Supporting the development of sexuality in early childhood: The rationales and barriers to sexuality education in early learning settings

Abstract

Learning about sexuality is an important part of development in early childhood but is not formally considered in early learning settings. This makes sexuality education for young children both rare and inconsistent across early learning settings. The purpose of this paper is to provide a unique contribution and inform the state of sexuality education in early learning settings in Canada, which is currently an understudied area. We describe the Canadian context of sexuality education in early learning settings and examine its presence in provincial and territorial early learning frameworks. We advocate for the inclusion of sexuality education in early learning settings because it can support children’s development and construction of sexuality, is a critical factor in providing children with personal safety skills and a part of child sexual abuse prevention work, and also sets the foundation for equity and social justice in teaching children about diversity as a norm. We discuss the barriers which act to exclude sexuality education in early learning settings including a lack of curriculum and policy to guide early learning professionals in addressing and supporting this domain, fear of parent reactions, and theoretical constructions of childhood innocence. We conclude with practice and policy recommendations to move the field forward.

Sexuality education and early childhood educators in Ontario, Canada: A Foucauldian exploration of constraints and possibilities

“…Although investigation of the benefits and possibilities of implementing sexuality education curricula within ECEC has begun (Balter et al, 2016(Balter et al, , 2018(Balter et al, , 2021Martin and Bobier, 2017;, discussions of gender diversity and sexuality in Ontario are limited and constrained by a lack of curricular guidance (Balter et al, 2016(Balter et al, , 2018(Balter et al, , 2021Davies, 2021) and predominately developmental frameworks (Balter et al, 2021;Davies, 2021;Malins, 2017). As such, children are commonly denied access to important information regarding their sexuality, impacting their ability to understand their bodies and boundaries, issues of public and private, consent and sexualized media, as well as non-heterosexual relationships and love (Balter et al, 2021;Davies, 2021;Robinson, 2013). Early childhood educators feel constrained, in part by parental surveillance, when wishing to discuss sexuality or gender diversity, as these topics are considered inappropriate for these settings and outside of the realm of child development (Balter et al, 2016(Balter et al, , 2018(Balter et al, , 2021Davies, 2021;.…”

“…The gender binary is pedagogically enshrined through early childhood educators' approaches to teaching, what is discussed openly with children and families, and what is not discussed, or the hidden curriculum (Jackson, 1968) of ECEC (see also Balter et al, 2018;Davies, 2021;Martin and Bobier, 2017). The lack of open conversations around gender diversity and an explicit curriculum regarding gender and sexual diversity can lead early childhood educators to unknowingly reinforce the gender binary, cisnormative beliefs, and presumptions regarding children's development and interests (Balter et al, 2018(Balter et al, , 2021Davies, 2021;, as seen in the participants' referencing of the gender binary and cissexist ideas of anatomy (cited and described in Balter et al, 2018). Malins (2017) connects notions of DAP with the gender binary in her critical discourse analysis of Ontario's ECEC curricula.…”

“…Such notions pathologize gender diversity in childhood, 'Other' transgender and gender-non-conforming children, and also reinforce ideas of childhood innocence that position gender normativity as ideal (Malins, 2017). Governing frameworks and guidelines assisting educators with using gender-inclusive language through explicit guidelines and expectations for incorporating gender and sexuality into early years pedagogies can assist educators in deconstructing how their own biases might emerge when trying to discuss bodily development with young children (Balter et al, 2016(Balter et al, , 2018(Balter et al, , 2021.…”

“…(Robinson, 2005a: 176 ) The implications of this study are considered and recommendations for practice and future research are made within the spirit of social justice work. We highlight the need to increase sexuality education training for early childhood educators, expanding content to include and challenge the concepts of childhood innocence and DAP, which maintain heteronormativity and cisnormativity (Balter et al, 2021;Malins, 2017).…”

“…Accordingly, early childhood educators' professional practices are regulated when addressing gender and sexual diversity, with associated risks (Robinson, 2005a) for educators openly addressing gender and sexuality. This article articulates areas of future work needed in the ECEC field and the constraints that educators encounter or fear when directly addressing gender and sexuality in their professional practices (see also Balter et al, 2018Balter et al, , 2021Davies, 2021).…”