Interpreting Teachers' Perceptions of Contextual Influences on Sexuality Discourses Within the School Curriculum: Lessons From Sex Health Education Teachers in Kampala, Uganda

ABSTRACT

Analysis of key findings of a study that investigated six Ugandan teachers' perceptions of contextual influences on sexuality discourses revealed that though there is some form of sex education in schools and though teachers are very enthusiastic about its implementation, it is largely constrained by conflicting social stances held by various stakeholders and needs reform. A nuanced approach to understanding practical realities and complexities involved in designing an effective sex education framework is discussed. These findings have critical implications on the strategies and the nature of sex health curricular discourses that teachers develop and implement in culturally diverse classrooms beyond Uganda.

RÉSUMÉ

Une analyse des principaux résultats d'une étude portant sur la perception de six enseignants ougandais au sujet des influences contextuelles dans le discours sur la sexualité, révèle que, bien qu'il existe une certaine éducation sexuelle à l’école et que les enseignants soient enthousiastes quant à son implantation, celle-ci a grand besoin de réforme car elle est fortement limitée par les contraintes sociales conflictuelles qu'imposent les différentes parties prenantes de la société. Une approche nuancée est présentée, visant à mieux comprendre les réalités pratiques complexes qui influencent la création et la mise en place d'un cadre d’éducation sexuelle efficace. Ces résultats ont des implications au-delà de l'Ouganda pour ce qui est des stratégies des enseignants en matière de discours sur la santé et l’éducation sexuelle dans des classes culturellement diversifiées.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their insights.

Funding

The authors thank the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of British Columbia (No. 6438), for providing partial funding for travel to Uganda to conduct the research.

Notes

1. Best in this context refers to schools that usually appear among the best 10 in national examinations and those that best implement curriculum recommendations from the Ministry of Education and Sports. These schools also usually belong to high socioeconomic class.

2. Although minor and significant are relative, minor ones are those where consequences are indirectly related to the negative sexual health outcomes and primarily depend on different cultural contexts.

3. Significant factors are salient factors whose consequences directly impact the lives of students.

4. Decency is still relative, but for this study, the teachers' focus was around short skirts, trousers, and tight clothing.

5. Emesse literally refers to mice, but this is used figuratively to refer to sex.