Navigating ‘truths’ about queerness in education: teachers’ engagement with research-informed social justice policies

References to academic research are becoming increasingly prevalent in educational policies, including those about educators’ social justice work with queer young people. While previous research has interrogated how ‘truths’ about queer young people are constructed in educational policies, the role of research in these discursive constructions is under-investigated. As a result, this paper reports on an ongoing doctoral study that explores the role of research-based knowledge in educational social justice policies and how this influences educators’ work with queer young people in practice.

Drawing on artefact-based interviews where educators ‘walked through’ an educational policy artefact and Foucauldian thinking tools, this paper discusses how the use of research in educational policy is embedded within certain ‘truth games’ and consequently, makes certain forms of social justice work (im)possible in practice. It also considers how educators perceive, understand and navigate these discursive arrangements in light of social and educational contexts where queerness is highly politicised.

Building on the broader literature that illustrates how research is used to construct ‘truths’ about teaching and learning, these findings aim to highlight how the discursive construction of queerness is inherently influenced by the political nature of research use. In doing so, this paper hopes to spark conversations about how research may be used as a strategic resource for social change.