Gender, Sexuality, and the Influence of Heteronormativity in Elementary School Classrooms : An Investigation of the Subjective Experiences of Pre-Service and Recent Graduates from the McGill Bachelor of Ed. (kindergarten/elementary)

The author examines the attitudes and perceptions of pre-service teachers and recent graduates with regards to gender and sexualities in elementary school classrooms, as well as their preparation to address these topics as elementary school teachers. The author also examines the ways that the Quebec Education Program supports hegemonic norms of heteronormativity. The eight participants in her study (five pre-service teachers, and three recent graduates) were either currently enrolled in the McGill Bachelors of Kindergarten/Elementary Education or had graduated in 2017. The study subjects participated in focus groups that explored their experiences, attitudes, knowledge and beliefs about gender and sexuality within the elementary school classroom. The author questioned them about the importance they associated with creating safe spaces for children to explore their gender identity and sexuality, the place that they saw these topics taking up in their B.Ed. program at McGill, as well as their familiarity with the Quebec Education Program with reference to these topics. The participants were asked to pinpoint experiences in the B. Ed program that disrupted or supported the construction of heteronormative narratives in teacher practices; identify teacher practices they had observed that supported heteronormativity; identify barriers to engaging in a disruption of heteronormativity; and identify ways that pre-service teachers could be better prepared to address these topics in and elementary school classroom. The author points out that a variety of theoretical lenses are used throughout this research project including queer theory, feminist theory and post-structuralism. The author concludes that the themes found in the data include: the ease of relying on the gender binary; the need to create safe(r) spaces; isolated experiences of learning about the topics of gender and sexuality; the McGill program lacking info; and the need for the training to be mandatory.

Master's Thesis

McGill University

Montreal

2019

154p.

en