THE REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN SEXUALITY IN SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS FOR 14-16 YEAR-OLDS

Michael J. Reiss

Homerton College

Cambridge

CB2 2PH

UK

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Paper to be presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, The Queen's University of Belfast, August 27th - 30th 1998

THE REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN SEXUALITY IN SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS FOR 14-16 YEAR-OLDS

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses the ways in which school science textbooks used with 14-16 year-olds in the UK portray the topic of human sexuality. The fifteen books examined here vary greatly in terms of how they treat human sexuality. Some are sensitively written, comprehensive and helpful. Others, though, are sexist, fail to tackle personal issues to do with menstruation, ignore lesbian and gay issues and either omit or fail adequately to deal with cultural issues. Science textbooks should help all young people manage their transition to adulthood. Examples of good practice are highlighted, and possible ways forward outlined.

Introduction

The teaching of sex education in schools still presents difficulties for a number of reasons. First, whether school sex education should even occur is questioned by some. Those who believe that sex education should not take place in schools generally hold that sex education is the responsibility of parents and that schools have neither the right nor the competence to teach about it. In particular, those, often with a religious background, who argue that schools should not teach sex education are frequently unhappy about what they perceive as the amoral, or even immoral, framework adopted by many schools when they do teach sex education. On the other hand, it can be argued that all schools inevitably engage in sex education, simply by their being a community of sexual people each with attitudes and behaviours shaped by their own personal history, by the ethos and composition of the school in which they find themselves and, more generally, by the collective values of the societies in which they grew up and presently exist. What is at debate, if this point of view is accepted, is not whether school sex education should occur, but what sort of sex education should take place.

Secondly, the precise aims of sex education vary greatly (Reiss, 1993). At one pole, abstinence education aims to ensure that young people do not engage in heavy petting or sexual intercourse before marriage; at the other pole, some sex education programmes challenge sexist and homophobic attitudes, and try to help young people make their own decisions about their sexual behaviour. Although a plurality of aims in almost any branch of education may be healthy, too great a range of possible aims can confuse both teachers and learners and in this case is indicative of a lack of clarity about the exact functions of sex education (Reiss, 1996).

Other issues surrounding school sex education include the age at which it should start, the methodologies to be used, the moral framework within which it should take place, the rights of parents to withdraw their children from school sex education, whether classes should (sometimes) be single sex, who should teach it, the training which teachers of sex education should receive and where within the school curriculum it should be taught (for UK references see Clarity Collective, 1989; Sanders & Swinden, 1990; Massey, 1991; Lenderyou, 1993; Department for Education, 1994; Ray & Went, 1995, Reiss, 1995; Reiss, in press). In addition, there are conceptual difficulties in deciding how best to evaluate sex education. Government agencies and the funders of sex education programmes may want to see 'hard' evidence that such programmes work. To date, evaluations of the efficacy of school sex education programmes tend either to be quantitative (Mellanby, Phelps, Crichton & Tripp; 1995; Wellings, Wadsworth, Johnson, Field, Whitaker & Field, 1995; Kirkby, in press) or anecdotal (e.g. Le Fanu, 1995). High quality evaluations using a range of qualitative research methodologies are sorely needed (cf. Wright, 1996).

Where in the curriculum should school sex education be taught?

In this paper I examine an important aspect of the question as to where within the school curriculum sex education should be taught. In the UK most sex educators agree that the best provision for sex education occurs when schools teach it across the curriculum, in a number of traditional subjects (including science, English, religious studies, history and geography), in PSE (personal and social education) or PSHE (personal, social and health education) lessons and in tutor groups or form periods (e.g. Massey, 1991; Ray & Went, 1995).

In practice, much, almost certainly most, school sex education in the UK continues to take place in science / biology lessons for 11-16 year-olds (cf. Whitty, Rowe & Aggleton, 1994). This is hardly surprising since there is a general consensus of opinion that whatever else it might include, school sex education should include the provision of accurate information about such topics as puberty, menstruation and human reproduction. Such topics are standard components of biology syllabuses for 11-16 year-olds and biology teachers expect to teach them to pupils of this age.

Most science teachers rely on textbooks, videos and pupil worksheets when teaching sex education. For rather obvious reasons, little practical work (of a standard science kind) is feasible in this area, while science teachers generally eschew the more innovative methods often recommended by sex educators such as role play, games, quizzes, creative writing and debate (cf. Windale, Hudson & Smith, 1995). For this reason, the way in which the authors of science textbooks portray and discuss human sexuality is of considerable importance. Indeed, various studies have looked at sex bias in textbooks (e.g. Walford, 1980; Commeryas & Alvermann, 1996) though not, so far as I am aware, with reference to the topic of human sexuality.

