Beyond 'Good Catholic Girls': Exploring the Role of Statutory RSE in Young Women's Constructions of Sexual Agency in Catholic Schools

This research examines the impact of new statutory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) policy within Catholic on the lives and experiences of young women. The 21st century has seen exponential change in the socio-political positioning of young women. Sex education is increasingly recognised as an essential component of policy initiatives designed to uphold the health, wellbeing and prosperity of young women globally. From September 2020, faith schools in England will, for the first time, be mandated to provide statutory RSE to all secondary level pupils. However, at a time where conservative religious groups, including the Catholic Church, have expressed opposition to the introduction of 'progressive' sex education models, the ability of Catholic schools in England to meet these overarching RSE policy aims becomes a timely empirical question.

This work bridges appraisal of the implementation of new statutory RSE measures within Catholic schools with critical analysis of the construction and understanding of girlhood within broader sex education policy discourse. Sex Education policy in England has levied significant sociological criticism, particularly from feminist scholars who suggest that sex education can uphold harmful norms of gender, class and race. As such, the introduction of statutory RSE within faith schools sees the socio-economic positioning of secular RSE intersected with theological perspectives on sexuality. Sex education can offer a significant form of support as they navigate these discourses, allowing them to make safe, informed and active sexual choices. However, the impact of current and developing RSE policy content within English Catholic schools on young women's lives remains unknown. By developing a policy analysis of statutory RSE that centralises the voices of young women, my work provides a timely assessment as to the lived impact of contemporary Catholic sex education.

This research furthers feminist empirical work surrounding adolescent women, sexuality and identity. This work is bolstered by an interpretative, feminist methodology , employing an 'activist research' stance that emboldens marginalised voices and adopts a reflexive researcher position (Fine, 1992). Data will be collected from a study of 25 young women educated in Catholic secondary schools in the West Midlands. The sample will be collated across five schools of varying socio-economic and performance indicators. I aim to build on networks with teachers established during my MRes research to negotiate access to schools. Socio-economic and faith identities play a crucial role in young people's engagement with sexual narratives, therefore ensuring a diverse sample across these axes is essential to a full investigation of the impact of RSE. The experiences of gender-oppression can often require in-depth methods of data collection (Marshall, 1999). Thus, I will employ a combination of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with the participants in order to develop a nuanced view of both individual and collective relationships to sexuality. I will use the listening guide method of analysis (Tolman, 2002) which identifies different 'voices' participants may use when discussing issues such as sexuality, supported by Nvivo software to develop thematic coding of young women's experiences and perceptions.

Overall, this work advocates for an intersectional and critical reframing of girlhood within RSE policy development and implementation. By employing a critical theoretical lens, this work envisages a model of sex education that actively seeks to improve the material conditions of young women.