“Just Like Math”: Parents’ Perspectives on Sexuality Education in Primary Classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of parents’ perceptions of sexuality education in primary school. The study was guided by the following questions: 1) How do parents understand sexuality education in schools for primary-aged children? 2) What do parents believe children need to learn? 3) What role does the school curriculum have in contributing to healthy sexuality in young children? The data collection involved semi-structured interviews with seven parents whose children were in kindergarten to grade three. Using grounded theory to analyze and code the data, four themes emerged. The first theme, Sexuality Positive Parents, captures the parents’ positive attitude towards sexuality in general, sexuality education in schools, and beginning sexuality education with their children at a young age. The second theme, Sexuality Education: A Team Effort, focuses on how parents understood the teacher’s relationship and collaboration with students and their families, the challenges that sometimes emerge, and the health curriculum as it relates to sexuality education. The third theme, Parents Norm Diversity, describes how they value gender and sexual diversity as a part of sexuality education in primary grades. The fourth theme, The “Value-Free” Sexuality Educator, identifies the kind of teacher that parents imagine might deliver the perfect sexuality education. The analysis reveals that although the research participants were supportive of sexuality education, they also raised some concerns related to the quality of sexuality instruction in schools. Notably, they had apprehensions about potentially conservative values that may be taught in schools, while at the same time recognizing that sexuality education in schools is challenging for many elementary teachers.