The new government's plan to remove sexuality and relationship guidelines from schools, introduced in 2020, is facing push back from some educators.
The agreement between National and New Zealand First included refocusing "the curriculum, on academic achievement and not ideology, including the removal and replacement of the gender, sexuality, and relationship-based education guidelines".
Speaking to Breakfast, Education Professor at University of Auckland Katie Fitzpatrick said the removal would be an "attack on young people".
"Because it’s young people that have been asking for meaningful consent, sexuality and relationship education in successive petitions to our Parliament since 2017," she said.
"I think young people are worried about this, they want to understand what it might mean, and they’re concerned that perhaps sexuality education in schools might be removed, the word removal is certainly a concern."
It's worrying those in the sex education sector, who are describing the move as "odd" and "sad". (Source: 1News)
Fitzpatrick was a lead writer on the document that formed the guide for principals, boards of trustees, teachers and parents on sexuality education in 2015, and said parents would want a mix of both at school and in-home sexuality education.
“They want young people to be engaging with learning about gender, relationships and sexuality in school as well as all of the teaching and everyday stuff they do with their young people at home."
In a statement to 1News, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said it's a parents right to know what their child is being taught before, not after, the event and the replacement of current guidelines is about transparency.
The guidelines were introduced in 2020 by former NZ First MP and minister Tracey Martin.
Fitzpatrick said gender is everywhere in how we live our lives and the idea of removing discussing gender from schooling altogether is "ridiculous."
"Thinking about, talking about and understanding gender is something that can’t be removed from schools, just like how it can’t be removed from everyday society.
"All curriculum has different ideologies, of course. But what that really means is that there’s different theories and different ways of approaching knowledge, ideally in schools and in the current guidelines would suggest we need to look at a range of different forms of knowledge, perspectives and topics."
She said the purpose of education is to broaden knowledge and ask questions to understand a wide variety of topics and draw on different disciplines to do so.
Cambridge Middle School Principal Daryl Gibbs said the relationships and sexuality education guidelines are there, with resources endorsed by the Ministry, but there are still "grey areas" for schools around the subject.
"If you get a small portion who push back compared to the vast majority, there's no guidance or 'magic percentage' around when you should or shouldn't stop teaching it, so it leaves a bit of grey area for principals and boards around what we should or shouldn't teach," he said.
His school has been using a resource from Family Planning to teach the relationships and sexual education curriculum for four rounds, which he said "the vast majority of our feedback from families is positive".
Gibbs said each school community has a large range of values and beliefs students' learn in their homes, and it's not the school's place to overrule or judge those held beliefs.
"I think that what is being shared is quite a large range and for some households and families that's probably very new waters to charge in terms of the conversation you have in your household," he said.
He said the more guidance and assurance the Ministry of Education could provide would help principals and boards of trustees navigate the challenges.
"However that could also come at a risk of eliminating some parts of the unit, which could alienate or isolate some sectors of our society," he said.
Gibbs said the world that children are going into has a diverse range of people and children need to be able to accept it, not be afraid of it.
Fitzpatrick echoed this idea, saying fear around gender circulates in society from a lack of understanding.
"People are concerned currently about trans issues, but the more we talk about this and open this up for discussions and understand, it’s actually better than trying to shut down the conversation," she said.
She's called the fear discourse "not very helpful."
"Sexuality is one of those topics that raises debate in society, and I think that’s actually healthy."
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