Abstract
Democracy, at its most elemental, is about relationships between people within a system of government and respect for individual dignity. It includes assumptions about the equality of citizens and about their opportunity and responsibility to participate in the system; it involves a certain set of agreements about how individuals should relate to each other and how disagreements should be resolved; and it outlines a set of common goals and describes the roles that individuals must play and how structural elements must interrelate in order to reach those goals. Sexuality education, as it is broadly defined, teaches about self-respect and a healthy relationship to one's family, friends, children, community, and romantic partners. Sexuality education and education for democracy are most effective when conducted in a learning environment in which students, by necessity and design, learn to appreciate the rights of self and others, understand the importance of making informed choices and taking responsibility for one's actions, and gain other skills useful to participation in a democracy. Some of the necessary pedagogical components include (a) that the learner be central to the learning process, and (b) respect for a diversity of individual values and perspectives be promoted. Historically the unwanted stepchild of public schooling, sexuality education often suffers from an ideological bias and continues to be marginalized in the school curriculum at the same time that the need for it becomes ever more apparent. Yet, successful experiences of democratic sexuality education can provide a model for other disciplines in preparing citizens for this diverse democratic society.
