Educação em ciência e sexualidade: o professor como mediador das atitudes e crenças sobre a sexualidade no aluno

Abstract

Although teachers need to discuss sexuality in school, there is frequently a certain fear in approaching the subject in the classroom. Most teachers feel themselves unprepared to talk openly about the issue which is impossible to discard. In fact, anxiety and curiosity with regard to sexuality are rather high in schools. The teacher has an important role towards the approach of the issue since the school is an extremely viable space to explain and discuss sexuality. Considering the human diversity and the importance of teaching the facts of life in the schools, educators cannot limit themselves to deal with the subject from its exclusively biological aspects. Consequently, teachers who are available for the development of Sexual Education that comprise learning on human sexuality, that is inserted inside a cultural and historical context and taking into account of feelings, values, emotions and attitudes towards sexual life, should reflect on the manner these themes have to be studied with their students. Current research analyzes the main attitudes and beliefs of sexuality shown by ten teachers of the lower and upper primary government schools. Three had already participated in the Study Group on Sexual Education; four were still participating in the above-mentioned group; the other three had never participated in the group.Therewhere used the direct half-structured interviews employed underwent to a content analysis involving the Thematic modality as referred by Bardin (2007), a half-structured questionnaire was instructed to 241 students of the lower and upper primary government schools. Tabulated data were analyze d by SPSS-14statistic program to investigate whether there were coincidences or divergences in the attitudes and beliefs expressed by teachers of both groups. Results showed that teachers had difficulties in talking on the theme and even had mistaken concepts, readily perceived by the students, even though the former considered important dealing with the sexual issue in the classroom. Similar to the teachers', a medical and biological discourse on sexuality emerged from the students' questionnaire. Current investigation shows the need for continual training since changes in certain concepts among the teachers participating in the Study Group on Sexual Education/State University of Londrina, Londrina PR Brazil could be perceived. However, in certain cases these concepts lie merely at the intellectual level and have yet to be integrated within the feeling and acting mode.