This research responds to significant issues related to the problematic nature of sexuality in Australian society. The proposed phenomenological study will provide insights into how higher education students extend their understanding of sexuality. It emerges from the considerable body of anecdotal evidence that has been gathered over thirty years in the award winning1 sexuality education program at Curtin University.
The research provides unique insights into sexuality education in an adult learning environment, using ethnographic methods to reveal ways in which undergraduate students perceive and interpret new knowledge acquired from formal studies in sexology. The study will also illuminate how the content and learning strategies influence participant perceptions of their own sexuality. The rich body of information emerging from this study will provide much needed information about the processes and learning outcomes for students at this level, making a significant contribution to an important issue that has thus far received scant attention in the literature on sexuality education at tertiary level.
1 In 2007 the Sexology Program team at Curtin University received the Award for Innovation and Excellence in Sexuality Education from the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS).
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: None disclosed
Recorded at 19th WAS World Congress for Sexual Health - Sexual Health & Rights: A Global Challenge Göteborg (Sweden) - June 21 – 25, 2009
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