Purity or perversion? from taboo to fact: kindergarten teachers’ reflections on age-normal sexuality

The study aims to provide an overview of kindergarten employees’ experiences in terms of working with the sexual development of young children. The study explores how kindergarten teachers reflect on children’s sexuality and sexual exploration in everyday kindergarten routines. The research questions are: How do kindergarten teachers relate to children’s sexuality and sexual exploration, and what type of reflections arise among kindergarten teachers in discussions about children’s sexuality and sexual exploration?

The study finds that kindergarten teachers largely associate children’s sexuality with negative emotions and expressions, and that the topic is characterised by taboo and fear of stigmatisation. The kindergarten teachers express a need for more knowledge, openness and discussion about children’s sexuality in kindergarten, and they call for clearer guidelines and support from management.

The sample in this study consists of 18 kindergarten teachers from four different kindergartens in Norway. The kindergarten teachers had between 1.5 and 21 years of professional experience. The study uses focus group interviews as a method. Four semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted, where informants were encouraged to reflect freely on the topic of children’s sexuality.

Lehn, E. W., Chahboun, S., & Page, A. G. (2023). Purity or perversion? from taboo to fact: kindergarten teachers’ reflections on age-normal sexuality. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1212456.