Multiple case study exploring teachers' queering of LGBTQ-inclusive children's literature in upper elementary classrooms

Abstract

This multiple case study interrogates the pedagogical practice of queering LGBTQ-inclusive children's literature in 3rd-6th grade classrooms. Five teachers, representing both private and public schools, demonstrated their process of using LGBTQ-inclusive literature by participating in interviews, observations, and providing supporting documents. Three main assertions emerged through the case studies. 1) Teachers treated LGBTQ issues and/or issues related to gender and sexual equality as they would any other topics. They anticipated and prepared for parent and/or administrative reactions with resolve to persist in their desire to integrate LGBTQ topics into their teaching. 2) Intentionally queering the curriculum with LGBTQ-inclusive books and issues extends beyond the individual classroom and ties to school climate and culture. Specifically, successfully queering curriculum and teachers' pedagogy occurs when educators teach within schools aligned with their convictions. 3) The teaching of LGBTQ literature facilitates both a personalization and depersonalization spectrum needed to meet the needs of each student. Teachers craftily queered their pedagogy through literature to respond to needs they noticed within their students, classrooms, or society. Each participating teacher queered their curriculum and pedagogical practices in their own way. Their aim of "queering" their curriculum through the use of LGBTQ-inclusive literature allowed their instruction to be anti-normative, countering heteronormative and queerphobic practices prevalent in our educational system, and encouraging all students to see themselves reflected in the curriculum. As LGBTQ-identified characters continue to appear more often in children's literature this study offers many implications for practice as teachers incorporate these inclusive books into their curriculum.