Negotiating Sexual Identity: Experiences of Two Gay and Lesbian Preservice Music Teachers

Abstract

Few studies in the field of teacher education have examined the experiences of gay and lesbian preservice teachers. Donahue (2007) suggests that gay and lesbian preservice teachers struggle with how to negotiate their sexual identity as developing teachers. This intrinsic case study explored how two preservice music teachers hid or disclosed their gay or lesbian identity during their studentteaching placements. The participants were enrolled in two different universities in midwestern states. Brett, who identified as gay, taught with a straight female cooperating teacher in a small, rural community; Nicole, who identified as lesbian, taught with two lesbian cooperating teachers in a suburban setting. Each student teacher participated in three interviews and provided weekly journal entries via email during the 16-week semester. Brett’s within-case analysis revealed the following themes: Selectively sharing personal information and coping with the cooperating teacher. Nicole’s within-case analysis yielded the following themes: Cooperating teachers as role models and coming out to a student whom she knew to be a lesbian. Cross-case analysis illuminated the challenges that these student teachers faced, including the dilemma of being out, covering and being explicitly out, the influence of the cooperating teacher in their student-teaching experience, and the school environment. Discussion includes implications for music teacher education and future research.

Melanie’s Story: A Narrative Account of a Transgender Music Educator’s Journey

“…Melanie also insisted that her success in the student teaching context was in part due to having an open and accepting cooperating teacher that was also a member of the LGBTQ community. With this in mind, I would give careful consideration to the placement of trans students (also suggested by Paparo & Sweet, 2014).…”

“…Within the music education community, educators and researchers have begun to consider how we as music teachers have a responsibility to adapt our practice to accommodate the needs of students of diverse gender and sexual identities. This concern is evidenced by a growing number of articles dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) matters in music education contexts (Aronoff & Gilboa, 2015;Bergonzi, 2009;Carter, 2013;Freer, 2013;Garrett, 2012;Nichols, 2013;Paparo & Sweet, 2014;Silveira & Goff, 2016;Taylor, 2011) as well as the symposium, Establishing Identity: LGBTQ Studies and Music Education, now in its third iteration. In the original call for papers (Establishing Identity, 2009), symposium organizers noted, "Music education has yet to consider research, theory, and practice from a LGBT perspective" (p. 280).…”

The Gendered and Heterosexist Evolution of the Teacher Exemplar in the United States: Equity Implications for LGBTQ and Gender Nonconforming Teachers

“…These organizations, among many others, have advanced LGBTQ rights in and out of educational contexts. Many LGBTQ educators and gender nonconforming educators, however, continue to be implicitly or explicitly forced into the closet, and when educators are "out," they often are at risk of considerable levels of discrimination (DeJean, 2004;Paparo & Sweet, 2014). Indeed, the standards for femininity and masculinity within a feminized profession such as teaching seem even more rigidly dichotomized as evident in the policing of sexuality, which is often monitored for compliance in gender normative appearance.…”

“…Even when LGBTQ and gender nonconforming teachers are not being fired or publicly criticized by parent collectives, they still often are targeted with explicit or implicit forms of bias and discrimination (DeJean, 2004;Paparo & Sweet, 2014). The most insidious remnants of the hetero-and gender-normative exemplar, which can create consistent and grinding pressure for these teachers to conform to the exemplar standard, often are buried in subtle school policy, practice, and tradition.…”

Research-to-Resource: Dignity for All: LGBTQ Students and Empathic Teaching

“…Acknowledging the prevalence of heteronormativity in society, Hess (2016) called for a deeper understanding and acknowledgment of LGBTQ experiences that may help facilitate a positive classroom environment for all students. Although a relatively new topic in music education research, we now have almost 10 years of data examining LGBTQ experiences among teachers, students, and families (e.g., Bartolome, 2016; Carter, 2013; Kruse, 2016; McBride, 2016; Nichols, 2013; Palkki & Caldwell, 2017; Paparo & Sweet, 2014; Taylor, 2011, 2017). In this article, I suggest that empathic models of teaching (Kokal, Engel, Kirschner, & Keysers, 2011; Overy, & Molnar-Szakacs, 2009; Rabinowitch, Cross, & Burnard, 2013; Wiseman, 1996) provide a means by which teachers can foster positive learning environments that acknowledge the diversity of all students in a supportive manner.…”