PhD student in Gender Studies (2022-present) and scholarship holder through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies (CIEG), working under the supervision of Dr. Maria João Cunha. Completed her master’s degree in Family and Gender (2018-2021) from Lisbon University’s School of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP-UL), with the thesis titled “Sexuality Education in High School: The Case Study of LC Highschool”.
Research Interests: School-based Sexuality Education; Sexuality communication in family context; Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis; Contemporary anti-gender movements.
Title: “Parental Perceptions on Sexuality Education: Discourses and gender constructs”
Main goal: Understanding the parental perceptions on the intersections between gender and Sexuality Education (school-based and in the family context)
Summary: This research emerges in the context of the rising mobilization of public and political discourses by the anti-gender movements, in regard to school-based sexuality and gender education. Although possible parental backlash is one of the obstacles mentioned by teachers to the implementation of school-based Sexuality Education (Balter et al., 2016; Johnson et al., 2014), studies have concluded over the last decade that families are very receptive to this implementation (Carvalho et al., 2019; Kantor & Levitz, 2017; McKay et al., 2014). However, the existing literature on the subject does not contribute to problematizing the role that hierarchical gender relations play in shaping these parental perceptions, as well as their effects on the development of Sexuality Education programmes.
The proposed research will follow a mixed methods approach, specifically the explanatory sequential design (Creswell & Clark, 2017). Firstly, through online questionnaires, following a statistical data analysis. Secondly, through focus groups and subsequent Critical and Feminist Discourse Analysis. This methodology aims to analyze how parental experiences, perceptions and discourses on Sexuality Education intersect with hierarchical gender relations, according to R. Connell's relational and multidimensional model (Connell & Pearse, 2015).
Publications and communications:
- Oliveira, M. (2021) A Educação para a Sexualidade no Ensino Secundário: Estudo de Caso da Escola Secundária LC [Master’s thesis, ISCSP]. Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa https://www.repository.utl.pt/handle/10400.5/21565
- Oliveira, M. (2024, 2 de fevereiro) “Encher a cabeça das crianças de sexo": A Educação para a Sexualidade nos Discursos Públicos dos Artigos de Opinião [Paper presentation]. III Congresso Internacional do CIEG, Lisboa, Portugal.
Links and contacts
https://www.cienciavitae.pt//pt/4F10-6E45-DC3A
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0390-6217
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