ERIC Number: EJ1172480
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1468-1811
EISSN: N/A
Educators' Perceptions of Learners with Intellectual Disabilities' Sexual Knowledge and Behaviour in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Chappell, Paul; Johns, Rebecca; Nene, Siphumelele; Hanass-Hancock, Jill
Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning, v18 n2 p125-139 2018
Over the past two decades, comprehensive sexuality education has increasingly been recognised as a measure that positively impacts on the sexual behaviour of young people in Africa. Despite this, and a political call to scale-up the use of comprehensive sexuality education in schools in South Africa, learners with disabilities continue to be left behind. Besides contending with negative hegemonic constructs of disabled sexualities, educators of learners with disabilities lack skills and resources to teach sexuality in accessible formats. Based on this premise, a comprehensive sexuality education approach--Breaking the Silence--was developed and piloted to assist educators of learners with disabilities to provide access to comprehensive sexuality education in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This article presents results from the formative evaluation of this pilot work and discusses educators' perceptions of their learners with intellectual disabilities' sexual knowledge, agency and behaviour after implementing the approach. Although educators appeared to situate learners with intellectual disabilities as sexual agents, their implementation of the approach was dependent on the cognitive ability of learners, and discourses of culture, gender and protection from violence.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, Intellectual Disability, Sexuality, Knowledge Level, Behavior, Sex Education, Program Development, Teacher Competencies, Formative Evaluation, Program Evaluation, Cognitive Ability, Violence, Social Attitudes, Mixed Methods Research, Questionnaires, Interviews, Sex Role, Gender Differences
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A