"A Change in Culture From It Being an Optional Extra to an Integral Part of Education"-Teacher's Experiences of Teaching Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) to Learners With Severe/Profound Intellectual Disabilities in the Republic of Ireland.
Leanne Connolly, Kathryn O'Mahony, Conor Scully
Almost half of 34 special school teachers in Ireland do not teach relationships and sexuality education to their students with severe or profound intellectual disabilities.
The main reasons are lack of training, no suitable resources, and no dedicated programme.
Key findings
1Almost half of the 34 teachers (n = 14) do not currently teach RSE to their students, citing lack of appropriate resources, no training, and being new to the setting as reasons.
290.7% of teachers (n = 29) disagreed that their teaching qualification prepared them to teach RSE to learners with severe or profound intellectual disabilities, while 87.5% agreed RSE was essential for their students.
375% of teachers disagreed they can access a range of supports for RSE, and 75.1% disagreed they have access to ongoing CPD and training, with only 9.3% agreeing on the latter.
Still to come
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The survey captured 34 teachers from 13 schools, and the authors note that caution is needed with generalisability given the small sample. 42.4% of teachers had been teaching this cohort for 1 year or less, so the sample skews toward newly qualified teachers. The response rate was 30.3% of the 112 teachers allocated to these schools, so non-responders may differ systematically. The survey was anonymous and did not collect school-level or individual identifying data, so findings cannot be linked to specific schools or contexts.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Funding was provided by the DCU Research Centre for Inclusive Pedagogy.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 87.5% who say RSE is essential as evidence that it is being delivered effectively. Almost half of the same teachers do not teach it, and 90.7% say their qualification did not prepare them. The survey captures attitudes and unmet needs, not student outcomes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →