Exploring LGBTQ+ teacher professional identity through the power threat meaning framework

Journal article


Brett, A., Bodfield, K., Culshaw, A. and Johnson, B. 2024. Exploring LGBTQ+ teacher professional identity through the power threat meaning framework. British Educational Research Journal. pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4060
AuthorsBrett, A., Bodfield, K., Culshaw, A. and Johnson, B.
Abstract

In addition to the mounting stresses associated with teaching in the UK resulting from decades of neoliberal reform (Ball, 2021), lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) teachers experience a range of challenges to their professional identity from institutions that perpetuate the gender binary and hegemonic heteronormativity. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a deeper understanding of how these teachers can be better supported to thrive in education settings. To begin to address this, this pilot study employs the Power, Threat, Meaning Framework (PTMF) with five LGBTQ+ teachers. The main findings from this study are that teachers experience power as a form of self-surveillance and policing but also positively, as a tool to reclaim space for positive representation. Threats came principally from media and parents and impacted participants’ sense of inclusion/exclusion in practice. Finally, participants made meaning of their experience through channelling their LGBTQ+ activism into EDI leadership roles, reclaiming space as a role model and using visual tokens to prompt ‘micro-moments’ of connection. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of the PTMF for future research to support LGBTQ+ teachers in practice and that the rigid nature of the framework may benefit from a more holistic approach to data analysis.

KeywordsTeacher Identity; LGBTQ+; Education; Professional identity
Year2024
JournalBritish Educational Research Journal
Journal citationpp. 1-17
PublisherWiley
ISSN1469-3518
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4060
Web address (URL)https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.4060
FunderArts and Humanities Research Council
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online16 Aug 2024
Publication process dates
Deposited20 Aug 2024
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