Queer Multicultural Social Justice Education

In Queer Multicultural Social Justice Education: Curriculum (and Identity) Development Through Performance, I take a pragmatic approach sharing my intimate journey, my stories, and myself with you—the reader—as I actively perform and model the development of queer explorations (i.e., lessons) and curriculum. I begin this journey with three accessible histories of multicultural education, queer perspectives, and autoethnography, respectively. These easy-to-navigate stories provide you with important background knowledge, highlighting the evolution of, commonalities between, and need for each discipline, along with their connection to identity and identity awareness as a form of social justice practice and advancement. Next, I share and perform the nine explorations developed for this project, collectively titled Queer Explorations of Identity Awareness. Modeling for you in practical terms how to queer curriculum and its development, I openly examine my raw performances, discuss my personal and analytical reflections, and embrace my own personal experiences and revelations that occurred throughout this project. Finally, I close with a creative, reflective, and story-like analysis of the process that includes a call to action from you to share your stories as a way of knowing yourself—and others—as a form of social justice education and advancement. This book is intended for all formal and informal educators interested in performing and developing queer multicultural social justice curriculum and practices. Inspired by Ayers (2006), I invite you on this “voyage” with “hope and urgency” (p. 83). It is time we share our stories as a form of curriculum, activism, and coming together.

What knowledge and tools do pre- and in-service educators need to teach for and about social justice across the curriculum in K-12 classrooms? This compelling text synthesizes in one volume historical foundations, philosophic/theoretical conceptualizations, and applications of social justice education in public school classrooms. Part one details the history of the multicultural movement and the instantiation of public schooling as a social justice project. Part two connects theoretical frameworks to social justice curricula. Parts I and II are general to all K-12 classrooms. Part three provides powerful specific subject-area examples of good practice, including English as a Second Language and Special/ Exceptional Education Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum includes highlighted 'Points of Inquiry' and 'Points of Praxi's sections offering recommendations to teachers and researchers and activities, resources, and suggested readings. These features invite teachers at all stages of their careers to reflect on the role of social justice in education, particularly as it relates to their particular classrooms, schools, and communities. Relevant for any course that addresses history, theory, or practice of multicultural/social justice education, this text is ideal for classes that are not subject-level specific and serve a host of students from various backgrounds.

The Handbook of Social Justice in Education, a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the field, addresses, from multiple perspectives, education theory, research, and practice in historical and ideological context, with an emphasis on social movements for justice. Each of the nine sections explores a primary theme of social justice and education: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives International Perspectives on Social Justice in Education Race and Ethnicity, Language and Identity: Seeking Social Justice in Education Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice in Education Bodies, Disability and the Fight for Social Justice in Education Youth and Social Justice in Education Globalization: Local and World Issues in Education The Politics of Social Justice Meets Practice: Teacher Education and School Change Classrooms, Pedagogy, and Practicing Justice. Timely and essential, this is a must-have volume for researchers, professionals, and students across the fields of educational foundations, multicultural/diversity education, educational policy, and curriculum and instruction.

A Twenty-first Century Approach to Teaching Social Justice: Educating for Both Advocacy and Action defines social justice in terms of the marginalization of groups including women, people of color, queers, working class/poor individuals, and individuals with disabilities. Sixteen original chapters provide new and insightful perspectives on topics ranging from global transgender awareness and action to religious pluralism. Essential reading for anyone concerned about the state of equality in our society, this book will provide undergraduate and graduate students, as well as other readers, with an awareness of various social justice issues and how to develop strategies for social change.

Written as a collaborative between children, families, teachers, school leaders, scholars, and community organisation representatives, this book has given everyone involved a platform to express his or her individual voice. Chapters center on authors' lived experiences and the book is grounded in promoting social justice and equity.

