Islam and Sex Education in The Netherlands: Reflection on an Example of Teaching Material for Islamic Primary Schools

K. H. ter Avest*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    This contribution is situated in the discussion on sex education in the Netherlands, in relation to “Islamic Pedagogy,” in particular “Islam and Pedagogy,” on the one side, and (religious) identity development on the other side. Islamic Pedagogy seems to be the theoretical framework of an example of developed teaching materials for sex education designed for Islamic primary schools in the Netherlands. Sex education is a compulsory yet sensitive subject in Dutch primary schools, usually included in the subject of Citizenship Education; in Islamic primary schools, it is included in the subject of Islamic Religious Education. After a short introduction to the Dutch education system, including the compulsory nature of sex education as a subject, this contribution offers a description of an example of developed teaching material, followed by a reflection from the point of view of pupils’ (religious) identity development as future citizens of Dutch pluralist society. For future teachers who are responsible for sex education, reflection is recommended—on their cognitive and affective relational positioning regarding Islam and concerning sex education. It is expected that deep reflection will stimulate the development of normative professionalism of sex educators in Dutch Islamic primary education.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)479-492
    Number of pages14
    JournalReligious Education
    Volume116
    Issue number5
    Early online date30 Nov 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2021 The Religious Education Association.

    Keywords

    • critical Islamic religious education
    • dialogical self
    • identity development
    • interdisciplinarity
    • normative professionalization
    • Sex education

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