Anti-oppressive pedagogical practices that counter the marginalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, queer, and/or questioning youth continue to foster new understanding in teacher education. Researchers note that many pre-service teachers are not prepared to address classroom concerns regarding homophobia, heterosexism, and…

What are the experiences of beginning queer educators? We followed four LGBTQ-identified teachers as they began their teaching careers. As pre-service teachers, they took on leadership roles advocating for LGBTQ-inclusive education. Their stories were diverse: from feeling empowered and accepted, to being conflicted about coming out, to being the…

Our study provides examples of how critical curricula and social justice education can be brought together to inform teacher education. Building upon our ongoing longitudinal study, which investigates the impact of an integrated LGBTQ awareness program, we focus in this article on five pre-service teachers who identified critical incidents in…

Critical challenges facing teacher educators at faculties of education is how to prepare teacher candidates to see schools situated in larger social contexts and support their ongoing learning as social justice advocates. Anti-oppressive work that challenges the marginalization of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Two-Spirited, Queering and/or…

High-stakes standardized literacy testing is not neutral and continues to build upon the legacy of dominant power relations in the state in its ability to sort, select and rank students and ultimately produce and name some youth as illiterate in contrast to an ideal white, male, literate citizen. I trace the effects of high-stakes standardized…

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…

In this article we share the impact of a training program (Positive Space I and Positive Space II) on pre-service teachers' understandings of and abilities to create safe spaces for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Queering/Questioning (LGBTQ) youth and allies in our teacher-education program and in schools. Research has demonstrated…

In 2007, the Ontario Government implemented the "Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework." Some schools and school boards have been active in piloting and supporting these initiatives. Because this is a newly implemented policy direction, I wanted to begin to assess best practices and challenges, so I asked…

This research describes the impact of an integrated training program (Positive Space I and Positive Space II) on pre-service teachers' understandings of and abilities to create safe spaces for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered, two-spirited, queering and/or questioning (LGBTQ) youth and allies in schools. Our Bachelor of Education program…