Queering Teacher Education: Teacher Educators’ Self-Efficacy in Addressing LGBTQ Issues

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore teacher educators’ self-efficacy in addressing LGBTQ issues. Self-efficacy is a key component of social cognitive theory and highly predictive of an individual’s willingness to act. This study includes 232 teacher educators’ responses to a survey exploring their self-efficacy in working with LGBTQ students, teaching about LGBTQ events/figures, and helping preservice teachers reduce their prejudice about LGBTQ individuals. Ultimately, teacher educators need more resources to help increase their self-efficacy in integrating this topic into their courses.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBTQ
• teacher education
• multicultural teacher education; self-efficacy

Notes

1. Zir is a gender neutral pronoun.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cathy A. R. Brant

Cathy A. R. Brant is an assistant professor of Equity in Teacher Education at Rowan University.  She holds a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning from The Ohio State University, a M.Ed. in Elementary/Early Childhood Education from Rutgers University and a B.A. in Sociology from Douglass College at Rutgers University. After spending six years as an elementary school teacher, she realized her passion and commit to issues of equity in teacher training. Dr. Brant’s research focuses on the integration of sexuality and (a)gender issues in teacher preparation.

Lara Willox

Lara Willox is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Educational Technology and Foundations at the University of West Georgia. Her research emphasizes elementary social studies education, teacher education, and transformative pedagogy. She is active in the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) and the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS), serving as: program chair for CUFA Fall 2015; past chair of the NCSS elementary social studies special interest group and the Carter G Woodson award committee. She is currently editing a book highlighting case studies of teachers and schools committed to the inclusion of race, class, gender and sexuality in the social studies curriculum, and has recently conducted a large scale survey regarding the efficacy of teacher educators to include LGBT issues in methods courses. Dr. Willox earned her doctorate at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and was a practicing teacher for twelve years in Charlotte, NC prior to entering the academy.