Gay and Lesbian Families in the Early Childhood Classroom: Evaluation of an Online Professional Development Course

Abstract

Including families is an important theme in the early childhood classroom. Teachers, however, report feeling unprepared when a child’s family is composed of same-sex parents. Gay and lesbian families, in turn, feel invisible, silenced, and excluded. Overall, the topic is rarely covered in teacher education programs—in response, an online course on gay and lesbian families was developed. Teachers assessed the knowledge conveyed, comfort with the content, and helpfulness of the tools provided. The findings confirmed that most teachers had received no pre-service or professional development training on the topic. The majority wanted training that included tools for being inclusive and welcoming.

Early childhood administrators’ use of and beliefs about inclusive practices for gay and lesbian families

“…The need for more training on LGBTQ issues has been a repetitive theme in the literature (Averett et al, 2017; Beren, 2013; Bower and Klecka, 2009). Training that is provided to the administrators at both levels; pre-service and in-service should be examined closely.…”

Pengukuhan Orientasi Seksual Terhadap Sesama Jenis (Gay) dalam kalangan Remaja Lelaki: Implikasi Terhadap Keluarga dan Rakan Sebaya

“…Homoseksual berlaku di semua lapisan masyarakat di dunia dengan dianggarkan 21 peratus lelaki di dunia menjadi gay (Beren, 2013). Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM), melaporkan peningkatan gay hampir 100 peratus iaitu sebanyak 310,000 orang pada 2018 berbanding 173,000 orang pada 2017 (Berita Harian, 2018).…”

Towards creating inclusive environments for LGBTIQ-parented families in early childhood education and care settings: A review of the literature

“…Despite LGBTIQ parents’ accounts of insensitivity and stigma in ECEC settings (Cloughessy & Waniganayake, 2017; Cloughessy et al, 2017; Goldberg, 2014; Goldberg & Smith, 2014a), and EC educators’ self-reported need for training and resources on working with LGBTIQ-parented families (Beren, 2013; Church et al, 2018), limited research has focussed on the provision of pre- or in-service teacher training on meeting the needs of LGBTIQ-parented families (see, for example, Beren, 2013; Janmohamed, 2014; Riggs & Due, 2013). Somewhat counter-intuitively, it appears that even when EC educators hold positive attitudes towards LGBTIQ-parented families, they are less likely to act upon their stated attitudes (Hedge, Averett, White, & Deese, 2014).…”

“…The reasons for the discrepancy between teacher attitudes, teacher practices, LGBTIQ-parented families’ perceived experience require further investigation, particularly in light of what appears to be a gap between what EC educators expect to learn from professional development and what LGBTIQ-parented families suggest EC educators in fact need to know. For example, EC educators have expressed resistance to adopting an explicit curriculum (Beren, 2013), yet LGBTIQ parents have recommended children’s picture books depicting LGBTIQ-parented families as an appropriate approach (Goldberg, 2014; Goldberg & Smith, 2014b). Similarly, challenging heteronormativity by adapting activities that have historically prioritised heterosexual family structures (such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day) to include gender non-conforming families and thus promote a more inclusive parent community (Goldberg, 2014) appears to meet with resistance at times.…”