LGBTIQ+ Representations and Social Justice Principles within English Teacher Education

Teacher education programs play a significant role in shaping pre-service English teachers' pedagogy. The incorporation of texts with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual/transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning (LGBTIQ+) perspectives in the curriculum is one mechanism for promoting inclusion as well as a means to address and combat homophobia and heteronormativity. Situated at an Australian university, this case study examined the beliefs and practices of preservice teachers and teacher educators related to the inclusion of LGBTIQ+ issues and texts in secondary English classrooms. Drawing on sociocultural theories, the findings from this study indicated that pre-service teachers generally held positive attitudes towards the incorporation of LGBTIQ+ texts and representations. Notably, preparation to teach through a social justice lens developed pre-service teachers' understanding of the significance of including a diverse range of lived experiences in classrooms. However, the lack of specific inclusion of LGBTIQ+ perspectives in teacher education meant that pre-service teachers often struggled to incorporate related texts in their university assessments and professional experience placements, and they were concerned about their ability to do so in the future.