Tender Didactics: an Autoethnographic Perspective on the Sexuality Education of Future Teachers
Abstract
The article presents an autoethnographic reflection on the education of future teachers in the field of child sexuality. It draws on the author’s experience as a university lecturer conducting a module on sexuality in education at XXX (data anonymized). The aim of the study is to explore how emotions, beliefs, and cultural taboos influence prospective teachers’ readiness to engage in conversations about child sexuality, and what forms of reflective pedagogy support them in overcoming fear and uncertainty. The author poses the following questions: (1) What patterns of student reactions emerge in micro-educational interactions? (2) How do the lecturer’s position and emotions shape the course of these interactions? (3) Which teaching strategies enhance the sense of agency in discussing the body, relationships, and safety? Autoethnography enables the identification of emotional, social, and linguistic tensions that shape teacher education processes. The text emphasizes that a teacher’s competence does not end with knowledge but begins with self-awareness. Inherited patterns of silence, shame, and avoidance concerning sexuality must be recognized before they become part of the hidden curriculum. Reflective pedagogy is understood here not only as a teaching method but as an attitude – grounded in presence and readiness to confront what is uncomfortable yet necessary.
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