scholarly journals Teachers’ professional identities in the context of school-based sexuality education in Uganda—a qualitative study

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-563
Author(s):  
Billie de Haas ◽  
Inge Hutter

Abstract School-based sexuality education makes teachers important gatekeepers of students’ access to information about sexual and reproductive health and rights. The school setting has the potential to reach large numbers of students. However, teachers’ professional identities may go beyond, differ from or even conflict with the qualities required of sexuality educators. To gain a better understanding of the role of professional identity in the delivery of school-based sexuality education, this study used cultural schema theory to study teachers’ professional identities, and how these motivate them to provide sexuality education. In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 sexuality education teachers at secondary schools in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Sexuality education lessons were observed to validate the findings from the interviews. Results identified five cultural schemas of professional identity: (i) upholder of ethics and regulations; (ii) authority figure; (iii) counsellor and guide; (iv) role model; and (v) guardian. The study concludes that teachers’ cultural schemas of professional identity motivate them to adhere to moral discourses of abstinence and sexual innocence. To support teachers in taking more comprehensive approaches to sexuality education, it is important that they receive adequate teacher training and support from the Ugandan government, the school administration and the wider community.

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Anne Roien ◽  
Christian Graugaard ◽  
Venka Simovska

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to map and discuss the overall characteristics of international research on school-based sexuality education, published in academic journals, with a particular focus on the framing of non-conservative approaches including sexuality education research targeting young pupils 6-12 years of age. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws upon the methodology of systematic research mapping and presents a broad overview of research on sexuality education in a school setting for pupils aged 6-16. The authors searched the leading bibliographic databases in the field, i.e., ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Australian Education Index, British Education Index and Education Research Complete, using the search terms “sexuality education” and “school” and “children” or “adolescents.” The mapping focused on articles published in peer-reviewed journals in English, German, Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, in the period 2000-2016. Findings Out of 3,769 papers identified in the search process, a total of 576 papers were found to meet the inclusion criteria of the mapping. The mapping portrays a research landscape that is diverse and nuanced in terms of contextual, theoretical and methodological approaches, but also characterized by limitations. The findings point to the clear dominance of research on schools in English-speaking countries, conceptual research is scarce, and school-based sexuality education aimed at the youngest children seems to be neglected. The mapping identifies gaps in the literature that justify a call for more research from diverse sociocultural, political and geographical contexts, more conceptual research using social theory, and more research focusing on the potentials and challenges linked to sexuality education for younger pupils. Originality/value This paper offers a rare, if not the first, comprehensive overview of research on school-based sexuality education including a focus on younger school children 6-12 years of age.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105345122110249
Author(s):  
Vita L. Jones ◽  
Randall Boone ◽  
Regina R. Brandon ◽  
Nicole Dobbins ◽  
Kyle Higgins

Educators recognize that parental participation is a critical factor in the success of children within a school setting. This is particularly true for parents who have children with disabilities or who are from a culturally or linguistically diverse background. However, reaching out to these families can be a difficult task even for the most empathetic and concerned educator. And while communicating directly with individual parents about their children’s academic and social welfare provides some degree of effective engagement and communication between them and the school, the parents often remain isolated from the concerns and thoughts of other parents who are in similar situations. The Delphi process described in this article creates a collaborative workspace that moves parents from being a “watcher” of school policy or school-based decisions to a “developer” of school policy or school-based decisions. The article outlines and illustrates the steps in the process and further elaborates through an ongoing commentary depicting the creation and implementation of a Delphi with the goal of better engagement with parents.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Schmidt ◽  
Janine P. Stichter ◽  
Kristin Lierheimer ◽  
Stephanie McGhee ◽  
Karen V. O'Connor

This study evaluated the impact of generalization of the Social Competence Intervention-Adolescent (SCI-A) curriculum in a school setting for individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome (). This study examined to what degree the generalization of the SCI-A curriculum could be measured when delivered in a school setting. Across the six participants preliminary results suggest improvement on teacher reports of social skills and executive functioning. Some improvements were also evident in direct measures of facial-expression recognition. Data collected in the nonintervention settings indicated that some generalization of social interaction skills may have occurred for all six participants. Future research directions are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (Especial 2) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Alberto Albuquerque Gomes

This article results from reflections during my post-doctoral training at the Lusophone University of Humanities and Technology, in Lisbon. I was intrigued that mechanisms or factors were decisive / decisive in the construction of the identity of the teaching profession. Here I present a small cut considering aspects related to the construction of professional identities. Among the questions that emerged from our reflection: what can be enumerated: 1. The enormous dispersion of courses and initial training is an important component, although it is not enough to explain the panorama of the identity crisis of teachers; 2. The low quality of the initial formation can attribute this inconsistency of the professional identity; 3. The indefinition of a field and an object of pedagogy contributes to this fragility; 4. We are faced with a rapid process of resizing the world of work where functions and roles undergo rapid transformations, characterizing the professions without the constitution of new identities


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-152
Author(s):  
Lizette Drusila Flores Delgado ◽  
Irlanda Olave Moreno ◽  
Ana Cecilia Villarreal Ballesteros

Research shows that mentoring EFL pre-service teachers during the practicum element of teacher-training courses allow them to get experience and to develop, improve, and put into practice their teaching skills. This professional practice can impact the development of a positive or negative professional identity in teachers. Current literature, however, seems to focus on the shaping of teacher identity and learner identity, but there is little empirical research regarding the development and shaping of the identity of pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers are the main actors of this practicum stage of teacher-training programs and, therefore, by working in collaboration and being supported by a mentor as a role model, they develop their professional identity. The present qualitative case study sought to explore the shaping and re-shaping of the professional identity of fifteen EFL pre-service teachers of a northern Mexican university and the impact of working with English teacher mentors as role models. Information gathered through the constant comparative method of data from the participants taken from their reflective journals, mentor-observations, and self-observations suggests that although working with a positive role model encourages the development of a stronger teacher identity and an improvement in their teaching practice, working with a bad role model can also have the same results.


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