Abstract

QUARESMA DA SILVA, Denise. Dealing with sexual education in the elementary schools located on the south of Brazil. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2014, vol.40, n.4, pp. 289-298. ISSN 0864-3466.

Objective: to analyze dealing with sexual education in municipal public elementary schools located in Novo Hamburgo city in Brazil. Methods: cross-sectional descriptive study with quantitative and qualitative methods using the semi-structured interview as data collection instrument. The interview was made from March to December 2012 in a non-probabilistic sample of 82 teachers from 56 municipal public schools in Novo Hamburgo. Collective subject analysis technique supported the analysis of interviews. Results: the study revealed that the studied schools played a failed role in the implementation of sexual education as a cross-sectional topic. Most of the professors avoid talking about this topic and pass the responsibility on those professors who teach Sciences as a subject. The teaching staff stated the need of training and the poor methodological work in schools as the main obstacles to advance in the transversalization of sexual education. Conclusions: sexual education is seen as a topic that may be addressed only if the students make questions about it, which places infants and adolescents in a vulnerable position to face problems such as early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. It is urgent to go beyond and to adopt a teaching attitude effectively committed to education, prevention, inclusion, plurality and democratization in school in order to promote responsible and pleasant sexuality.

Keywords : sexual education; schools; prevention.

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