Conference Program

Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) promoted by UNESCO (2018) has emerged as one of the main international frameworks guiding the design of sexuality education (SE) interventions. Within this approach, SE is conceived as a formative process aimed at promoting knowledge, skills, and respectful relationships that support both individual and collective well-being. However, despite the growing diffusion of this paradigm, the meaning attributed to the term comprehensive remains the subject of significant interpretative debate (Miedema et al., 2020). This ambiguity is particularly evident in the Italian context where, unlike in most European countries, there are no national guidelines for the systematic implementation of SE in schools (WHO & BZgA, 2010). In the absence of a unified institutional framework, many interventions are promoted by third sector organizations or developed through local projects, contributing to the appearance of an educational landscape characterized by considerable heterogeneity in terms of approaches, contents, and objectives (Chinelli et al., 2022).
Starting from these premises, this paper presents an exploratory analysis, currently in progress, aimed at developing a taxonomy of SE approaches in the Italian context. The research takes as an initial reference the theoretical framework proposed by Jones (2015), according to which sexuality education practices can be interpreted through different paradigms (conservative, liberal, critical, and postmodern) used here as a preliminary analytical framework. The study pursues two main objectives: to examine how the concept of CSE is interpreted and translated into educational practices, and to explore how sexual knowledge is defined, selected, and transmitted within school-based educational interventions.
The study adopts a qualitative approach and is based on semi-structured interviews (Lumino & Vatrella, 2012) conducted with coordinators of educational projects implemented by third sector organizations involved in SE programs in Italian schools. Organizations were selected through purposive sampling (Amaturo et al., 2012), identifying institutions that explicitly declare their adherence to CSE principles in the design of their educational activities.
Preliminary findings reveal significant heterogeneity not only in the ways SE is conceptualized, but also in the interpretation of the concept of comprehensive and in the strategies used to translate international guidelines into educational practice. Although all interviewed organizations claim to be inspired by the CSE framework, the analysis of interviews shows that this reference does not produce a uniform set of interventions. Instead, different approaches to selecting and transmitting sexual knowledge emerge. In particular, the interviews suggest the presence of several recurring configurations: A) interventions mainly focused on biomedical knowledge of the body and on a romantic and heteronormative representation of relationships; B) approaches centered on the emotional dimension and individual empowerment; C) programs characterized by a strong communicative and media-oriented dimension, often associated with the involvement of private actors; D) initiatives that combine individual well-being with a critical perspective on gender inequalities and the power relations that shape sexuality.
These preliminary findings suggest that SE in Italy constitutes a heterogeneous field of practices and interpretations, in which the reference to CSE appears to function more as a general framework of legitimation than as a unified educational model.