Introduction: To place greater emphasis on the study of core subjects and the cultural aspects of competencies, the Quebec education reform has removed "less important subjects" from the curriculum, including the Personal and Social Development course responsible for most sexual education before the reform. To fill the vacuum in this area, organizations in the two fields concerned (education and health) mobilized to strengthen partnerships as a possible means of ensuring the continuity of sexual education. The school teams at the center of the partnerships find themselves in a complex situation subject to numerous constraints. First, they must familiarize themselves with and implement the new curriculums that neglect topics related to sexual education. However, they must also take into consideration cross-sectoral (education/health) agreements which promote implementation of new sexual education practices. They are incited to reinforce their partnerships with health sector actors, and coordinate the prescribed tasks in their respective mandates. Finally, they must negotiate sexual education with local school board authorities who may have divergent views of its importance and at the same time they must also take into consideration the traditions, socioeconomic and cultural conditions proper to their own schools. Objectives and theoretical framework: Our research examines the opportunities and limitations of partnerships between members of the school team on the one hand and actors in the education and health sectors, on the other, in this particular context. Focusing on one element of this issue, the aim of this presentation is discuss the dynamics and interactions between the different dimensions (individual, organizational, inter-organizational and sociopolitical), that influence sexual education partnerships. Our research is based on theoretical perspectives centered on the actors involved in complex systems (Crosier, M. Friedberg, E. 1977), the negotiation strategies these actors adopt based on the particular conditions they experience (Strauss, A. 1992), and the decisions they take in the multi-rationality and uncertainty that characterize these systems (Sfez, L. 1984). We also take into account the literature on the particular forms of partnership that such complex systems can produce in education- and health-related organizations (Mérini, C. 1994, 1995).

Methods: To better understand the multi-rationality of the sexual education partnerships practices implemented, a qualitative and, more specifically, multiple case study approach was chosen. One case represents one school and its environment. In total, ten cases (10-12 actors each) were examined. Collection and data analysis techniques used included documentary analysis, questionnaire survey, direct observation and semi-directed interview.

Results: Analysis of 75 interviews conducted with school team members suggests that sexual education partnerships which existed before the education reform undergo important transformations. We observe the beginning of a restructuration of the forms of partnership, the emergence of new alliances, changes in the positions and roles of actors, the adoption of new partnership strategies, and in certain schools, even the birth of new sexual education leadership. Many highly synergistic dimensions seem to contribute to these transformations. Analysis of the interactions between these dimensions suggests that in spite of the normative effect governmental and local policies, it is in the specific school context that the different forms of partnership are formed, evolve and make sense. It is the representations and practices embedded in the school’s reality that provide the basis for innovation in partnerships.