Pre-service educators and anti-oppressive pedagogy: interrupting and challenging LGBTQ oppression in schools

Abstract

There are increasing calls for pre-service educators to be responsive and responsible for anti-homophobic education. This research builds on the ongoing efforts to integrate Positive Space training in our two-year Bachelor of Education programme. We found through a series of focus group and individual interviews that pre-service teachers were aware of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queering/Questioning (LGBTQ) oppression, witnessed it in schools, employed a range of strategies, but also experienced challenges due to power dynamics in schools, and may not have recognised the power of their interruptions. Our findings suggest that Positive Space training is valuable and necessary and needs to continue to be explicitly embedded in core courses so that all pre-service teachers, regardless of their discipline, develop the skills and attitudes necessary to be advocates for LGBTQ individuals.

Keywords:

• anti-oppressive pedagogy
• LGBTQ community
• LGBTQ students
• pre-service teacher education

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the pre-service teachers who participated in the study, as well as to those who have taken part in the Positive Space Training Program at StFX.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Mitton-Kukner

Jennifer Mitton-Kukner, PhD (University of Alberta), is an Assistant Professor at StFX. Her research focuses on content area literacy, gender, and teachers as researchers.

Laura-Lee Kearns

Laura-Lee Kearns, PhD (University of Toronto), is an Associate Professor at StFX. Her research focuses on marginalised youth, social justice, and Indigenous education.

Joanne Tompkins

Joanne Tompkins, EdD (University of Toronto), is an Associate Professor at StFX. Decolonising and anti-oppressive educational practices are her major research interests.