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Student Research Groups

Sex education – Was ein*e Psycholog*in über Sex wissen sollte

The research duo of Laura Gimmel and Lorenzo Scarpitti see a goal in the development of an introductory course in sexology for undergraduate university students of all faculties. Wider, the project should show the necessity of the inclusion of sexuality education in the curriculum of universities and give practical guidelines to do so.

RESEARCH

A survey was carried out to determine the actual spread of sexology related topics in the curriculum of universities in Germany, the students (N = 199) perception of the professional use of an introduction into sexology and their actual willingness to participate in such a course.

Building on previous research, we have created a curriculum that focuses on a wide range of areas regarding sexology. Based on this curriculum, we developed the 3-cfu course Multidisciplinary Introduction to Sexology and offered it for 35 students during the summer semester of 2020 at the Faculty of Education, University of Hamburg, Germany. The course was conducted weekly using a hybrid-online model. Theoretical input (10 h) was provided through weekly input videos, followed by practical student participation (20 h) in the form of discussions.

Subjective knowledge tests were built upon formulated learning goals for each area. Furthermore, a qualitative reflection of students in the form of learning diaries was used to tailor the curriculum to the needs of the students.

Only about 5% of the surveyed students reported to had sexology-related topics in their studies. Nearly 74% saw potential for their professional carrier in an introductory course in sexology and 80% stated that they would participate such a course, if given at their university.

 

CURRICULUM

 

In the Curriculum, a variety of areas related to sexuality are addressed through a biopsychosocial approach, covering topics such as sexuality development, sexual education, cultural/social influences, and psychology of sexuality.

 

The content launches and the discussion parts based on them are designed to give students from different backgrounds a fair chance to participate. The course intends to encourage the participants to question their perspectives on the most diverse areas of sexuality and to create awareness for the wide variety of topics. Modern perspectives are discussed to raise awareness of prejudices, taboos, and stigmatizations.

 

By regularly attending the course, students are gaining basic and up-to-date information on various dimensions of sexuality. The acquired knowledge may be used in their professional field to deal more consciously and confidently with sexuality, particularly in psychology, education sciences, sociology, medicine, social workers, gender studies, but also in other academically and professional fields.

 

FUTURE

The curriculum was used again for a similar workshop, in cooperation with the Zentrum Gender Diversity. Results were presented at scientific congresses (ESSM and EFS). We are looking forward to create further events and workshops about sexology.

 

CONTACT

For more information, an overview of all modules of the curriculum, as well as for collaborations, please write us a mail.(gimmel.scarpitti"AT"posteo.net)

 

 

 

Studentische Forschungsgruppe

  • Laura Gimmel
  • Lorenzo Scarpitti

Mentorin

  • Dipl. Psychologin Catrin Grobbin