My research focuses on teaching sexuality education at the basic level. This will focus on how sexuality education teaching is carried out at a basic level and delivered in the classroom and will also study the perceptions of teachers and students towards sexuality education in the context of Nepal.

1. TEACHING SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN BASIC LEVEL:
PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF TEACHERS AND
STUDENTS
Presenter: Sharmila Pokharel
PhD in Health Education
Date: 2077/9/8
sexuality education
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2. Introduction
 Pedagogy ( Content delivery) is the
method and practice of teaching.
 Curriculum, content delivery, and
receiving the delivered content remains
as a channel (Ollis, 2014).
 Teachers play crucial roles in enacting
CSE policy (Ollis, 2014).
 Teachers are an essential character in
the development of student's progress
and growth during their school years
(Lalremruata, 2019).
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3.  Parents and teachers are not open to talking
to children about sexual issues (Habte et al.,
2019).
 There are concerns that school-based sexuality
health education is not effective and
adequate to address young people's needs
(Acharya et al., 2019).
 Adolescents from the community have a
fundamental right to know the contents of the
curriculum accurately from the classroom
(Acharya et al., 2019).
 Young children are entering the stage of
puberty without any proper guidelines.
Introduction Cont..
3

4.  Lack of appropriate sexuality education has
become a global concern as it may lead to risky
sexual behavior among adolescents (Acharya et al.,
2009).
 The absence of preparation may lead educators or
teachers to lack confidence or comfort at what they
are doing or teaching the content (Klein & Breck,
2010).
4
Introduction Cont..

5.  Basic level school health teachers have shown to have
reduced self-efficacy due to a lack of preparation and
professional training (Wallin, 2019).
5
Introduction Cont..

6. Statement of the Problems
 Teaching sexuality education has been affected by
embarrassment, myths, superstitions, taboos,
misconceptions, and socio-cultural beliefs (Francis,
2010; Pokharel et al., 2006; Shrestha et al., 2013).
 Other subject proficient persons are teaching sexuality
health education without having any training in
sexuality education.
 SRH is always overlooked as a narrow perspective as
schools based sexuality education remains a challenging
matter (Pokharel et al., 2013).
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7. Cont..
Statement of the Problems
 Since school is unable to deliver
adequate knowledge, adolescents are
compelled to seek sexuality information
from outside resources. Especially, the
internet, magazines, websites are the
means of learning sources for
adolescents (Francis, 2010).
 Inauguration of CSE policies in the
curriculum but lack of implementation
in the content prevails.
 Lack of teacher-student, parents-
children communication about SRH.
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8. Theoretical foundation
Lev Vygotsky's
Social constructivist theory
Albert Bandura's
Reciprocal determinism
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9. Nepalese Context
sexuality education
sexuality education
South Asian Context
Literature review
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10. Global context
Reference Country Study
Mkumbo
(2009)
Tanzania Status of sexuality education in the
national school policy and curriculum
Francis
(2010)
South
Africa
Sexuality education in South Africa:
Three essential questions
Anwar et
al.(2010)
Malaysia Awareness of Students on Sexually
Transmitted Infections ,Sexual Behavior
Davies et
al., (2010)
Australia Risk and regulation in the construction
of children's sexual knowledge
**Lack of age-appropriate delivery of CSE.
**Above mentioned literatures showed that basic level CSE is
lacking and only focus on STIs, CSE is broadly incorporated in
secondary level which is too late to study. 10

11. Reference Country Study
Helleve et
al. (2011)
South
Africa
Can any teacher teach sexuality and
HIV/AIDS?
(Khau,
2012)
South
Africa
Sexuality education in rural Lesotho
schools: Challenges and possibilities
Mkumbo
(2012)
Tanzania Teachers‟ attitudes towards and comfort
about teaching school-based SE
Bilinga et
al.,(2014)
Tanzania Sexuality Education in Primary Schools
**Lack of teaching practices and teaching skills in SRH
classrooms**Cultural barrier, religious beliefs, teaching
controversial subject and still respected? 11
Global context

12. Reference Country Study
Francis
(2013)
South
Africa
Sexuality education in South Africa:
Whose values are we teaching?
Bastien et
al.(2011)
sub-
Saharan
Africa
A review of studies of parent-child
communication about sexuality and
HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa
Stephens
(2013)
Tanzania Attitude of parents in the metropolis of
Lagos towards inclusion of sexuality
education in the school curriculum
Eko et
al.2013)
Nigeria Perception of Students‟Teachers‟ and
Parents‟ towards Sexuality Education
* Although, teachers and parents strongly suggest SRH in
curriculum but the attitude and practices are not accordingly.
Global context
12