It is worth describing the the position of sex education in UK schools and the current legal position. Unfortunately the recent history about the legislation concerning sex education in the UK means that has been considerable confusion among teachers about what is or is not permitted. A classic instance of this arose in relation to The Local Government Act (50/1) 1988, Section 28 of which states that "A local authority shall not - (a) intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality; (b) promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship by the publication of such material or otherwise". Many teachers became concerned that they might fall foul of the law simply by referring to issues of sexual orientation; other teachers reacted with fury both at the perceived injustice and prejudice and at the crude assumptions implicit in phraseologies about "a pretended family relationship"; a minority of teachers welcomed the Circular. However, it then transpired that this part of the Local Government Act (generally referred to as "Clause 28") did not apply to schools as Section 18 of the Education Act (No. 2) 1986 - which gave school governors responsibility for decisions on sex education in schools - took precedence.

Section 18(2) of the Education (N. 2) Act 1986 stipulated that the governing bodies of county, controlled and maintained special schools should consider whether sex education should form part of the secular curriculum for the school. In Circular 11/87 these governing bodies were then required "to make, and keep up to date, a separate written statement: (i) of their policy with regard to the content and organisation of the relevant parts of the curriculum; or (ii) where they conclude that sex education should not form part of the secular curriculum, of that conclusion" (Department of Education and Science, 1987, p. 1). Circular 11/87 went on to say that "Teaching about the physical aspects of sexual behaviour should be set within a clear moral framework in which pupils are encouraged to consider the importance of self-restraint, dignity and respect for themselves and others, and helped to recognise the physical, emotional and moral risks of casual and promiscuous sexual behaviour ... Pupils should be helped to appreciate the benefits of stable married and family life and the responsibilities of parenthood" (Department of Education and Science, 1987, p. 4). This Circular also specified that "There is no place in any school in any circumstances for teaching which advocates homosexual behaviour, which presents it as the "norm", or which encourages homosexual experimentation by pupils" (Department of Education and Science, 1987, p. 4).

Not surprisingly, Circular 11/87 met with much the same wide range of responses that greeted Section 28 of The Local Government Act (50/1) 1988. However, Circular 11/87 has now been superseded by Circular 5/94 which builds on Section 241(2) of the Education Act 1993. Though parts of Circular 5/94 have been severely criticised, overall it has been received more positively than Circular 11/87 by organisations which work in the field of school sex education in the UK (e.g. the Sex Education Forum and the Family Planning Association). A key point is that secondary schools are required to provide sex education, but parents are given the right to withdraw their children from such sex education.

Circular 5/94 sets sex education in a 'moral framework', the tone of which is indicated by the following quotation:

... schools' programmes of sex education should therefore aim to present facts in an objective, balanced and sensitive manner, set within a clear framework of values and an awareness of the law on sexual behaviour. Pupils should accordingly be encouraged to appreciate the value of stable family life, marriage and the responsibilities of parenthood. They should be helped to consider the importance of self-restraint, dignity, respect for themselves and others, acceptance of responsibility, sensitivity towards the needs and views of others, loyalty and fidelity. And they should be enabled to recognise the physical, emotional and moral implications, and risks, of certain types of behaviour, and to accept that both sexes must behave responsibly in sexual matters. (Department for Education, 1994, p. 6)

While some readers may be deeply suspicious about such phrases as "the value of stable family life" and "the importance of self-restraint", such language is open to profitable discussion and interpretation. Further, the Circular makes no explicit reference to homosexuality. Instead, it simply states that:

The law does not define the purpose and content of sex education. other than declaring that it includes education about HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. In secondary schools sex education should, in the Secretary of State's view, encompass, in addition to facts about human reproductive processes and behaviour, consideration of the broader emotional and ethical dimensions of sexual attitudes ... (Department for Education, 1994, p. 7)

Methodology

This study concentrates on Key Stage 4 (GCSE) textbooks - that is, the textbooks used by 14-16 year-olds in England and Wales studying for a General Certificate in Secondary Education in biology or science (examinations sat by over 90% of students in England and Wales by the time they are 16 years old). This is not, of course, to denigrate the importance of good sex education in primary schools or at Key Stage 3 (11-14 year-olds). Rather, the 14-16 age range was chosen partly because it represents the last definite opportunity for school sex education (the compulsory school leaving age is 16 in the UK, and only around one in ten 16-19 year-olds study biology syllabuses which cover human reproduction / sexuality), and partly because it might be hoped that textbooks targeted at 14-16 year-olds would provide a more nuanced and extensive treatment of human sexuality than could be expected with younger pupils.

