GENDER AND SEXUALITY ISSUES IN SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN BRAZIL AND PORTUGAL
This PhD research has as its theme the discussion of gender and sexuality issues in schools, within the scope of Sexualities Education (SE), in Brazil and Portugal. The conceptions of sexuality have been transformed, involving aspects that are not only biological, but also historical, social, and cultural. Thus, ES gains an important role in this discussion, since it can favor the debate on the naturalization and normalization of gender behaviors and stereotypes and, at the same time, it can contribute to the prevention of sexual and gender violence against children at school. In this sense, the objective of this work is to analyze if the teachers of the Early Years of Elementary Education (Anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental - AIEF), in Brazil, and the teachers of the 1st Cycle of Basic Education (1ºCEB), in Portugal, recognize themselves as legitimate professionals to deal with sexuality and gender issues within the scope of SE. For this, an action research was carried out, using quantitative and qualitative techniques, divided into three phases: planning, action and evaluation. In the first phase, it was made a survey of the legislation and normative documents of the two countries in relation to SE, and also was applied a questionnaire with open and closed questions to teachers of the two countries, to compare the perception of these professionals on its legitimacy to addressing sexuality and gender issues with children. In the action phase, there were four training sessions with six AIEF teachers in Brazil, who answered the questionnaires, aiming to deepen the investigation in the country. In the evaluation phase, a focus group was conducted with the Brazilian teachers to evaluate this training path and is intended to perform a triangulation of data. The analysis of the results is in progress. About the documents, differences were found in relation to compulsory work in SE, because in Portugal the SE is mandatory from the 1st year, with referential content for consultation, and in Brazil the SE is not required, according to the Brazilian National Curriculum Standards. In addition, a statistical analysis of the questionnaires shows significant differences between the two countries regarding the variables: legitimacy, impediments, content to be covered, modality of SE and effects of SE for students. The discourse analysis, which is in process, contemplates the phases of action and evaluation. From the analyzed data, Theme 1 was built, which discusses the conceptions about sexuality and gender, the formation of the teachers and, from their perspective, how the school understands and approaches, as an institution, the gender and sexuality issues. As next steps, the completion of the data analysis and the discussion with the literature produced on the subject are indicated.