Sexual education. Passing grade?

About this project

<p>The situation of sexual education in Poland is well illustrated by the fact that no such term currently exists in the Polish education system. Classes containing elements of sexual education are conducted under the name of ‘upbringing to family life’. The programme has not changed since the 1990s, that is since this subject was introduced to Polish schools. According to the publication ‘Good Sex Ed. Sexual Education in Europe’ (2021), sex education based on reliable scientific knowledge contributes to reducing the number of sexually transmitted infections and preventing sexual violence. The aim of our project is to analyse the state of sex education in Poland, in particular the Ministry of Education and Science’s core curriculum and the way it is implemented in Polish schools. We will evaluate the quality of textbooks recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science for classes in upbringing to family life. We will carry out a survey on the state of sexual education from the perspective of school students, parents and teachers obliged to teach those classes. A report on the situation of sexual education in Poland will be published as part of the project, where we will describe the currently promoted content of sexual education, the content that is incompatible with the current state of knowledge, and the issues that are omitted but should be included in the curriculum. Based on the report, we will develop recommendations for required updates to the curriculum. We will use these recommendations in our advocacy activities with state and local institutions, such as the Ministry of Education and Science, boards of education and educational departments of local government units. The project partner is the Kvenréttindafélag Íslands from Iceland, which advocates for the equal status of women and men, LGBTQIA rights and education without discrimination.</p>

Bilateral cooperation results

At the beginning, we were informed that our partner had less experience in the subject than other organizations. Therefore, at the suggestion of the partner organization, we held meetings with a number of other organizations. We met, among others, with Samtokin 78, an organization dealing with sexual education, Slagtog, which works in the field of anti-violence education, representatives of the city office, the City Councilor and teachers conducting sexual education classes. We established strong relations with organizations from the Donor States. We also used contacts with Norwegian organizations with whom we cooperated on other projects of our association. We maintain regular contact with partners who proved to be extremely helpful in obtaining key information and access to hard-to-find materials, such as textbooks and educational plans on sexual education. As part of bilateral cooperation, we invited two educators from the partner organization to the Congress, who presented solutions in the field of inclusive education on gender and sexual diversity. They also had the opportunity to establish contacts and exchange experiences with local organizations, which enriched both sides with new perspectives.

Project partners

• Icelandic Women's Rights Association Donor project partner· Iceland