The bullying of sexual and/or gender minority youth at school is a social violence issue that is ubiquitous in most countries. In line with evidence-based practice, teachers are consistently shown to be a critical component of success when addressing this issue; however, teachers' preparedness to respond to sexual and/or gender motivated bullying…

Purpose: I take as a starting point the disparaging comments about the place of history and philosophy of education in initial teacher education (ITE) made by the chair of the Teacher Education Expert Panel established by the Australian Government in 2023, which I take to be the most recent attempt at resurrecting the tired debate over "the…

In this paper, we draw on conversations with two English teachers in an Australian government speciality arts focused school to investigate possibilities for envisaging trans-affirmative and queer pedagogies in the classroom. It draws from two studies that are concerned to investigate how gender and sexually diverse students are being supported in…

Teachers experience a range of situations in the primary school context where students talk about, share ideas and use words and actions that might be described as non-heteronormative in character. This article reports on teachers' experiences of the ways in which they respond to actions and events they see as non-heteronormative. It identifies…

Young people may face conflicting and confusing messages about what it means to respond well in relation to homophobia and transphobia. Consequently, we ask--What might it mean to respond well to homophobia and transphobia? This strategy, inspired by Anika Thiem and Judith Butler, is recognition of the ambivalent conditions which structure…

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…

This paper describes the formative, process and short term impact evaluation of sexuality and relationships education (SRE) training for teachers in Western Australia (WA) over a three year period. The training represents one component of a broader project, the aims of which are to improve teacher's confidence and skills in delivering SRE, and to…

Transgender and gender diverse secondary students report routine social and curricular marginalisation at school, factors which have been linked to negative social and academic outcomes. This paper examines data from the "Free2Be?" project, which surveyed 704 same-sex attracted and gender-diverse Australian teenagers (aged 14-18), to…

Early childhood (EC) educators are expected to cater for all types of families from diverse backgrounds. Research involving EC educators and the spaces they create indicate the dominance of heteronormative practices. This silences programmes, policies, experiences and interactions that could reflect and support children with parents who identify…

Recognition of human rights on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status by the United Nations has led to the development of new policies concerning homophobia and transphobia in educational contexts. This paper examines new Australian education policies impacting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer…

In this article we draw on queer theoretical and critical literacy perspectives to investigate elementary school teachers' pedagogical approaches to addressing same-sex parenting and non-normative sexuality in the elementary classroom. Through undertaking case study research, we examine two Australian elementary school teachers' reflections on…

This paper explores how some schooling cultures in New South Wales (hereafter NSW), Australia, police and silence non-heterosexuality through a number of institutional processes which enable homophobia and heterosexism to flourish, while normalizing and constituting heterosexuality as the dominant and only valid sexuality. The discussion shows…

A case study of an Australian gay teacher in a rural community explores issues related to being in "the closet," which is seen as a patriarchal construction designed to maintain itself. Despite legal protection to equal rights, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered teachers experience significant discrimination, fueled largely by…