Accordingly, the fifteen textbooks listed in the appendix were obtained in 1995. These textbooks were identified from the catalogues of the major UK science education publishers, from the library of the institution where I work or were already in my possession. Anyone teaching biology/science in England or Wales during the last ten years will know one or more of the them. Indeed, some of the authors, particularly Don Mackean and Michael Roberts, are well known internationally, their books being used in a number of different countries. Commercial secrecy means that it is not feasible to obtain data on the sales of competing textbooks. However, these books are widely used and I suspect that most 14-16 year-olds in England and Wales in 1995 used at least one of these textbooks in their science lessons.

Independently of obtaining these fifteen textbooks, I drew up a checklist of fourteen questions to be answered by an analysis of the textbooks. These questions fell into the four categories of 'anatomy', 'puberty', 'contraception' and 'sexual identity and intercourse'. These categories were identified as covering the major areas of sex education to do with human sexuality. In the analysis the focus was mainly on equal opportunities issues. The checklist was as follows:

Anatomy

Is the clitoris shown / described?

Is the penis shown / described?

Puberty

Is the variation in the age of onset described?

What images about menstruation are given?

Is masturbation in women discussed?

Is masturbation in men discussed?

Contraception

Are the attitudes of different cultural groups towards contraception addressed (e.g. Roman Catholics)?

Whose responsibility does contraception seem to be?

Sexual identity and intercourse

How are lesbian and gay issues addressed?

Is intercourse assumed to be heterosexual?

Is sexual activity equated with penetrative intercourse or is non-penetrative sex considered?

Do diagrams / text portray a variety of positions for sexual intercourse?

Is orgasm described in more detail for one sex than the other?

What, if any, treatment is given to such issues as sexual harassment and rape?

There are, of course, other topics that could be chosen and other questions asked, for example about pregnancy, birth, sexually transmitted diseases and the menopause. However I decided to concentrate on those given in the checklist, partly for reasons of space and partly because I thought that if one had to prioritise, these reflected issues of particular importance to young people in the 14-16 age range.

Results

The results are considered under the four headings identified in the checklist: anatomy, puberty, contraception, sexual identity and intercourse. References are given to the fifteen textbooks to substantiate conclusions drawn. This is not because I wish specifically to castigate some authors and congratulate others. Rather, it is simply to enable anyone, should they choose, to check that I have not misrepresented authors and illustrators.

Anatomy

Ten of the fifteen books made no reference to the clitoris, either in the text or on illustrations; the other five did. A typical example of how the clitoris was referred to when its presence was acknowledged is as follows:

Close to the entrance to the urethra is a small 'lump', the clitoris. The clitoris is the female's equivalent of a penis and this can become erect during sexual intercourse when it is stimulated. (Michell, 1987, p. 109)

It can be argued that to say that A is the equivalent of B is to belittle A. All fifteen books referred to the penis, though none described it as the male's equivalent of a clitoris. Fourteen of the fifteen books referred, either in the text or on illustrations, to the fact that a penis can be either flaccid or erect. In other words, significantly more attention is paid to the genitalia of males than of females. Males are rendered visible; females less so.

Puberty

Twelve of the fifteen books described the variation within the sexes about the age of onset of puberty. While it is encouraging that most of the books did describe this variation, it is disappointing that three did not, given the personal misery that can result from thinking oneself abnormal by virtue of reaching puberty either earlier or later than most of ones peers. Of course, a textbook description of variation is no guarantee that some such misery will not still occur, but some unhappiness probably still is the result of simple ignorance which textbooks can do much to correct.

On reading the often very lengthy and profusely illustrated accounts of menstruation it was clear that two main approaches were used. One can be called 'the physiological approach'. In this the emphasis is on the roles of the various hormones in providing a suitable internal environment for a fertilised egg to implant. The other main approach can be called 'the personal approach'. In this the emphasis is on the transition to adulthood, sanitary towels, tampons, pre-menstrual tension and period pains. All fifteen books covered the physiological side to menstruation. Six of the fifteen books also covered the personal side to varying degrees. One example of the personal approach is as follows:

The hormones that control the menstrual cycle can affect different people in different ways. Some girls feel no change during a period. Others may notice that they have more spots than usual, or that they feel very "bloated", or tearful and irritable, when a period is about to start. In fact, nearly all women show a gain in body mass just before a period and this is because more water than usual is retained in the body. Girls quite often have mild "period pains" on the first day or two of a period - if these are very bad a doctor will usually prescribe medicine which will help to relieve them. But even though periods can be a nuisance, girls usually find that they do not interfere very much with their normal activities. Most girls now wear tampons (cottonwool cylinders which plug into the vagina), which means that even activities such as swimming are no problem during a period. (Monger, 1988, p. 253)