Silence is not golden: including the voices of lesbian parents to guide pedagogical practice, policy and research in Australian early childhood settings

ABSTRACT

Lesbian parents shared their experiences of using Early Childhood settings in Australia. Aspects discussed included disclosure decisions, the usefulness of children’s books featuring same sex parented families, and experiences related to their family composition. Via an online survey and two follow up interviews, these parents explained how educators can work effectively with families at their centres. To understand, interpret and explain these parents’ experiences, heteronormativity is used as a sensitising concept. Three overarching themes emerged in the findings which are elaborated: ‘educating the educator’, ‘the not so innocent child’ and ‘diversity is the new normal’. The implications of these findings for early childhood educators are considered across three dimensions: pedagogical practice, policy and future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Early childhood education
• heteronormativity
• lesbian parents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.