In Search of Critical Pedagogy in Sexuality Education: Visions, Imaginations, and Paradoxes

The broad aim of most sexuality educational programs is to improve and promote health among students (Epstein and Johnson 1998; Allen 2005; Aggleton and Campbell 2000). Various education programs aim for young people to receive preparation for their sexual lives and be educated against sexual abuse and exploitation (Carmody 2009; Bay-Cheng 2003), unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). More contemporary debates about sexuality education argue the value of endeavoring to educate students about sexual pleasure and desire, aiming to bring about attitudinal changes at the local level of social and political activity (Fields 2008; Lesko 2010). With these intentions the teaching and learning of sexuality education is positioned to be invested, not only in conveying sexual information, but also in producing a specific kind of sexual individual. In this frame, the effectiveness of the mobilization and maneuvring of this subject within schools and in the classroom is essentially based on pedagogy. A closer analysis of the intricate processes of how teachers pedagogies regulate sexual identities and sexual behavior thus becomes paramount to better understanding effective teaching of sexuality education.