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‘More than just the Curriculum to Deal with’: Experiences of Teachers Delivering Sex and Relationship Education to People with Intellectual Disabilities

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Abstract

Interviews with fifteen teachers and educators delivering sex and relationships education to people with intellectual disabilities were conducted. The aim of the study was to investigate their experiences and views. Thematic analysis was used to look for patterns and themes in the verbatim transcripts. Three main themes were identified: challenges when delivering sex education, how to overcome these difficulties, and important topics for sex and relationships education. Implications for delivering sex and relationships education for people with intellectual disabilities and support needed for teachers are discussed.

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Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK

    Magdalena Borawska-Charko, W. Mick L. Finlay & Steven D. Stagg

Authors
  1. Magdalena Borawska-Charko
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  2. W. Mick L. Finlay
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  3. Steven D. Stagg
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by MB-C. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MB-C and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Magdalena Borawska-Charko.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Anglia Ruskin University.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Human and Animal Rights

The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of interviews (anonymized).

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Appendix

Appendix

Interview Schedule (Study 3) Learning Disability and Sex Education Interview Questions

  1. 1.

    Tell me a bit about the sex education work that you do for young people with learning disabilities?

    1. a.

      How long have you been doing this for?

  2. 2.

    What has your experience been like?

  3. 3.

    Do you think providing sex education is important? Why?

  4. 4.

    When you give sex education sessions, what are some of the typical things you would talk about?

  5. 5.

    What do you find most difficult or uncomfortable to talk about?

  6. 6.

    Are there any things that you feel is best not to talk about? Why?

  7. 7.

    What are some of the difficulties or challenges around talking about sex?

  8. 8.

    How do participants react to/behave when taking part in your workshops/lessons?

  9. 9.

    Which areas do participants have best knowledge of?

  10. 10.

    Why do you think this is?

  11. 11.

    Which areas do they have least knowledge? Why?

  12. 12.

    What factors affect their levels of knowledge?

  13. 13.

    What do you think they need to know? What are the most important areas in your opinion?

  14. 14.

    What do they want to know about?

  15. 15.

    What do they not want to know about?

  16. 16.

    What hopes/needs do they have when it comes to relationships?

  17. 17.

    What experiences do they have?

  18. 18.

    How do parents generally feel about their children taking part in sex education sessions?

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Borawska-Charko, M., Finlay, W.M.L. & Stagg, S.D. ‘More than just the Curriculum to Deal with’: Experiences of Teachers Delivering Sex and Relationship Education to People with Intellectual Disabilities. Sex Disabil 41, 201–219 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-023-09780-4

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