What Is It to Become a Trans Teacher Today? Conceptualizing Trans Futures in the Profession

• In Event: Revealing Systematic Pushout Through Intersectional Analysis

Abstract

This paper uses data from a critical participatory action research study with eight current or recently graduated trans and/or gender nonconforming preservice teachers attending various Canadian teacher education programs. In virtual meetings over six months, we explored gender normativity in teacher education, thought about what trans knowledge might have to offer the profession, and brainstormed how programs and the profession might become more hospitable to gender diversity. This particular paper responds to the question: How did this collective think about what it means to be trans in schools and teacher education programs as a preservice teacher? I show that the group conceptualized being trans in teacher education in three ways: as vulnerability, as labour, and as an asset.

Author

• Lee Iskander, University of British Columbia