Teachers’ Attitudes and Opinions Toward Sexuality Education in School: A Systematic Review of Secondary and High School Teachers

Abstract

The paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review on teachers’ attitudes and opinions toward Sexuality Education (SE) that can be implemented with students aged 14 and older. Relevant articles were systematically searched in four scientific databases (ERIC, PsycInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection) and other sources (i.e., Google Scholar, references, and the University Library) between March and September 2023. The databases were searched for original articles published in six languages, utilizing the keywords “teachers,” “sexuality education,” “attitudes,” and “opinions.” Of the 2217 records recovered, 103 were included in the review. The studies were categorized into four emergent themes (and relative subthemes), using Reflexive Thematic Analysis: (1) Barriers and facilitators to SE; (2) programs’ aspects of SE; (3) SE curricula; (4) individual factors and SE. The review results provide evidence of teachers’ challenges in implementing SE programs, teachers’ opinions on SE, and the importance of including all educational figures in the SE programs. Future studies should invest in teacher education to enable them to explore their values and become more aware of how to conduct lessons and activities focused on SE. The implications of these findings for a deeper understanding of teachers’ perspectives on SE are discussed.

Keywords:

• Sexuality education
• teachers’ opinions
• teachers’ beliefs
• challenges at school

Acknowledgment

No funding was requested for the systematic review.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Approval was granted by the Ethic Committee of the Developmental and Social Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome.

Author contributions

All the authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. All the authors participated in the material preparation and data collection. Methodology, formal analyses, and investigation: Roberto Baiocco, Jessica Pistella, and Valeria Bruno; Writing - original draft preparation: Valeria Bruno, Jessica Pistella, Roberto Baiocco; Writing - review and editing: All the authors reviewed the manuscript. Supervision: Roberto Baiocco and Jessica Pistella. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data are available under request to the first author.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.