Queer Bodies in Teaching Spaces: Dis/orienting Practicum in Aotearoa

Abstract

In Aotearoa New Zealand, tertiary education institutions work within the Teaching Council of New Zealand’s requirements for teacher education and professional registration. These requirements include student teachers working towards demonstrating what the Council terms Key Teaching Tasks (Education Council, 2017). Ideally, teacher education and in-school support provide a seamless pathway for student teachers to become prepared for the responsibility of independently teaching a class as provisionally-certified teachers upon graduation. However, this pathway is not uniform for all student teachers. For those who identify as LGBTQIA+, or come from non-white ethnic backgrounds, or are neurodiverse, the journey to achieving these Key Teaching Tasks often involves additional challenges and barriers.

Navigating these challenges and barriers profoundly impacts student teachers’ well-being, as they balance core teaching tasks with the emotional labour of negotiating discriminatory spaces. While international studies highlight these issues (e.g., Benson, Smith & Flanagan, 2014; Berry et al., 2021; Kohli, 2009; Toledo & Maher, 2021), there is limited research in Aotearoa New Zealand examining whether the inclusive practices emphasised for children are also extended to pre-service teachers. This study investigates whether and how schools enact inclusion as a whole-school practice and the extent to which student teachers experience discrimination and inclusion during practicum placements.

In this presentation, we will offer preliminary findings from the first phase of the study, focusing on the ways practicum placements serve as both sites of struggle and growth for student teachers of minoritised identities. These findings contribute to conference themes by diversifying how we understand gender and its intersections with race, sexuality, and neurodiversity in educational contexts, activating routes for feminist and inclusive practice in teacher education. In doing so, this work furthers the Gender and Education Association’s vision of challenging injustice and advocating for equity within education.