Promoting Diversity and Social Justice provides theories, perspectives, and strategies that are useful for working with adults from privileged groups—those who are in a more powerful position in any given type of oppression. The thoroughly revised edition of this accessible and practical guide offers tools that allow educators to be more reflective and intentional in their work—helping them to consider who they’re working with, what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and how to educate more effectively. New features include: A new chapter, "The Joy of Unlearning Privilege/Oppression," highlights specific ways people from privileged groups benefit from unlearning privilege/oppression and from creating greater equity. A new chapter, "Allies and Action," gives focus and guidance on how people from privileged groups can constructively and appropriately be involved in social change efforts. Updated Appendix of additional resources. The theories and approaches discussed can be applied to a range of situations and audiences. This book is an excellent resource for professors, diversity trainers, teachers in classrooms and workshops, counselors, organizers, student affairs personnel, community educators, advocates, group facilitators, and any others involved with educating about diversity and equity.

Much of the focus of anti-homophobic/anti-heterosexist educational theory, curriculum, and pedagogy has examined the impact of homophobia and heterosexism on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) students and teachers. Such a focus has provided numerous theoretical and pedagogical insights, and has informed important changes in educational policy. Queering Straight Teachers: Discourse and Identity in Education remains deeply committed to the social justice project of improving the lives of GLBT students and teachers. However, in contrast with much of the previous scholarship, Queering Straight Teachers shifts the focus from an analysis of the GLBT «Other» to a critical examination of what it might mean, in theory and in practice, to queer straight teachers, and the implications this has for challenging institutionalized heteronormativity in education. This book will be useful in courses on educational foundations, curriculum studies, multicultural education, queer theory, gay and lesbian studies, and critical theory.

Teacher educators have opportunities to include issues of multicultural education, equity, and social justice in the work done with preservice teachers. Including the educational and societal experiences of historically marginalized populations in curriculum creates spaces for teacher educators to model multicultural and social justice based pedagogies, while preparing teachers to work with and work for these students. The most effective way for teacher educators to address the unique perspectives of historically and currently marginalized populations is to integrate various perspectives throughout the curriculum (Grant & Zwier, 2012). Most teacher education programs address diverse populations via an integrated approach. In fact, Sherwin and Jennings (2006) found that potential student experiences regarding social class, race, and special needs populations were typically integrated into the curriculum, however, lesbian, gay bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues were not. There is research that demonstrates how carefully planned and implemented educational interventions can have a positive effect on preservice teachers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward gays and lesbians (Butler, 1999). Despite the positive impact of addressing LGBTQ issues as a part of the teacher preparation program, Gorski et al. (2013) found that LGBTQ issues receive significantly less class time than other issues, especially race, and are, in fact, eight times more likely to actually be omitted from multicultural teacher educator courses. The inclusion of LGBT topics is important for a myriad of reasons. Most importantly, studies (GLSEN & Harris Interactive, 2012; Kosciw, Greytak, Diaz, Bartkiewicz, 2010, 2012; Kosciw, Greytak, Palmer, Boesen, 2014; Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, & Danischewski, 2016) have revealed a negative school climate for students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender; this hostile environment can have dire consequences for these students. The impact of bullying and harassment due to LGBTQ students’ gender and/or sexual identities can produce a number of negative effects, including isolation from friends and family, depression, drug and/or alcohol use and addiction, low selfesteem, lack of engagement in school, academic failure, and fighting (Beam, 2007; Holmes & Cahill, 2004; Kosciw et al., 2010, 2012; Kosciw et al, 2014; Kosciw et al, 2016, Meyer, 2010; Wilkinson & Pearson, 2009). The negative climate does not just come from peer-to-peer negative interactions. In the most recent GLSEN study (Kosciw et al, 2016) it was found that • 57.6% of LGBTQ students who were harassed or assaulted in school did not report the incident to school staff, most commonly because they doubted that effective intervention would occur or the situation could become worse if reported. • 63.5% of the students who did report an incident said that school staff did nothing in response or told the student to ignore it. • 56.2% of students reported hearing homophobic remarks from their teachers or other school staff, and 63.5% of students reported hearing negative remarks about gender expression from teachers or other school staff The aim of this book is to support teacher educators as they engage in the work of preparing pre-service teacher to work with and work for LGBTQ youth through explicit discussions of gender and sexuality. Chapters for this book include personal anecdotes regarding shifts in author’s thinking about including LGBTQ as a part of teacher preparation; specific pedagogical practices employed by authors to present LGBTQ focused material as a part of their coursework; the resistance authors have faced from students, parents and administration and their responses.