Institutionalized Sexual Prejudice: a Narrative Analysis of LGBQ Teacher Experiences

Institutionalized Sexual Prejudice: A narrative analysis of LGBQ teacher experiences by Amy Gray A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Social Psychology Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Amy Gray, July, 2014 ABSTRACT Institutionalized Sexual Prejudice: A narrative analysis of LGBQ teacher experiences Amy Gray Advisor: University of Guelph, 2014 Professor S. Desmarais This thesis is an investigation of the experiences of LGBQ public elementary teachers in Ontario as described by the personal narratives of 13 respondents. In general, these teachers often remain closeted at work because elementary schools tend to be oppressive environments for any person who violates heteronormative expectations (Duke, 2007; Hooker, 2010). To date, little is known about this demographic group, and this study was designed as an exploratory investigation within a narrative inquiry framework. Three main research questions guided this thesis: (1) what are the experiences and opinions around coming out in the classroom among LGBQ elementary school teachers in Ontario, (2) How does being an LGBQ teacher influence one’s pedagogical approaches, and (3) In what ways are LGBQ teachers resilient in the face of prejudice-related adversity. Teachers reported feeling oppression and fear of job loss, engaging in risk-benefit analyses before letting their LGBQ identities influence their teaching, and finding satisfaction in being a positive LGBQ role model to students. Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge my advisor, Dr. Serge Desmarais, for allowing me the freedom to pursue the research topic and method I felt most interested in. His mentoring style enabled me to truly enjoy the process of obtaining my Master’s Degree. I would also like to acknowledge my committee member, Dr. Chris Alksnis, for inviting me to work with her on a related study that inspired the idea for this research. Most importantly, I acknowledge my participants who volunteered their time for this research, and who opened their lives (and often their homes) to me. I have enjoyed meeting each participant and attribute much of the success of this research to their insights and honesty. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 LGBQ teacher experiences.......................................................................................................... 2 Oppressive environments ........................................................................................................ 3 Fear .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Identity conflict........................................................................................................................ 7 Students are intuitive ............................................................................................................... 8 Opposing arguments based on misconceptions ....................................................................... 9 Overt discrimination and harassment .................................................................................... 10 Pedagogical implications........................................................................................................... 11 Resilience .................................................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 2: Methods ....................................................................................................................... 13 Hidden Population ..................................................................................................................... 13 Recruitment ............................................................................................................................... 14 Procedure ................................................................................................................................... 17 Materials .................................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3: Narrative Inquiry ......................................................................................................... 18 Narrative Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 22 Preliminary: validation checks .............................................................................................. 23 Step One: Code for themes .................................................................................................... 23 Step Two: Identify the narratives .......................................................................................... 24 Step Three: Identify the storyline .......................................................................................... 24 Step Four: Analytical tactics to aid interpretation ................................................................. 25 Chapter 4: Participant Context ...................................................................................................... 27 Mostly negative experiences and negative opinions ................................................................. 28 iv Negative experiences with mostly positive opinions ................................................................ 30 Mostly positive experiences with negative opinions (fear) ....................................................... 30 Mostly positive experiences with mostly positive opinions...................................................... 31 Chapter 5: Results ......................................................................................................................... 36 Negative Experiences ................................................................................................................ 36 Oppressive environments ...................................................................................................... 36 Harmful stereotypes and accusations from parents ............................................................... 37 Discrimination affecting employment ................................................................................... 39 The closeted teacher’s impact on students ............................................................................ 42 Colleague prejudice ............................................................................................................... 44 Queer Influence on Pedagogical Approach ............................................................................... 45 Minorities have better understanding of equity issues .......................................................... 45 Responsibility to unlearn prejudice and the associated risk-benefit analysis ........................ 48 Resilience .................................................................................................................................. 51 Focus on positive ................................................................................................................... 51 Supportive work environment ............................................................................................... 52 Coming out ............................................................................................................................ 53 Confidence ............................................................................................................................. 54 Being a positive role model ................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 6: Discussion ................................................................................................................... 55 Implications ............................................................................................................................... 57 Future Research ......................................................................................................................... 59 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 59 References ..................................................................................................................................... 61 Appendix A: Recruitment Letter to Union Locals ........................................................................ 72 Appendix B: Recruitment Notice .................................................................................................. 73 Appendix C: Recruitment Card ...................................................................................................

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