“What would you like me to do? Lie to you?” Teacher education responsibilities to LGBTI students

Abstract

The experiences of lesbian, gay, trans (The use of trans with an asterisk avoids the use of transsexual or transgender and promotes recognition of the inadequacy of such labels), bisexual and intersex (LGBTI) student teachers were recently investigated at a New Zealand faculty of education. Student teachers studying in early childhood education and care, primary and secondary initial teacher education (ITE) were asked about their perceptions of LGBTI visibility and inclusion. Methods used were online questionnaires, focus groups and individual interviews. While the study encompassed all aspects of the ITE programme, this work uses one specific question about practicum from the questionnaire, and findings related to practicum and teaching from the focus groups and individual interviews. In this article, the experiences of LGBTI (those who identified as non-heterosexual) student teachers and “straight” (those who identified as heterosexual) are discussed. Findings suggest that both faculty and practicum settings are heteronormative and indicate that LGBTI student teachers felt uncertain about their safety. Both LGBTI and straight students felt they had not been given adequate preparation to manage the complexities of diverse sexualities on practicum or in their future teaching. We argue that addressing heteronormativity in ITE will better prepare student teachers for the rich diversity of students and families they will encounter in their teaching.

Keywords:

• heteronormativity
• initial teacher education
• practicum
• student teachers

Acknowledgements

We warmly thank all the participants in this study, and Dr. Constanza Tolosa for her assistance. Thanks also to the School of Learning, Development and Professional Practice for the writing retreat that gave us the opportunity to complete this article.

Notes

1. We choose to use the reclaimed term ‘queer’ to describe ourselves; however the research question referred to LGBTI.

2. Faculty-wide group who identify as LGBTI.

3. Decile 1 refers to schools where census data reveal low household incomes.

4. As a result of the research project reported on in this article, and a 2010 publication, there have been several significant developments at the faculty in question. A ‘Rainbow Education Staff’ representative has been appointed to the faculty equity committee as of right; a web page has been developed with contact details of queer staff and other information for queer staff and students; a successful one-day conference took place in 2012; in 2013, professional development workshops on LGBTI concerns were presented. The authors are positive about these changes and look forward to supporting further initiatives.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Debora Lee

Debora Lee is a lecturer in early childhood teacher education. She is interested in researching issues of equity in education, particularly in regard to heteronormativity.

Vicki M. Carpenter

Dr. Vicki M Carpenter has worked extensively in initial and postgraduate teacher education. Her research interests centre on schooling in low SES (urban) communities, and issues surrounding teacher education and sexual orientation.