13. Reference Country Study
DePalma et
al., (2014)
South
Africa
What does „culture 'mean for South
African sexuality educators?
Michielsen
et al. (2014)
Rwanda People's perceptions of sexuality and
relationships of young people from
Rwanda by using the 'mailbox technique
Berglas et
al., (2014)
USA A rights‐based approach to sexuality
education: Conceptualization,
clarification and challenges
*Evidences from African context shows cultural resistance
and new way of data collection "mailbox technique" to
reduce stigmatization.
* Need of implementation of right based approach in USA.
Global context
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14. Reference Country Study
Sanjakdar
et al.,
(2015)
Australia
New -
Zealand
Critical pedagogy in sexuality
education: Visions, imaginations, and
paradoxes
Francis et
al., (2015)
South
Africa
'You need to have some guts to teach':
Teacher preparation and characteristics for
the teaching of sexuality
Muhwezi
et al.
(2015)
Uganda Perceptions of adolescents, parents, and
school administrators regarding
adolescent-parent communication
**Need of critical pedagogy for delivering effective SE in
school.** In the family level, parents-adolescents
communication on sexual issues has faced some difficulties
Global context
14

15. Reference Country Study
Reygan and
Francis
(2015)
South
Africa
Emotions and pedagogies of discomfort:
Teachers‟ responses to sexual and
gender diversity in the Free State,
(Fisher &
Cummings,
2016).
USA Assessing teacher confidence and
proficiency with sexuality education
standards
McGinn et
al., (2016)
United
Kingdom
Parental interpretations of “childhood
innocence”
** Proficient educators of SRH are qualified to teach sexuality
education in school level USA.
*Other studies in South Africa and UK shows that sexuality
education is a stigmatized, forbidden topic for open discussion.
Global context
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16. Reference Country Study
Emambok
us et al.,
(2019)
Mauritius Parents' and teachers' perspectives
about school-based sexuality
education in a multicultural context
Le Mat et
al., (2019)
Ethiopia Moulding the teacher: factors shaping
teacher enactment of CSE policy
Haas et al.
(2019)
Uganda Teachers‟ conflicting cultural schemas
of teaching school-based CSE
Global context
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**Teachers feel embarrassed, stigmatized, fear of judgment
and lack of skills and support from the socio-economic factors.

17. Reference Country Study
Ram et
al.,(2020)
Fiji Parent‟s Perception regarding the Delivery
of SRH Education
Robinson
et al.,
(2017)
Australia Responsibilities, tensions and ways
forward: parents‟ perspectives on
children‟s sexuality education
Wanje et
al. (2017)
Kenya Parents‟ and teachers‟ views on sexual
health education and screening for sexually
transmitted infections among in-school
**Parent's gender and religion beliefs were the major reasons for
not discussing about SRH matters with their children. **Parents
tended to place responsibility for sexual health education with
teachers. The teachers, in turn, only provided basic SRHE.
Global context
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18. South Asian Context
Reference Country Study
Liu et
al.,(2011)
China Chinese parents‟ perspectives on
adolescent sexuality education
Toor
(2016)
India A study of the attitude of teachers,
parents and adolescents towards SE
Iqbal et
al., (2017)
Pakistan Perceptions of adolescents‟ sexual and
reproductive health and rights
Tshomo et
al., (2020)
Bhutan Teachers‟ knowledge, attitudes and
practices about sex and sexual health:
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**Educated and high income family supported SE and were
more favorable to educate their children.
**Suggestion for use of multi modal delivery through digital
platform, social media, etc.

19. South Asian Context
Reference Country Study
Rajapaksa
etal.(2014)
Shrianka Sexual and reproductive knowledge,
attitudes and behaviors in a school
Lalnunfeli
(2015)
India Attitude of students, teachers and
community towards sex education
Iyer et al.
(2014)
Review
from Asia
Barriers on delivery of school-based
HIV and sexuality education
Bamik
(2019)
Afghanistan Talking about sexual attitudes and
behaviors, a cultural and social taboo
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**Lack of SRH knowledge levels in adolescent leading to
vulnerable situation due to cultural barriers and
stigmatization.**Pressing need for sexuality education for
adolescent, training and guidance to teachers and parents.

