The quality and scope of sex education vary greatly, even if it is defined as the new curriculum, that was introduced in 2020. However, the preliminary mapping of current sex education in schools indicates that little has changed.

We have interviewed teachers currently working in schools to hear their perspectives on the needs for sex education, how sex education is practiced today, to what extent the new curriculum has affected practice, and what they believe are necessary measures to ensure that all students receive good, comprehensive sexuality education in schools.

We have interviewed ten teachers and collected partially quantitative and partially qualitative data through a questionnaire, with 42 teachers responding. The findings indicate that teachers believe the need for sex education is great and not sufficiently followed up in practice. Teachers feel the new curriculum has changed practice to a small extent. Teachers desire more competence, both in teacher education programs and among colleagues, and more support from school leadership and educational authorities.
Main finding
-Students’ needs for comprehensive sex education are significant.
-Teachers want access to relevant and updated teaching resources for use in sex education.
-New curricula allow for more sex education, but the descriptions are too vague to be particularly binding.
-There is too little interdisciplinary collaboration in schools, especially regarding sex education.
-Teachers have had little about gender and sexuality in their own education and believe the topic is important in teacher education programs.
-School-based sex education should become more systematic.
-School leadership and educational authorities should better facilitate and set clearer requirements for school-based sexuality education.
The role of school leadership and professional communities among teachers are highlighted as important success factors for systematic, comprehensive sexuality education.
Save the children norways recommendation:
All teacher education programs must ensure that student teachers receive sufficient competence in comprehensive sex education.
School leadership must be clear, set clear requirements that all students receive comprehensive sexuality education, and ensure time for collaboration and that necessary resources are available.
Educational authorities must be clear, set clear requirements that all students receive comprehensive sex education, and assist with resources for both pedagogical development work and updated, relevant learning resources for teaching about gender and sexuality.