Project-Based Learning update: Tackling the problem of sex education in public schools in Lisbon

Having done research for the past six months, Hannah, Maude and Hermine found that sex education is of great concern here in Lisbon. Coming from different Nordic countries, they were able to compare sex education between Portugal and their respective countries, finding significant shortcomings in the curriculum both in their native countries and here. While conducting interviews with a few teachers, the team found that these shortcomings can be attributed to the people that are supposed to teach sex ed classes as they are not educated to teach sex education. 

Parts of sex education are taught in biology class but the bigger focus is on a class called citizenship and development where sex education is supposed to be covered with an emphasis on identity. The problem in this class is that it is taught by the class teachers who are not educated in that field and also do not get sufficient support from the government for that class. Furthermore most teachers do not have a lot of time, which limits their ability to do research for their class.  

Moreover, some conservative teachers simply may refuse to teach sex ed classes, causing students to miss out on gaining crucial awareness on the matter. Hannah, Maude and Hermine decided to partner with a few organisations within the field as well as Masters students in sexology. 

These sources can help them create a credible source of information in the form of a handbook for teachers. This can be a useful tool for educators who may not be well trained in teaching sex ed or who may not feel confident talking about sex in front of students while also saving them time in doing their research. This handbook will be available  in both English and Portuguese. Several organisations are involved in the translation process to ensure its accuracy. Great job to the amazing team for their amazing project!