Sexuality education in Poland and in educational systems in selected countries – model solutions and international initiatives

The article is aimed at the analysis of literature, international documents, legal regulations and research reports on the implementation of formal sexuality education in selected countries. There are many contradictions among researchers about the definition of sexuality education, its scope, the age from which it should be taught and learnt, people who should be its providers, its content and forms. These discrepancies are also present in the public sphere, where two strongly polarized discourses (the conservative and liberal) exist. National policies regarding sexuality education vary in the European Union. In some countries sexuality education has the status of a compulsory subject, is regulated by relevant acts, similarly to teachers training for this subject. In others, sexuality education curricula lack solid legal and theoretical basis. The analysis of selected documents and acts shows that the most effective type is the holistic sexuality education, which being part of the cultural sensitivity approach, addresses the development of knowledge and skills of education recipients, as well as the elaboration of appropriate attitudes towards positive sexuality and sexual and reproductive health. The existing research indicates also that the availability of data on sexuality education should be improved and further analysis is needed to enable better assessment of the situation, to ensure the evidence-based policy creation and strengthen the best identification practices.