‘I Don't Know if There's a Culture of Understanding Those Words Yet’: Exploring How Sexting Is Understood Using Participatory Research Methods With International School Students and Educators

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a participatory research project with students and educators examining how sexting is framed in their school's policies and practices. The study was conducted in an International Baccalaureate (IB) secondary school in the Netherlands, where intercultural diversity and the absence of statutory CSE requirements shape how digitally mediated sexual practices are understood. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, and informed by post structural theory, the findings suggest that students and educators alike perceive sexting to be a typical feature of young people's sexual practices, and do not support abstinence-based approaches. However, there were notable points of contention, particularly in how non-consensual sexting is discursively constructed. Moreover, participants indicated that their school's sexting policies may be unevenly communicated and insufficiently responsive to the needs of a heterogeneous school community. The study argues for whole-school approaches that integrate student and educator perspectives, attend to gendered power dynamics and move beyond punitive framings to support safe, rights-based digital sexual-citizenship.