Sexual diversity, discrimination and ‘homosexuality policy’ in New South Wales' government schools

Abstract

Lesbians and gay men have historically been derided, harassed, silenced and made invisible in Australia. This prejudice and discrimination has been reinforced structurally through social, cultural and political institutions. Although sexual orientation is now included in state and territory anti-discrimination legislation, and recent federal legislative change supports greater parity with the rights of heterosexuals, there is still discrimination towards lesbians and gay men. This paper examines some of the ways that lesbians' and gay male subjectivities are discursively constructed in modern-day Australia. It then reviews the ongoing negative and complex effects of such discourses on same-sex-attracted individuals in schools, schooling cultures and teacher pedagogies. This provides the background for a review of New South Wales Government education policy on 'homosexuality' and argues that this policy ultimately reinforces unhelpful discourses about sexual diversity, and fails to reflect the complexities and fluidities of sexual identities. Although policy implementation in schools in itself can be complex, strong and visible support 'from the top' in the form of relevant policy is critical to foster widespread action, understanding and cultural change in schools.

The “flawless” school and the problematic actors: Research on policy documents to counteract discrimination and degrading treatment in schools in Sweden

“…Furthermore, she points out that some phrases can be interpreted quite narrowly by some teachers, which contributes to the silencing of the very same classification schemes. Ferfolja (2013) shows similar results as she presents research on policy that strengthens problematic discourses in policy documents. Not only can the discourse be problematic, she argues, but the school practice can include dubious elements from an equity perspective.…”

“…It can then be argued that the "perfect" school discourse and the designated discourse are likely to ignore harmful incidents (like in the "perfect" school discourse) or point out the other (as in the designated discourse). Ferfolja (2013) shows results pointing in the same direction when she suggests that school practice can provide dubious elements from an equity perspective.…”

Likabehandlingsarbete - en reproduktion av rådande maktordning?

“…Eek-Karlsson, Lundin & Torpsten 52 att tolkas förhållandevis snävt av lärare vilket bidrar till att vissa strukturer riskerar att marginaliseras eller glömmas. Ferfolja (2013) presenterar resultat i samma riktning och pekar både på implicita undertoner i texterna och på problematiska diskurser i styrdokumenten som kan knytas till tveksamma inslag i skolpraktiken. Ferfolja drar slutsatsen att styrdokumenten behöver stödja lärares önskan om att kunna bidra i proaktiva insatser för rättvisa.…”

‘It gets narrower’: creative strategies for re-broadening queer peer education

“…Studies in the UK (Gray 2013), Australia (Albury 2013;Ferfolja 2012) and Canada (Wells 2010) continue to show the ways in which discourses of queerness in schools are not progressing. We argue that collaborating with queer youth on projects that address these framingsboth within and outside of schools -is a best practice approach that produces multiple benefits and deepens the public conversation about queer youth as and beyond identities and education.…”