Reflecting on Sexuality Education in Teacher Education: Using a Life History Methodology of a Same-Sex Desiring Male Foundation Phase Teacher

Abstract

Foundation Phase (FP) classrooms are not immune to incidents directly related to sexuality. Sexuality education, which is part of the FP life skills curriculum, is an essential part of the holistic development of FP learners. Studies about FP sexuality education report that FP teachers' formal approach to sexuality education is often restrictive. In this article, we use life history methodology to explore a single case study of a same-sex desiring male FP teacher in the Eastern Cape, South Africa to make meaning of how incidental moments that relate to sexuality education are addressed. Applying a feminist post-structural lens, we discuss how the participant and the participant's colleagues implicitly perpetuate heteronormative discourses in their pedagogical approaches to the teaching of sexuality education. The topic of sexuality features in one South African university's FP teacher education curriculum with the intention of raising pre-service teacher awareness about FP sexuality education. This research allowed us to reflect on the redesign of this fourth-year FP life skills module and to reimage the learning experiences offered to FP pre-service teachers.