Envisioning queer curricula: A systematic review of LGBTIQ + topics in teacher practitioner literature

Abstract

Given the current political and social climate, teaching children about sexual orientation and gender identity is more important than ever. The present literature review seeks to address the following questions: How are LGBTIQ + topics addressed in practitioner literature and in what content areas are these topics most prevalent? How prevalent are LGBTIQ + topics in practitioner literature before 2015, prior to the publication of Miller’s Queer Literacy Framework (QLF)? How prevalent are these topics after QLF’s publication in 2015? The search for LGBTIQ + topics in the journals led to a total of 74 articles which were then coded by three independent researchers. To explore the prevalence of LGBTIQ + topics in articles published in journals most accessible to PreK-12 classroom teachers, the 13 top practitioner journals across all major content areas (i.e., English/Language Arts, social studies, mathematics, and science) and grade levels were selected. These results produce two salient conclusions. First, LGBTIQ + themes are present in articles published over the years. Second, individuals included under the LGBTIQ + umbrella are silenced. There is evidence of the use of the QLF before and after 2015, indicating that LGBTIQ + topics were addressed. Implications for teacher education and suggestions for future research are included.

Keywords:

• Queer
• LGBTIQ
• systematic review
• practitioner literature
• Queer Literacy Framework

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the help of Dr. sj Miller and Kurt Austin, the Publications Division Director for the National Council of Teachers of English with their support in seeking permission to reprint the ten principles of the Queer Literacy Framework originally printed in English Journal.

Notes

1 The + symbol is used in LGBTIQ + here in this paper to acknowledge a part of the queer community that is not always named, which consists of those who are lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer/questioning and are HIV-positive. However, due to the nature of this article covering prevalence of queer topics in practitioner literature for youth, we did not pursue queer HIV-positive key words as a subject in our literature search. This does not mean that it does not exist, however.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mario I. Suárez

Mario I. Suárez is an Assistant Professor at the School of Teacher Education and Leadership in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University.

Samantha M. Meister

Samantha M. Meister is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Studies in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Amanda L. Lindner

Amanda L. Lindner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.