Programs and textbooks for secondary schools cover LGBT topics sparingly, the Center for Civic Education (CGO) announced today.
In the press release of that non-governmental organization (NGO), it is stated that within the project "LGBTIQ - everyone is a letter" organized by the CGE with the financial support of the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights, research findings on the representation of LGBT topics in current school topics were presented.
As stated in the CGE announcement, the research of school programs and textbooks for high schools and vocational schools was carried out from November 1, 2020 to January 25, 2021 by six CGE researchers, and a total of 18 subjects for secondary schools were analyzed, i.e. 24 textbooks in which it was expected to find LGBTIQ terms.
"The search itself basically had 118 key words and phrases related to LGBTIQ topics. Also, places were identified in school programs and textbooks in which there was space to process LGBTIQ issues, but where this processing was missing," she said. is Maja Marinović, program associate at CGO.
The research showed that by far the most content about LGBTIQ people and the rights of this group was found in the Healthy Lifestyles course.
"This textbook dealt with the LGBTIQ topic in a satisfactory way, pointing out differences, but also emphasizing the importance of accepting the other and the different. Unfortunately, its influence is limited, because it is an election program," said Željka Ćetković, coordinator of the Active Citizenship program at the CGO - in.
The announcement states that within the Individual in a Group subject, which is a supplement to the matriculation standard for the Psychology subject in Grades III and IV, there is no direct mention of LGBTIQ persons, but it is envisaged to learn about the causes of prejudice and stereotypes and understand their negative impact.
From the CGE, they believe that this subject, in addition to Healthy Lifestyles, has the most opportunities to deal with LGBTIQ topics, especially because most of the problems for LGBTIQ people stem from, as they say, "the fact that most do not accept them as individuals who are equal and equal to everyone".
At the press conference, it was announced that within the Montenegrin-Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian language and literature subjects, there is no mention of LGBTIQ topics in the school curriculum, and it is minimally mentioned in the textbooks for all four grades of high school and for two grades of vocational schools.
"Admittedly, some of the writers and writers who were covered in these textbooks were either openly or assumedly homosexual and bisexual persons, although this is not stated in their biographies in these textbooks," Ćetković said.
The CGE said that in this regard, it is recommended to include in the textbooks of all classes in which this subject is taught at least one work that deals with or mentions LGBTIQ persons as protagonists or other characters.
As announced at the conference, the school curriculum for the Ethics subject for the 4th grade of high school does not mention LGBTIQ issues, and they are not covered in the accompanying textbook either.
"Sex, age, race, nationality and financial status are mentioned in the treatment of types of discrimination and grounds for discrimination, so it would be good to mention discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at least within that lesson," Ćetković pointed out.
They also pointed to the fact that the school curriculum for the Sociology of Culture subject does not contain concepts related to LGBTIQ persons. They said that homosexuality is mentioned once through the processing of activities that can be considered deviant in society and completely normal in others, so it was stated that homosexuality in Great Britain used to be a criminal offense.
"During that lesson, it would be good to correct the statement from the textbook and clarify to the students that not only is homosexuality permitted by law, but the rights of homosexuals and other LGBTIQ persons are protected and their equality with other citizens is prescribed with an explicit prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity ", emphasized Ćetković.
Although there is no mention of LGBTIQ persons in the optional school program for European integration, the CGE says that the textbook for this subject mentions concepts related to LGBTIQ persons several times, primarily in the context of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Then, in the treatment of gender equality, the equality of women, men and persons of different gender identities is mentioned. In the Protection of Minority Rights section, the problem of homophobia is specifically mentioned, which is well described.
As part of the school program for the subject Psychology for the 2nd grade of high school, in the section Personality and mental health, they said that it is predicted that students should know what identity is, distinguish between different identities (personal, professional, sexual...)
"Although the textbook for this course defines personal identity, it does not deal with different identities as stated in the program, that is, sexual identity is not mentioned at all. Therefore, the recommendation for this course is to find different identities within the textbook and the lesson. and aspects of identity, especially sexual and gender identity," explained Željka Ćetković.
"Also, it would be good to mention the expectation from part of society that LGBTIQ people renounce their homosexual or transgender identity in order to be accepted in society, which mainly causes auto-homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, and consequently cases of discrimination and violence, which ultimately leads to disrupting the psychological state of LGBTIQ persons themselves," she states.
The school curriculum for Psychology for three-year secondary vocational schools does not mention LGBTIQ persons, nor does the accompanying textbook, although in section 2. Biological basis of psychological life it is briefly stated that the path of sexual development and sexual orientation is not the same for everyone and that these are topics that cause conflicting opinions. people's attitudes, said CGO.
Sociology school program for the 4th grade of high school within Topic 3.3. Socialization, hominization, free time and leisure as one of the activities foresees that students do research and presentation on the topic of the right to diversity: sexual orientation. However, as they state in the announcement, the textbook does not contain mentions of LGBTIQ persons, although there was space for it.
"There is no mention of LGBTIQ persons in a number of school programs and textbooks. This refers to Logic for the III and IV grades of high school, Biochemistry for the IV grade of high school, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Philosophy for the IV grade of high school and Business Communication for the I grade of secondary vocational schools" , said Ćetković.
The goal of this project, as they stated, is to contribute to the improvement of the position of LGBTIQ people in Montenegrin society, to reduce the harmful consequences of discrimination and violence against LGBTI people, as well as to stimulate the education system and its positioning as one of the barriers to discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ people.
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