Non-Normative Gender and Sexual Identities in Schools: - Schools Out

ecause it’s gay or lesbian, or it’s heterosexual, you are just studying it because it’s
important to history. But it happens to be, have lesbian or gay content. In that way, do
you think the curriculum is inclusive or do you think it still has a really heterosexual
focus?
SJ: Ur I would say that it probably has a heterosexual focus, but I I don’t feel I can really
answer that honestly because obviously being a PE teacher. Well, all the texts that I use
as a PE teacher, would never, it’s never anything that would, you’d need to talk about
whether it was a relationship or anything, it’s all about factual based stuff. So I wouldn’t
know cos I obviously don’t teach a subject that would bring that into play.
AM: Yep.
SJ: I wouldn’t, I don’t think I’d be able to comment on it fairly, cos I don’t know the
exact texts that people use. But as far as I would be aware I would have thought more
than likely it would be heterosexual based.
AM: And in terms of um subjects again, perhaps sex education is a good example,
perhaps not in your school from what you have just said, but do you feel that these
subjects can ever actually be overtly homophobic, biphobic or transphobic, so for
example if sex education only um heterosexual penetrative sex is talked about, that kind
of thing?
SJ: Ur no I would have thought, well I think it will vary massively depending on which
teacher is delivering it. But in terms of lesson plans that you get given and resources that
you get given ur for dealing with sex education they’re very open and inclusive of all
different genders and it’s whether you feel comfortable talking about it I suppose as to
how much you would go into the different sides of it that you could go into.
AM: Right.
SJ: So I think it vary massively, I think obviously younger staff on a whole would feel
more comfortable having open discussion about having um different sexualities, but I
think older staff would probably find that more difficult.
AM: Yeah. OK, um going back a few years to your training. Um [//] I know you did your
teaching training through a one year PGCE course, um during that year, obviously it’s a
really intense year, with loads of training and a massive amount of issues. Was there any
and if there was what kind of training regarding issues around gender and sexuality?
SJ: Ur, um [//] not specifically. I remember we had training on how to deal with, well we
had training on how to be inclusive in general. Um and obviously that included sexuality
issues. But it wasn’t, it was never specific focus, it was more you had, you did a topic on
inclusion, so it would go in with that. But that was the most we ever looked at it. And I
think that was a tiny part really of what, of the training.
AM: OK. So now having been in teaching for, how many years, three years