Prof Veronica McKay, Mrs Jane Sethusha, Prof Ana Raposo Torres, Ms Hellen Phajane, Dr Ellen Lenyai and Ms Maphetla Machaba
On 21 June 2012, Prof Ana Raposo Torres from Federal University of Paraiba, Jo?o Pessoa, Brazil visited the newly established Department of Early Childhood Education in the College of Education.? She shared her experiences of doing research with and teaching children on sexuality-related matters sensitively.? It was so interesting to note that Brazil faces challenges similar to South Africa, particularly with regards to the handling of the subject in the family, community and at school.? Colleagues in the Department of ECD noted the importance of teaching sexuality issues to young children, especially on thinking about sensitive ways of presenting such a topic to the young ones. Colleagues in the college audience were very interested to learn that teachers in Brazil have very similar problems to our local teachers and were happy when she offered to collaborate and share from her experiences to help the ECE team where possible.
Prof A Torres listens to a question from the audience during Q&A times after her presentation about her research on early childhood sexuality which was aimed at helping teachers deal with the topic more sensitively.
When Prof Ana Torres first began doing research into the aspect of a child?s sexual curiosity and how this fits with the responsibilities of a teacher, she began by looking at the language and vocabulary that children use to talk about their bodies, gender and sexuality. Children use popular words, not the scientific ones. She noted the challenges of soliciting sexuality related information from young children, but indicated that with patience and the help of pictures and dolls much information can be obtained. Also the researcher needs to be sensitive to the special ways in which children express themselves and act flexibly.? She carried out her second study at a public school run by Catholics (the nuns) where the religious aspect also played a crucial role. ?To my surprise I received enormous support from the nuns because some of the children were known to have experienced sexual violence and/or were living in a vulnerable situation, something that was not expected?, she said.?? Her third study was on sexuality matters amongst young children living in (heterosexual) families and schools where she included in her interviews, perspectives of 16 families living in a rural city in a poor area of Brazil.
Dr Ana?s work is driven by a desire to help teachers address issues of sexuality with younger children because they are the most vulnerable to sexual abuse, and most importantly they are sexual beings. However, as adults we tend to restrict them from expressing their sexual feelings.? She also noted that children do not hide the truth when they play.? She quoted the words of a German researcher, Walter Benjamin, as he said ?children?s play is a much more true reflection of their reality.? Adults and teachers in particular have a moral responsibility to guide children?s lives and deal with this aspect in a proper way.? She further highlighted that children in Brazil are exposed to unrealistic soap opera realities through the television programs they watch and she would also like to see Early Childhood Education (ECE) material that presents a more realistic reflection of reality which shows how people really experience the world they live in.? In conclusion, Dr Ana indicated that Early Childhood Education is also a very young discipline in Brazilian universities and remarked that it is important for teachers to read more on this topic so that they can be better informed about the reality which they work in.
Prof Carlos Torres shares his thoughts during his short presentation on Neoliberal Commonsense.
The famous Prof Carlos Torres connected to the Paulo Freire Institute, and UCLA in California,? took the floor after the presentation of his wife. He shared in brief his thinking on the topic of Neoliberal Common Sense. Prof Torres is a Professor of Social Sciences and Comparative Education and Director of the Paulo Freire Institute (UCLA), is a political sociologist of education and?has published 65 books and has written over 200 published articles.
Prof Ana Raposo Torres, Prof Veronica McKay, Prof Carlos Torres, Dr Ellen Lenyai and Dr Pinkie Mabunda
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