One of the most common responses from pre- and in-service teachers related to addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) topics in elementary school is a concern about parents' responses. This article explores these concerns by examining two elementary school teachers' interactions with parents in relation to their…

Working to combat, speak back to, and shift discourses concerning issues of genders, sexuality/ies, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and 2-spirit (LGBTQ2) identities in school classrooms and curriculum, this article highlights the capacity in building more inclusive elementary classroom spaces through tinkering in teacher education.…

This case describes the experience of a principal named Jade working in a diverse school in South Central Ontario. A teacher in Jade's school had been confronted by parents and a school board trustee for reading a book to their class about a family with two moms. The teacher, no longer feeling safe or welcome, eventually decided to switch schools.…

Over the past few decades, a growing number of same-sex parents have joined school communities nationwide as their children reached school age (Byard, Kosciw, & Bartkiewicz, 2013). The already large and growing population of LGBQT parent-headed families necessitates the need for educators to examine the ways anti-LGBQT bias and behavior…

Gilbert Valadez recalls how, when he was a 1st grade teacher, he worked with a student to overcome a situation related to her gender identity. He suggests that any teacher working in public school adopt an inclusive attitude about all students and help students become comfortable with their own gender expressions.

In this analysis, events from a preservice teacher's internship in a seventh-grade literacy classroom are explored using theories of deconstruction. Deconstruction is activated as both a lens through which to observe and a framework for understanding moments when binaries and other linguistic structures and shortcomings are illuminated as…

Drawing on examples of teaching from elementary school classrooms, this timely book for practitioners explains why LGBTQ-inclusive literacy instruction is possible, relevant, and necessary in grades K-5. The authors show how expanding the English language arts curriculum to include representations of LGBTQ people and themes will benefit all…

This article provides insights into what is possible when a bilingual teacher education program provides support for teachers who want to discuss lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) topics in their classrooms. This study is set in Southern Arizona, a bilingual, multicultural community in predominantly Mexican American…

Sex education and diverse sexualities are controversial topics within the primary school arena. Concepts of childhood innocence have influenced sex education curriculum, policy development and teaching practices within schools. However, research shows that primary school-aged students are aware of and talk about sexualities. The aim of this…

This article presents a thread of discussion posted to a web-based forum in the context of a children's literature course in one teacher education program in the USA. Participants in the virtual discussion include three preservice elementary teachers and the course instructor (author) on the subject of bringing lesbian, gay, bisexual and…

This important book expands the notion of inclusion well beyond special education to include English language learners, students with refugee status, LGBTQ children, poor children, and other underrepresented populations. Employing real-world vignettes and up-to-date research findings, this hands-on resource provides strategies that school leaders…