Biology instructor conceptions of acceptability of discussing content about queerness versus other socially controversial topics

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: STEM & Queerness in Education: Disrupting Normativity, Curriculum, and Reimagination

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how post-secondary biology instructors conceptualize discussing gender and sexual orientation in the classroom compared to other socially controversial topics like racism, climate change, and religion. Grounded in queer critical theory and the appeal to nature fallacy, we analyzed interviews with 13 instructors from a single US institution. Our findings reveal that instructors' comfort levels vary substantially across different topics. While many felt comfortable discussing racism or climate change, many expressed discomfort with gender and sexual orientation. Some instructors cited their own identities as a barrier and perceived a need to keep STEM classrooms "apolitical”. These preliminary results suggest that instructors feel less comfortable addressing gender and sexual orientation in their classroom than other socially controversial topics.

Authors

• Kris Troy, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Royce Olarte, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Stanley Lo, University of California - San Diego

• Petra Kranzfelder, University of California - Santa Barbara