Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) should be delivered systematically from the primary school level, as schools provide an important environment to ensure that all children receive equal and developmentally appropriate information. However, CSE in Japanese primary schools cannot be described as inclusive. This study explores CSE content and its appropriate grade placement in Japanese primary schools, based on active teachers’ evaluations. A card-sorting method was used to categorize CSE content by grade level, and interviews were conducted to provide qualitative justification for the classification rationale. The results indicate that most cards were classifiable into the grades. Some cards were classified as Grades 5 and 6 by all the teachers. Grade 4 had the highest number of cards in each grade grouping, with 28 cards, including ‘body image’ and ‘sexual organs’. The main cards selected by the teachers were different across all six grades, from first grade through sixth grade. The teachers’ ideas about placement were divided into six categories, including physical aspects, and relationship with other subjects. The views of experienced teachers familiar with the complex issues involved in CSE can provide insights and suggestions for improvements to the current sexuality education curriculum for Japanese primary school children.
Ohkawa et al. (Tue,) studied this question.