Closing Thoughts and Future Directions

Abstract

To better understand the idea of the ‘gap’ phenomenon this study has explored young people’s (hetero)sexual knowledge, subjectivities and practices. This investigation was motivated by a desire to improve sexuality education’s capacity to enable young people to experience their sexuality in more positive and empowering ways. In this chapter I summarise some of the main research findings and assess their implications for better ways of conceptualising the design and delivery of sexuality education. It is not my intention to be prescriptive here, but rather to open spaces for other ways of thinking about the aims and possibilities offered by these programmes. The last section of this chapter considers some of the questions left unanswered by the research and points to possible areas for future exploration.