ERIC Number: EJ1214266
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0258-2236
EISSN: N/A
Sexual and Gender Diversity in Schools: Belonging, In/Exclusion and the African Child
Reygan, Finn
Perspectives in Education, v36 n2 p90-102 2018
The school system in South Africa has only in recent years begun to more deeply grapple with issues of power and privilege along a number of axes of oppression including race, gender, class and recently, sexual and gender diversity. As a result, learners who embody sexual and gender diversity experiences spaces of belonging and exclusion in school settings. As a result, this paper asks: What needs to be done in the school system to reconstruct the "African child" to include sexual and gender diversity? Possibilities include inclusive policy implementation; inclusive learning and teaching resource materials; teacher preparedness to teach about and affirm sexual and gender diversity in the classroom and a clear rejection of homophobic and transphobic violence. The lessons learnt through the process of challenging racism in the school system -- such as around essentialising, othering and systemic violence -- have yet to be fully applied to sexual and gender diversity in schools.
Descriptors: Power Structure, Race, Gender Differences, Social Class, Sexual Identity, Sexual Orientation, LGBTQ People, Educational Policy, Inclusion, Educational Resources, Teacher Education, Homosexuality, Fear, Violence, Educational Environment, Foreign Countries, Social Isolation, Racial Bias, Social Justice, Textbooks, Elementary Secondary Education, Teaching Methods, Social Bias
University of the Free State Faculty of Education. P.O. Box 339, Bioemfontein 9300, South Africa. Tel: +27-51-401-2368; e-mail: PiE@ufs.ac.za; Web site: http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A