Enacting whole-school relationships and sexuality education in England: context matters
Authors
Bragg, SaraPonsford, Ruth
Meiksin, Rebecca
Lohan, Maria
Melendez-Torres, G. J.
Hadley, Alison
Young, Honor
Barter, Christine
Taylor, Bruce
Bonell, Chris
Affiliation
University College LondonLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Queen’s University Belfast
University of Exeter
University of Bedfordshire
University of Cardiff
University of Central Lancashire
University of Chicago
Issue Date
2022-03-30Subjects
contextsenactment
relationships and sexuality education
whole-school
Subject Categories::L510 Health & Welfare
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Evidence from intervention evaluations suggests that achieving meaningful and lasting social, behavioural and attitudinal change from relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools requires more than just a curriculum. Whole-school approaches appear particularly promising since they work at multiple levels. For instance, they may: engage with carers, communities and local services; address iniquitous cultures and norms; change school policies and practices; and actively involve young people themselves. They have also been advocated to tackle sexual harassment and abuse in schools. Currently, however, such approaches have not been rigorously evaluated in the UK. This article focuses on the whole-school elements of two recent RSHE pilot studies conducted in English secondary schools. We describe how these elements were variably enacted in different settings. We analyse contextual factors that help account for these differences, including: teacher and departmental professional identity and autonomy; broader education policy including high-stakes testing and school inspection judgements; the significance of support staff; and staff–student relationships and partnerships. We argue that the likely impact of whole-school approaches and RSHE in schools more generally will depend on attending to all of these factors. The paper contributes firstly to debates about the theory and practice of RSHE by highlighting the significance of processes and cultures beyond the classroom in enabling or constraining positive change. Secondly it contributes to scholarship that elucidates the role of contexts, broadly defined, in understanding the enactment of policy and practice.Citation
Bragg S, Ponsford R, Meiksin R, Lohan M, Melendez-Torres GJ, Hadley A, Young H, Barter CA, Taylor B, Bonell C (2022) 'Enacting whole-school relationships and sexuality education in England: context matters', British Educational Research Journal, 48 (4), pp.665-683.Publisher
WileyAdditional Links
https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.3788Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0141-1926EISSN
1469-3518Sponsors
This research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research Programme awards 14/184/02 and 15/03/09. Trial registration: Project Respect: ISRCTN12524938. Positive Choices: ISRCTN65324176.ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/berj.3788
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