Research project Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) promotes health and well-being, respect for human rights and gender equality. Integration of CSE in schools in Zambia, just like in many other low and middle-income countries (LMIC s) has not been optimal.
Research that explores how such integration shapes sexuality decisions among adolescents is very scarce if not absent. Further few studies take a gender lens to evaluate mechanisms shaping integration of the programmes. This community based participatory research driven realist evaluation project aims to ascertain: why, how, and under what conditions the integration of sexuality education into the schools will lead (or not) to improved knowledge and capacity to make positive sexuality decisions among adolescents, including more equal gender relations.
We will adopt at step-wise approach to the realist evaluation and embed it in participatory research phases to 1) map and analyse challenges towards integration 2) develop an initial program theory that proposes an explanation of how the integration of a sexuality education into the school setting can promote positive sexuality decisions among adolescents, 3) test the programme theory through multiple-case studies applying a quantitative
survey, photovoice elicitation, observations as well as qualitative interviews and 4) finally propose a refined programme theory and set of recommendations which will provide useful lessons to guide integration processes
and actions.
