From Me to We: Humanizing Elementary Classrooms for LGBTQ+ Youth Through a Teacher Preparation Program

• In Event: The Humanity, Emotionality, and Love of Teaching

Abstract

In order to effectively prepare educators to work with LGBTQ+ youth, there is a great gap that must be bridged. This paper details how teacher preparation programs may be uniquely positioned to develop teachers’ understanding and pedagogy for inclusive classrooms by exploring the multi-year, qualitative action research of one EC-6 teacher preparation program in the southern United States. The findings explore the iterative program changes from voluntary class work to required, individual assignments to a comprehensive framework across classes. In addition to the program changes, the findings document students’ responses to these program changes, with additional implications for elementary teacher education programs, practitioners, and researchers. At the core of the preliminary findings is an exploration of creating brave spaces.

Authors

• Alexandra Babino, Texas A&M University - Commerce

• Kathryn Dixon, Texas A&M University - Commerce