Ready or Not? A Case Study of Brazilian Teachers Trained in Sexuality Education

Abstract: Research indicates that sexuality education may lower the rate of STIs and unplanned pregnancies among youth. Experts also agree that schools are the ideal place to implement sexuality education and that teachers should play a central role in school-based sexuality education. The purpose of this study is therefore to generate new perspectives on teachers’ implementation of sexuality education by exploring what factors influence Brazilian teachers’ implementation of sexuality education and how, with a particular eye to teacher training. Specifically, this study will look at teachers’ perceptions of sexuality education, the school context and their self-efficacy in sexuality education. These dimensions will be explored through a case study featuring in-depth interviews with eight Brazilian teachers that have participated in teacher training on sexuality education. The results indicate that Brazilian teachers have a limited scope for sexuality education, largely due to dominant formal and informal norms on sexuality in the country. The results of this study also constitute a strong argument for the importance of widespread teacher training. Namely, teacher training was found to challenge repressive and restrictive attitudes and beliefs about sexuality and sexuality education and to raise teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, thereby facilitating the provision of such initiatives in schools.