John Lidstone

Sex Education or Indoctrination? John Lidstone

Talking about sexuality in schools is discomforting at best and dangerous at worst because no other topic is as sensitive or emotionally charged for parents, students, employers and school administrators. This is particularly so for teachers who are involved with sexuality education in Australian Catholic schools and their clientele. No issue evokes more controversy in the contemporary Catholic Church than sexuality. This book explores conceptions of sexuality education with the specific intention to describe the qualitatively different ways in which sexuality education is experienced or understood by middle-years teachers in Catholic schools. The study provides a new insight into possible directions for sexuality education and sheds further light on its relationship with religious and moral education. It will be especially useful to professionals in health, counselling and education in both religiously affiliated and secular institutions as well as to everyone with an interest in fostering the healthy development of young people in the 21st century.