teachers: -educators do not need or had special training -they can see the outcome of the program

4 1

having in mind their pupils' needs or preferences... or... a tendency "to focus on issues that are relatively familiar, easier to communicate, and seemingly more controllable than those that are perhaps more fundamental to the difficulties characteristic of teaching and learning" (Alexander et al., 1996, p. 31)

Sexuality and Relationships Education Obstructing factors for programs' implementation Health Education Coordinators 2005 No

Obstacles

Primary school teachers 2003 Obstacles

- Absence of training for the teachers - Society prejudices - Objections from the family - Unclear Ministry’s policies - Lack of appropriate material - Lack of teaching time, curricula - Pressures from the Church

No

49 42 37 32 14 11 5

Absence of teachers’ training

17

The subject is “taboo”, “difficult”, “dangerous”

10

Parents’ objections

10

Absence of educational material

9

Young age of pupils

6

Feelings of embarrassment from teachers’ part

3

It is not promoted from the Pedagogical Institute

1

Disagreements from other administrators

1

Lack of cooperation with experts

1

The present situation for sexuality and relationships education in Greece

Lost between top down environment and bottom up approaches

Implications for future practice

“We need political decisions from the part of the government, to inform the public on the importance and need for such intervention and to offer adequate training to the teachers�.

References  Alexander, P., Murphy, K., Woods, B., (1996). Of Squalls and Fathoms: Navigating the seas of        

   

educational innovation. Educational Researcher. Vol. 25 (3) Bowden, R. Lanning, B. Pippin, G. & Tanner, J. (2003). Teachers’ attitudes towards abstinence-only sex education curricula. Education. Summer 2003, Vol. 123, Issue 4, pp.

780-788 Didaskalou, E. (2002). Current Obstacles to Change in Greek Primary Schools: implications for managing behaviour problems. European Journal of Education. (2002). Vol. 37, No 4, pp.473-482 Greenberg, J. S. (1989). Preparing teachers for sexuality education. Theory into Practice.

Summer 1989, Vol. 28, Issue 3, pp. 227-232 Health Education. Interdisciplinary Thematic Units for Educational Interventions.

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