Jornal de Comunicações de Cuidados de Saúde Acesso livre

Abstrato

Health and Sexuality Education in Portugal: Principals, Teachers, Parents and Students’ Perceptions

Lucia Ramiro, Marta Reis, Margarida Gaspar de Matos.

Sexuality is a continuous and ongoing process of socialization that should provide young people with knowledge, attitudes and skills that allow them to make responsible choices. This research aimed to describe Sexuality Education integrated into a Health Education context from four perspectives: school councils (through principals), teachers, parents and students. Three studies were conducted for the purpose of this research. The samples included 84 school principals (study 1), 401 teachers and 65 parents (study 2) and 3,494 students (study 3). The results showed that, overall, most schools implemented and evaluated Health Education and Sexuality Education, although teachers need training and families are not yet involved in Sexuality. Furthermore, students who reported having taken Sexuality Education classes in recent years reported a lower rate of sexual intercourse, a lower rate of having initiated sexual life at age 11 or younger and a higher total average score for knowledge about HIV/AIDS. In general, it can be stated that the actions of schools in the area of ​​promoting Health and Sexuality Education were complying with the ministerial recommendations in 2010; however, special concern is due not only to the “if” but also to the “how” these recommendations were implemented, since the quality and conditions of implementation can optimize or compromise sustainable action. One example is the low political engagement in the issue, which translates into the lack of teachers’ training, lack of time dedicated to the subject in teachers’ timetables, lack of money allocated to schools to develop programs and, finally, lack of official recognition of its broad importance for students’ well-being and overall health.