Examining the Interplay between Queerness and Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study Based on Foreign Language Teacher Trainers

Guijarro-Ojeda, Juan Ramón; Ruiz-Cecilia, Raúl; Cardoso-Pulido, Manuel Jesús; Medina-Sánchez, Leopoldo

doi:10.3390/ijerph182212208

Open AccessArticle

Examining the Interplay between Queerness and Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study Based on Foreign Language Teacher Trainers

by

Juan Ramón Guijarro-Ojeda

,

Raúl Ruiz-Cecilia

^*

,

Manuel Jesús Cardoso-Pulido

and

Leopoldo Medina-Sánchez

Department of Language and Literature Teaching, Faculty of Education, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 12208; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212208

Submission received: 5 September 2021 / Revised: 15 November 2021 / Accepted: 19 November 2021 / Published: 20 November 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mental Health Opportunities and Challenges across LGBTQ+ Communities)

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Abstract

Oftentimes, teachers who identify themselves as LGTBIQ+ may feel unsafe at work, which may upset their wellbeing and destabilize their key psychological traits. Hence, feelings such as insecurity, lack of self-confidence, anxiety, and fear are on loop in their everyday lives. Thus, in this study we pursued an examination of the interplay between sexual orientation and teacher wellbeing in a cohort of seven university foreign language teacher trainers in a Spanish context. To gain insight into this issue, a qualitative study in line with the ecological paradigm was designed for the elaboration of semi-structured in-depth interviews and for the analysis of results. The main findings display teacher wellbeing as a complex interwoven system in which sexual orientation had played a core role in their identities, competences, private and professional relationships, and in the cultural and political spheres. We conclude by stating that although homophobic discrimination was a hard trial to overcome, the psychosocial capital of the participants allowed them to transform this negativity into positive assets such as queer activism in their private and political lives and in their profession as foreign language teacher trainers.

Keywords: teacher wellbeing; LGTBIQ+; foreign language; teacher trainers

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MDPI and ACS Style

Guijarro-Ojeda, J.R.; Ruiz-Cecilia, R.; Cardoso-Pulido, M.J.; Medina-Sánchez, L. Examining the Interplay between Queerness and Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study Based on Foreign Language Teacher Trainers. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 12208. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212208

AMA Style

Guijarro-Ojeda JR, Ruiz-Cecilia R, Cardoso-Pulido MJ, Medina-Sánchez L. Examining the Interplay between Queerness and Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study Based on Foreign Language Teacher Trainers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(22):12208. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212208

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guijarro-Ojeda, Juan Ramón, Raúl Ruiz-Cecilia, Manuel Jesús Cardoso-Pulido, and Leopoldo Medina-Sánchez. 2021. "Examining the Interplay between Queerness and Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study Based on Foreign Language Teacher Trainers" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 22: 12208. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212208

APA Style

Guijarro-Ojeda, J. R., Ruiz-Cecilia, R., Cardoso-Pulido, M. J., & Medina-Sánchez, L. (2021). Examining the Interplay between Queerness and Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study Based on Foreign Language Teacher Trainers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), 12208. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212208

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Examining the Interplay between Queerness and Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study Based on Foreign Language Teacher Trainers

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