Browsing by Author "Emilia, Korenius"

Aims. The study examines what kind of discourses the sex education sections of primary school’s enviromental studies textbooks construct of gender and sexuality. Previous research has shown that textbooks do not align with the values of the school world, and that in sex education the concept of heteronuclear family has been emphasized while diversity has been overlooked. Among other research results the latest school health survey shows that students belonging to sexual and gender minorities fare worse than others. The National Core Curriculum for Basic Education states that learning materials should give visibility to the appreciation of human diversity. Methods. The study examined the sex education sections of digital textbooks 3–6 of the Pisara and Tutkimusmatka enviromental studies texbook series. Digital texbooks were observed during February and March 2022. Critical discourse analysis was utilized as a method. Results and Conclusions. The study found that the enviromental studies textbooks’ sex education sections construct a binary and developmental biology discourse of gender and a reproductive and heteronormative discourse of sexuality. The discourses in the environmental studies textbooks emphasized natural sciences and a normative view of society.