Not for the ‘Faint Hearted’: Engaging Young People in Researching Sexuality Education
A mixed-method approach (quantitative surveys and focus groups) was used to reflect the perspectives of this target group engaged at two government schools where many students are considered educationally and/or socially disadvantaged. This paper reports on the five most important considerations required to engage young people with research in sexuality education, as uncovered through the experiences of four early career researchers. While passion to engage with young people is admirable, this alone is not enough to achieve success in this area.
We learnt many lessons in relation to (1) the recruitment processes; (2) navigating ethics; (3) the role of the facilitator in focus groups; (4) the need to narrow down your focus to increase the potential to make meaningful changes and (5) the importance of engaging with students in the design of the research. It would be our hope that others could benefit from these lessons learnt. Despite these challenges, the wealth and depth of information provided by young people themselves should never be underestimated.
