Exploring Social Sensitivity and Cultivating Inclusive Sexuality Education in Lithuania: Value Narratives, Educator Training, and Implementation Hurdles (78317)
Session Chair: Amy Toms
Monday, 15 July 2024 09:50
Session: Session 2
Room: Room E (Live-Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation
Sexuality education is a particularly timely issue in the context of present-day education policy and practice. Nowadays, students live in a highly sexualised socio-cultural environment: they watch films and TV series with sexual (including crude) elements, and most of them are exposed to (or consciously seek out) online pornography, where there are no boundaries to sexual content. In this context, even moderate-quality sexuality education has an added value: it creates preconditions for dialogue on sexuality topics between students, teachers, parents, and other individuals. Therefore, it is of high importance to identify and address the implementation challenges of sexuality education. In this conference we will present the findings of 4 articles using mixed-methods approaches. We explore the challenges and opportunities in shaping inclusive sexuality education in Lithuania. The emphasis is on social sensitivity, value narratives, teacher training, and internalized social exclusion. The ‘ostrich effect’ is introduced as a factor influencing program implementation. Value narratives of parents and influencer impact are explored, discussing how they shape curriculum. The evaluation of teacher training and competency reveals the lack of quality training and challenges faced by pre-service teachers, stressing the importance of practical skills and mutual understanding of sexuality education. Internalized social exclusion in the field of sexuality is introduced, discussing its prevalence and impact on pro-social behaviour. Proposed strategies for improvement include comprehensive teacher training, open dialogue among stakeholders, a curriculum addressing socially sensitive topics through ‘awareness of conflict’ methodological approach, and values education for a sense of ‘inclusion with the world’.
Authors:
Marius Bytautas, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
Sigitas Daukilas, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
About the Presenter(s)
Mr Marius Bytautas is a University Doctoral Student at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
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