Building LGBTQ awareness and allies in our teacher education community and beyond

Abstract

In this article we share the impact of a training program (Positive Space I and Positive Space II) on pre-service teachers' understandings of and abilities to create safe spaces for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Queering/Questioning (LGBTQ) IntroductionResearch has demonstrated that over 75% of Lesbian, Gay and Bi-sexual youth and 95% of Transgendered students do not feel safe at school compared to 20% of heterosexual students (Taylor et al, 2011, 47). The current bullying discourse does not often highlight the vulnerability of sexual minority youth. According to the First National Climate Survey on Homophobia in Canadian Schools (Taylor et al, 2009) "homophobic and transphobic bullying are neither rare nor harmless but major problems that schools need to address" (p. 2). The Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, provincial equity policies, school and school board policies and curricula emphasize "human rights and diversity" however, "LGBTQ students feel unsafe, insulted or harassed," on a daily basis (Taylor as cited in Petz 2011). Compounding this issue is the reality that LGBTQ youth hear and see a lot of homophobia and transphobia in schools, and they don't see adults in leadership positions interrupting this type of discrimination (Goldstein et al, 2007;Kumashiro 2002;Taylor et al, 2011). This is particularly regrettable as research also shows that "the climate is significantly better in the schools that have taken even modest steps to combat homophobia" (Taylor, 2011, para 4). To that end, we are trying to promote anti-oppressive pedagogy as part of our approach to teaching and learning in our faculty of education.Here we share the impact of a training program, Positive Space I (PSI) and Positive Space II (PSII), two three-hour workshops, that have been integrated into

The Inclusion of LGBTQI+ students across education systems

“…Sources: Feinberg, L. (1996 [19]), Transgender warriors: Making history from Joan of Arc to RuPaul; Jourian (2015 [12]), Evolving nature of sexual orientation and gender identity, https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20142; Diamond, L. M. (2020 [17]), Gender fluidity and nonbinary gender identities among children and adolescents, doi https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12366; Diamond, L. M. (2016 [18]), Sexual fluidity in males and females, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-016-0092-z; UNESCO (2016 [16]), Out in the Open: Education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resourceattachments/UNESCO_out_in_the_open_2016_En.pdf; Valfort, M. (2017 [15]), LGBTI in OECD countries: A review, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/d5d49711-en.…”

“…Although growing international debates and attention around sexual orientation and gender identity are relatively recent, multiple examples of same-sex romantic and/or physical relationships and gender fluid figures exist across time and cultures (Chauvin and Lerch, 2013[256]; Jourian, 2015 [12]). Research from different disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, history and psychology, show an "enormous variability and change in the dialogue, perceptions, experiences, and attitudes toward gender identities and sexual orientations that have occurred across cultures over time" (Tskhay and Rule, 2015 [257]).…”

“…Queer Theory, which includes influential authors such as Judith Butler, largely contributed to (1) expand the categories and issues tackled by social sciences, including, for example, transgender people and (2) unveil domination and resistance mechanisms between dominant structures, such as hetero-normativity, and subservice identities, such as gender and sexual minorities (Dorlin, 2021[13]; Chauvin and Lerch, 2013[256]; Giffney, 2004[265]). In sum, queer theory is both a theoretical lens and political action that "questions the assumed normativity and stability of identities, structures, and discourse, such as dichotomous nature versus nurture debates" (Jourian, 2015, p. 18 [12]).…”

Teacher Candidates as LGBTQ and Social Justice Advocates through Curricular Action

“…Building upon our ongoing longitudinal study (Kearns, Mitton-Kükner, & Tompkins, 2014a;Kearns, Mitton-Kükner, & Tompkins, 2014b;Mitton-Kükner, Kearns, & Tompkins, 2016) which investigates the impact of an integrated LGBTQ awareness-raising and ally-building program, Positive Space, as part of compulsory foundations courses (EDUC 433: Sociology of Education and EDUC 435: Inclusion I), we now focus on the experiences of teacher candidates who identified as LGBTQ and social justice advocates. They participated in Positive Space I and II workshops, and further volunteered to take on a leadership role by completing an additional 5-hour "train the trainer" professional development workshop.…”

“…We note the importance of these courses in supporting pre-service teachers' understanding of the Positive Space program training program. (Mitton-Kükner et al, 2016, p. 20) Elsewhere, we have described in detail the elements of the Positive Space program (Kearns et al, 2014a;Kearns et al, 2014b;Mitton-Kükner et al, 2016). A brief description is included here:…”