The Embodiment of LGBTQ+ Inclusive Education

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Childhood and Youth Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 828

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Interests: equality, diversity and inclusion; leadership; LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools; teacher identity and well-being; autoethnography and narrative enquiry; LGBTQ+ history

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Guest Editor
College of Arts, Humanities and Education, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UK
Interests: secondary education; LGBT+ inclusion in schools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue entitled "The Embodiment of LGBTQ+ Inclusive Education".

We seek contributions that explore the lived experiences, narratives, expressions, and material realities of LGBT+ inclusion within educational settings. We encourage submissions that cover any phase of education, from early years through to postgraduate higher education. We would especially welcome submissions that address one or more of the topics listed below:

  • How LGBTQ+ identities and experiences are embodied in classroom practices.
  • Case studies highlighting the impact of LGBTQ+-inclusive practices on students and educators.
  • The role of signs, symbols, dress codes, and physical spaces in fostering LGBTQ+-inclusive educational environments.
  • Navigating gender identity in schools for young people and/or educators.
  • Intersectionality and its embodied implications for LGBTQ+ inclusive education.
  • Challenges and opportunities of embodying LGBTQ+ inclusivity in different cultural contexts.
  • Trainee teachers and LGBTQ+ inclusivity.
  • Embodying LGBTQ+ identities in faith schools.
  • The LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum, highlighting diverse contributions and experiences across subjects.
  • LGBTQ+ inclusive education spaces, support groups or alliances that foster a sense of community and belonging.
  • The role of allies in LGBTQ+ inclusive education.
  • The embodiment of LGBTQ+ Leadership in education.
  • LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport and physical education.
  • Ethical issues in LGBTQ+-inclusive education.

We encourage both empirical research and opinion pieces that offer new sociological, psychological, pedagogical, and political perspectives on LGBTQ+-inclusive educational environments for teachers and learners.

Please submit your proposals and any questions to the Special Issue editor by 15 February 2025.

Through this Special Issue, we aim to inspire transformative change in the field of LGBTQ+-inclusive education. We look forward to receiving your contributions and collaborating with you on this project.

Prof. Dr. Catherine Lee
Dr. Adam Brett
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • LGBTQ+ inclusion
  • equity
  • diversity
  • education
  • schools
  • further and higher education
  • gender
  • sexuality
  • identity
  • embodiment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 327 KiB  
Article
Observations on the Implementation of Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE), Which Include LGBT Themes in an English Primary School
by Alex Baird
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(7), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14070406 - 26 Jun 2025
Abstract
The latest Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education, and Health Education (RSHE) Draft Guidance seeks to reduce the inclusion of LGBT themes in English schools. Additionally, the Gender Questioning Draft Guidance for Schools and Colleges and the Cass Review overlook the rights of [...] Read more.
The latest Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education, and Health Education (RSHE) Draft Guidance seeks to reduce the inclusion of LGBT themes in English schools. Additionally, the Gender Questioning Draft Guidance for Schools and Colleges and the Cass Review overlook the rights of trans and non-binary young people, further intensifying the heated debates surrounding their lives. In response, the author draws upon research conducted in a primary school in Greater London in 2021, when statutory RSHE, including LGBT content, was first introduced. The research aimed to understand how teachers felt about teaching RSHE and to collaborate with them to enhance pupil learning within and beyond the RSHE curriculum. This paper critiques lesson observations and teachers’ reflections on their lessons using a Framework for Sexuality Education and Queer Theory. The researcher’s call to rethink how RSHE is taught should not be taken to mean it should not be taught. To the contrary, the findings suggest a need for the school to broaden its curriculum, teaching methods, and strategies to become a truly ‘LGBT-inclusive’ environment. However, the paper also illuminates the apprehensions these primary school teachers experienced, which in turn influenced pedagogical decisions. The article concludes by recommending specific whole-school approaches and effective pedagogical practices for RSHE in the school, which could be beneficial to other primary school settings. Effective teaching of LGBT themes requires clear support for educators, especially within the complexity of a primary school setting and given the changing political and social climate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Embodiment of LGBTQ+ Inclusive Education)
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