The Graduate School of Education announced Thursday the February appointment of John H. Gagnon as visiting professor of Education to teach and coordinate a program for graduate students interested in studying the cycle of human sexual development.

Gagnon said yesterday he hopes in his two-year term at Harvard to focus on issues of sexual development including defining of sex roles, interpersonal relationships and emotional expression.

Gagnon has served since 1974 as consultant for one aspect of the Project on Human Sexual Development, an independent research project located in Cambridge which is addressing these issues.

Gagnon's program, funded by an annual $75,000 grant from John D. Rockefeller III, will allow six graduate students from different programs at the School of Education to study how people acquire their sexuality, Gagnon said.

Gagnon added that the program will pursue broader concerns about sexuality and society such as the question of whether or not fathers should be granted leaves of absence from employment after a child's birth. Paternal contact is thought by some experts to encourage sexual development in children.

Paul N. Ylsvisaker, dean of the School of Education, said yesterday he is sure Gagnon will be a powerful influence by encouraging long term interest in this area of human growth.

Gagnon is presently on leave from his academic responsibilities as professor of sociology and psychology at State University of New York, Stony Brook.

"Once you are quoted in Time Magazine, you automatically become an expert," Gagnon said. He has co-authored many books on sexual development, sexual offenders and social learning, including "Life Designs--Individuals, Marriages and Families," which will be published in the near future.