This essay explores the way in which the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened human rights conditions across the globe, particularly around the rise of authoritarianism, erosion of democracy, increase in hate crimes and racism, and deepening of economic inequality. We then advocate for the possibilities and significance of human rights education as a…

'How can we apprehend homophobia "as more" than we currently know?' This paper attempts a conceptual intervention to rethink current approaches to homophobia in schools. It draws on ideas from feminist philosopher Todd around attention and openness to uncertainty. It also employs queer theoretical notions of subjectless antihomophobia…

In this edition of "Equity Dispatch," we seek to emphasize the criticality of intersectionality, or the ways in which social, economic, and political identity-based systems of oppression and privilege connect, overlap, and influence one another, as a powerful construct and tool for strengthening culturally responsive and sustaining…

This article situates transgender studies in education within related bodies of education research literature to highlight this field as an important emerging area of scholarship. This scholarship is key for scholars centering gender, equity, and liberation as priorities to engage with since transgender epistemologies can add strength, nuance, and…

Australia achieved marriage equality in 2017, following a controversial and divisive postal survey which invited all Australians to 'vote' on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. The 'No' campaign focused on the alleged negative impact of marriage equality on children's education. Scare-mongering television clips claimed that boys…

This chapter explores the various ways that practitioners in LGBTQ centers can use gender-aware practices to attend to issues that arise within their centers and campus-wide that stem from a societal culture so profoundly influenced by masculinities.

LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) students face significant challenges that include peer harassment and health risks surpassing those of students who do not identify as being gay. Learning environments that include peer mentoring promote resilience and help LGBTQIA+ students gain a sense of well-being.…

The article examines if and how gender diversity and queer are present in the policies guiding Finnish art education and how these documents might influence praxis. The authors explore relations between policy and practice through a close study and analysis of the Finnish national core curriculum for basic education as it relates to the broader…

This paper rethinks education's reliance on knowing who queer and trans youth are. It suggests that both desires to "know" who youth are and the processes by which curriculum, policy, and scholarship come to know what is thought to be known about youth flattens and diminishes youths' life experiences and what they might be/come. By…

In this article, Sara Staley presents a conceptualization of "stuck" places in the field of gender and sexual diversity educational research. She argues that in the process of pursuing complex questions about preparing educators to disrupt the cis-heteronormative context of schools, the field has created a master narrative in which the…

For educators looking to include literature with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) characters in their libraries and classrooms, it is sometimes difficult to determine which books contain authentic and accurate representations and avoid stereotypes and problematic tropes. Drawing upon J.K. Rowling's paratextual…

Physical education, or HPE, is arguably a very queer space not only in the daily practices between students and teachers in schools but also in the broader field. This paper explores theoretical interactions with the HPE field in terms of the development and employment of queer theory, and links between associated sexualities and pedagogy research…

Comprehensive approaches to sex education emphasise an integration of the mind and the body via emotions. Drawing on the historiographical shift towards the study of emotions, this paper explores cognitive, bodily and emotional dimensions of sexuality education and social relations. By analysing the institutionalisation of sex education in…

In popular and academic discourse, sexual identity is regularly linked to a concept of sexual engagement with others. Recent thinking on sexuality has, however, opened up the possibility of understanding 'identity' in ways different from sexual behaviour. This paper considers data from the Australian "Queer Generations" project, in which…

While some believe there is little need to be concerned about girls in education, they continue to face such ongoing stereotyping, biases, and harassment that follow them into their careers. Shannon Andrus, Charlotte Jacobs, and Peter Kuriloff explore the current state of girls' education and discuss importance of an intersectional lens that takes…