Browsing by Subject "narrative literature review"

Aims. Sexual education in early childhood aims to protect and support child’s sexual development (WHO, 2010). Even though the contents of sexual education can be found in the Finnish national early childhood education curricula, the specific term sexual education cannot be found in them. The aim for this study was to get familiar with studies concerning sexual education in early childhood in order to identify the arguments for sexual education and deduce the aims for sexual education. The intent of the researcher was to understand why sexual education is important and which goals should it try to achieve. Methods. This study was conducted as a narrative literature review with the goal of forming an image of the arguments and aims for the sexual education in early childhood. The study material consists of five peer-reviewed journal articles that addressed the sexual education of early childhood and were published between the years of 1997 and 2017. The material was analysed by thematic analysis which made it possible to bring forth meaningful themes in the light of the study questions. Results and conclusions. In the center of the arguments for sexual education was an understanding of the meaning of sexuality for humanity. According to the arguments, sexuality is already an integral part of human life in childhood and children should be given information about sexuality in their early years. The themes that concerned the aims for sexual education emphasized the aim of supporting children’s sexuality through a holistic approach. According to the results, sexual education should increase children’s knowledge of sexuality, teach them skills that they need in relationships and prepare them to take care of their own safety and wellbeing, while considering their age and developmental stage.