LGBTIQ+ inclusive education: the interplay of emotions and cognition in graduate teachers’ narratives of becoming

Across both longstanding and more recent studies in the field of teacher education, work with a specific focus on diverse genders, sexes and sexualities is relatively uncommon. Furthermore, there is little that acknowledges the interwoven emotional experiences and learnings of LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) community members, students in classrooms, and their teachers. In particular, there seems to be few possibilities for preservice and practising teachers to develop pedagogical strategies that contribute towards developing inclusive classrooms for LGBTIQ+ students and more broadly. Drawing on Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theoretical approach, and specifically the concept of perezhivanie, the focus of this chapter rests with three LGBTIQ+ graduate teachers who narrate their own school and graduate teaching experiences as panel members to an audience of preservice teachers (PSTs). Findings indicate the emotional complexities associated with being ‘outed’ by others and how this produced a range of experiences for the LGBTIQ+ teachers that shaped their identities and learning as they transitioned from primary to secondary school. Secondly, over time and through the process of learning and development, the experiences of LGBTIQ+ graduate teachers (as students and teachers) shaped their desires to be advocates for LGBTIQ+ students and teachers in their future work.