Educação sexual na escola: percepções de professores de Ciências dos anos finais do Ensino Fundamental

Abstract

Even though they recognise the importance of Sexual Education, many teachers are not prepared yet to address the issue of sexuality in the school space, and, as an aggravating factor, the lack of information means that many parents do not accept that their children attend classes on this topic. Based on these findings and on discussions about the teaching of this subject in the final years of primary education, this monograph aimed to answer the following research question: How is sexuality being addressed by Science teachers in the final years of primary school? To answer it, the following general objective was defined: to analyze the perceptions, expectations and difficulties of Science teachers, as well as the pedagogical practices used when working with the theme of sexuality. In order to achieve this goal, it was sought (a) to know the perceptions of science teachers regarding Sexual Education and sexuality, (b) to identify the strategies used in pedagogical practices, regarding the teaching of knowledge objects that deal with sexuality and (c) to characterize the expectations and difficulties faced by these teachers regarding the lessons taught on the sexuality theme. Methodologically, the research was anchored in the qualitative approach, of descriptive and exploratory nature, the data collection was carried out through semi-open questionnaire, applied to five science teachers of the final years of primary schools. Regarding the results, the analyzed data pointed out that most teachers recognize the importance of Sexual Education within the school environment, but present a biological perception of sexuality. In addition, the strategies used in the pedagogical practices are restricted to the use of textbooks, and the difficulties of these teachers in developing classes about the theme are related, among other factors, to the lack of continuous training, to the fear of the family, and to the immaturity of the students.