Sex Education Programmes for Students with Severe Learning Difficulties in Further Education and the Problem of Evaluation

This paper is based on a qualitative study of the evaluation of sex education programmes for young people with severe learning difficulties. In an area so fraught with dilemmas and controversies, any such research will be problematic and tentative. The approach to evaluation described here is one which attempts to realise the right of people with learning difficulties to make informed choices. The course aims both to provide students with information which has traditionally been denied to them and to promote greater self-confidence. The evaluation methodology which has been developed embodies principles which seek to empower young people with learning difficulties. The questions which arise reach not only into the lives, feelings and values of individuals, but also confront the oppression of people with learning difficulties in our society.