Science reform efforts over the years have addressed the need to make science engaging and accessible for all learners. These efforts attend to multiple aspects of science teaching and learning, including, but not limited to, more intentional focus on teaching students about the nature of science, as well as increased use of Culturally Relevant…

As teacher educators who teach a variety of courses that engage "difference," there comes a moment almost every semester where a reading or set of readings discusses sexuality in education as sexuality impacts student and teacher bodies, curricula, and educational policy. Invariably, such readings cause a student or two to raise any…

In this article, we present a study describing the factors, which favor and hinder school intervention in family diversity. In a case study-based qualitative approach, we examined a public ECE (Early Childhood Education) and primary school in the province of Huelva (Spain) with homoparental families forming part of the educational community. The…

In this paper, I critique the ways in which music education professionals--especially the privileged voices within our field--engage in dialogue through social media outlets such as Facebook. While social media has become a valuable and ubiquitous discursive tool within our field, especially in that it theoretically removes the "ivory…

This study proposal will provide a theoretical framework based on persuasive communication theories for educators seeking to make their curriculum more gender inclusive for contemporary school settings. The authors argue that too many U.S. public schools lack educational materials for young students in health classes about the value of…

Based on interviews, focus groups, and observations for the duration of a 6-week high school summer enrichment program, this article considers the ways that having a visible trans faculty member shaped other teachers' understandings of and pedagogical approaches to the concept of gender. Using Judith Butler's concept of "losing…

High school social studies teachers play an important role in fostering the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students need to thrive after graduation. These efforts can also help counter Truth Decay--the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. Although several factors, such as state standards and assessments,…

Teachers in the United States receive conflicting messages about who they can and should be in and outside of the classroom. Some teachers may believe critical approaches to combating racial, political, and social issues are outside the scope of their classroom or not relevant to their discipline. Teachers may also feel constrained and…

It is an ethical imperative that faculty and staff develop a level of cultural competence in order to work effectively with increasingly diverse student bodies, as well as to prepare students to effectively participate in a diverse, global workforce. Online learning offers a promising way to provide meaningful, in-depth diversity and inclusion…

One strategy used to teach about diverse populations is to edit their curricular representations to minimize their transgressive nature in an effort to gain more acceptance among students. This article explores the implications of these assimilationist narratives when used in educator preparation programs to represent LGBTQ people. It examines the…

As interventions show promise for reducing school discipline disparities, it is important to understand what variables increase educators' commitment toward addressing racial equity in schools. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 15 educators asked to describe pivotal events that shifted their own or others' active…

This critical explanatory mixed methods study examined elementary teachers' perceptions regarding the inclusion of LGBTQ-themed literature in the curriculum. An electronic survey questionnaire and focus group sessions were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data that described the perceived benefits and barriers of LGBTQ-themed…

Purpose: Previous research examining the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) youth in schools suggests that schools are not inclusive places for non-heterosexual students. Some scholars, however, suggest that a continued focus on how these young people are marginalised is itself a problem, and that research should also…

Classrooms reflect and contribute to normative sex, gender and sexuality categories in school culture, rules and rituals. Texts, materials, curriculum and the discourse we employ as educators perpetuate the pervasiveness of these categories. This paper explores some of the less visible ways in which sex and gender categories are constructed in US…

The topic of bisexuality and discussion of bisexual individuals is sorely lacking from discussions about human sexuality. This lesson plan brings visibility to the invisible. Helping educators and students become more aware of bisexuality can help them become more savvy about working with diverse issues around sexuality, especially as they relate…