21.048 - Current Perspectives on Queering Elementary Education, Research, and Practice

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Since the publication of Queering Elementary Education (Letts & Sears, 1999) twenty years ago, the political and social landscape has shifted in multiple ways with regard to gender and sexual diversity (GSD), creating historic levels of visibility for LGBTQ people in mainstream media and popular culture. Yet research shows that when it comes to students’ early years of school, little has changed in the past two decades. Using a variety of methodologies and approaches, this session presents an updated collection of research and practice around LGBTQ topics in elementary education. These accounts of current work in the field make visible GSD-inclusive teaching in diverse elementary school contexts and trace the supports, resources, and materials that help enable it.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Queer Studies

Chair

• Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth, Western Michigan University

Papers

• LGBTQ Latinx Students: Crossing Linguistic Borders and Gendered Binaries Through Stories of (In)Equity and Transformation - Carol Brochin, The University of Arizona

• Repairing Elementary School Science - Kristin L. Gunckel, The University of Arizona

• Interrogating Diversity in Award-Winning LGBTQ-Inclusive Picture Books - Craig A Young, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

• What About the Parents? An Analysis of How LGBTQ-Inclusive Elementary Teachers Navigated Resistant Parents - Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth, Western Michigan University; Caitlin Law Ryan, East Carolina University

Discussant

• Ryan Schey, Auburn University