School Spaces of Dissensus: Protecting Sexualities Education in Anti-Gender, Anti-Muslim and De-Democratising Times
Saved in:
| Title: | School Spaces of Dissensus: Protecting Sexualities Education in Anti-Gender, Anti-Muslim and De-Democratising Times |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | James Sutton (ORCID |
| Source: | Curriculum Journal. 2026 37(1):107-123. |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Descriptors: | Sex Education, Gender Bias, Muslims, Politics of Education, Inclusion, Political Attitudes, Conflict, Democracy, Foreign Countries |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom (Birmingham) |
| DOI: | 10.1002/curj.334 |
| ISSN: | 0958-5176 1469-3704 |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the intensified conflict over sexualities education curricula brought about by anti-(trans)gender and anti-Muslim policy and political discourse transnationally. Backlash against inclusive sexualities education has taken shape across several policy territories, driven in part by de-democratising right-wing populist governments advancing the neoliberal neglect of public education. At the same time, the Islamophobic underpinnings of certain 'inclusive' sexuality education policies have been problematised by anti-racist scholars and communities transnationally. The concept of agonistic pluralism has been used to highlight the inevitability and potential productivity of conflict in diverse school contexts, and to address the limits of a liberal pluralist approach to democratic school relations. Yet there has been little direct empirical analysis of how agonistic pluralism can be used to think through local views on sexualities education, and to support school communities in such de-democratising times. This paper presents such an analysis, using a deconstructive approach to interviews with parents and staff at a state school in working class, majority Muslim area of Birmingham, UK. Through analysis of extended interview extracts, we illustrate the bind that participants face by the convergence of anti-gender and anti-Muslim discourses, amidst ongoing crises facing public services. We present some key guiding questions around protecting public sexualities education in these times that engages diverse youth needs, and moves past 'civilising' curriculum orientations. Schools and educators can consider the potential to engage in dialogue with communities in which dissensus is anticipated and accepted, and which allows the Other to live. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1493599 |
| Database: | ERIC |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | This paper examines the intensified conflict over sexualities education curricula brought about by anti-(trans)gender and anti-Muslim policy and political discourse transnationally. Backlash against inclusive sexualities education has taken shape across several policy territories, driven in part by de-democratising right-wing populist governments advancing the neoliberal neglect of public education. At the same time, the Islamophobic underpinnings of certain 'inclusive' sexuality education policies have been problematised by anti-racist scholars and communities transnationally. The concept of agonistic pluralism has been used to highlight the inevitability and potential productivity of conflict in diverse school contexts, and to address the limits of a liberal pluralist approach to democratic school relations. Yet there has been little direct empirical analysis of how agonistic pluralism can be used to think through local views on sexualities education, and to support school communities in such de-democratising times. This paper presents such an analysis, using a deconstructive approach to interviews with parents and staff at a state school in working class, majority Muslim area of Birmingham, UK. Through analysis of extended interview extracts, we illustrate the bind that participants face by the convergence of anti-gender and anti-Muslim discourses, amidst ongoing crises facing public services. We present some key guiding questions around protecting public sexualities education in these times that engages diverse youth needs, and moves past 'civilising' curriculum orientations. Schools and educators can consider the potential to engage in dialogue with communities in which dissensus is anticipated and accepted, and which allows the Other to live. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0958-5176 1469-3704 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/curj.334 |
