Journal of Education & Social Policy

Student-Centered Pedagogy in the Chinese Classroom: Let’s Talk About Sexual Empowerment
Kay Siebler, Ph.D.

Abstract
This paper looks at the politics of teaching sexuality education, healthy and comprehensive focusing on issues specific to female sexuality, in the context of a Chinese university ELL classroom. Through feminist pedagogical approaches and feminist beliefs in healthy sexuality, this article explores how a university ELL classroom was transformed. As with their U.S. peers, many Chinese young people rely on unhealthy and inaccurate information about human sexuality through pornography or dubious internet searches. Through feminist pedagogical approaches that focus on student-centered learning, critical thinking, and open debate, teachers can integrate controversial topics into a classroom setting to benefit the health and well-being of their students. Because my students did not perceive discussing sexuality as a U.S. cultural taboo, as an American teacher and “out” feminist, I was able to integrate lessons on sexuality into my Chinese classroom. However, first I had to lay the groundwork to establish a student-centered community where debate and discussion were central to the work of the course.

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