20. Reference Country Study
Boonmong
kon (2019)
Thailand Comprehensive sexuality education
in Thailand
Zakaria et
al. (2020)
Bangladesh Knowledge, attitude, and practice of
SRH among older adolescent girls
Shankar et
al., (2020)
India Evaluating the Impact of a School-
Based Youth-Led Health Education
Program for Adolescent Females
Hameed
(2018)
Maldives Intersections of sexual and
reproductive health and rights
*Incomprehensive and inconsistent implementation of SE,
emphasis on biology and negative consequences of sex. **Socio-
cultural issues have deprived adolescent's from acquiring SE.
South Asian Context
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21. Nepalese context
Reference Place Study
Pokharel et
al. (2006)
Western
Nepal
School-based SE: uncomfortable for
teachers and students
Regmi et
al. (2008)
Review in
Nepal
Opportunities and barriers for sexual
health education
Acharya et
al. (2009)
Review in
Nepal
Opportunities and challenges in
school-based SRH education
Napit et al.
(2020)
Bhaktapur Factors associated with utilization of
adolescent-friendly services
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**Many Nepalese school teachers appear to lack proper
knowledge about sexual health themselves.
**The teaching techniques addressing young peoples‟ curiosity
about sex and sexual health in the classroom seem limited.

22. Reference Place Study
Hennink et
al., (2004)
Nepal Sex trafficking in Nepal: context and
process
Regmi et al.
(2010)
Kathmandu “Boys Remain Prestigious, Girls
Become Prostitutes”: Socio-Cultural Context
Adhikari et
al.,(2009)
Kathmandu Premarital sexual behavior among
male college students
Regmi et al.
(2010)
Kathmandu
Chitwan
Barriers to sexual health services for
young people
Nepalese context
22
**Studies of adolescent and reproductive health in Nepal are
limited in number and scope and the research focus on adolescent
health problems instead of content delivery.

23. Reference Place Study
Shrestha et
al. (2013)
Kathmandu Better learning in schools to improve
attitudes toward abstinence and
intentions for safer sex
Mahat et
al., (2006)
Kathmandu HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes and
beliefs among Nepalese adolescent
Acharya et
al., (2018)
Govt school
of Nepal
Students‟ views about sexual health
knowledge and understanding
Nepalese context
23
**Sexuality education in Nepal overlooks issues such as feelings
and relationships and focuses instead on easily taught factual and
biological issues, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy
prevention.

24. Reference Place Study
Pandey et
al(2019)
Bhaktapur Exploring the factors impacting on
access and acceptance of SRH
Chitra et
al(2020)
Lalitpur Knowledge and attitude on sexual and
reproductive health among adolescents
Mattebo,
et al(2015)
Kathmandu Knowledge and Perceptions regarding
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Acharya et
al(2019)
Makwanpur Parents‟ and teachers‟ perspectives on
children‟s sexual health education
** Limited studies have been carried out on attitude, teachers
parents and students perspective whereas no study is found on
teaching strategies about sexuality education in Nepal.
** Accurately, the study on pedagogical context is lacking.
Nepalese context
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25. Research Gap
 Literature shows that studies on knowledge, attitude and
perceptions of teachers, students and parents are separately
conducted around the Globe but the triangular relationship
between parents, students, and teachers has yet to be
explored.
 Studies from Nepal have either looked on adolescent
problems(STIs, HIV/AIDS, pre marital sexual relationships,
violence) and adolescent friendly services rather than school
curriculum and teachers parents training on SE.
 Although some NGOs, and INGOs provided SE training
however, they were limited to their working district only.
 The teaching strategy of sexuality education has not been
properly explored.
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26. World views: Pragmatism
 Consequences of actions,
 Truth is what works at the time,
 Pluralistic, Problem centered,
 Real –world practice oriented.
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“Pragmatism is essentially humanistic philosophy
maintaining that man creates his own values in course
of activity, that reality is still in making and awaits its
part of completion” Jacob Ross, (2011).

27. 27
Philosophical Underpinnings
Ontology
Epistemology
Methodology
Axiology
Sexuality education is
itself under the influence
of subordinate factors
knowledge acquired
through experience and
enquiry
Reciprocal relationships
Teaching strategy,
learning sources, and
perceptions are intrinsic
nexus (Guba & Lincoln, 1994)

28. Thank You
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