Conference Agenda

This dissertation examines the lived experiences of Finnish LGBTQ+, or queer, teachers from the particular perspective of language use and interaction in different settings and contexts in the workplace. The presentation is based on a doctoral research project currently in its final stages, set out to produce findings through three interconnected studies that inquire different perspectives of discourses, language use and interactional choices of queer teachers in Finland. The study draws from individual and group interview data of non-heterosexual and nonbinary Finnish teachers. The guiding research question of this project is: How do queer teachers reported language use and interaction construct meanings and discourses to their lived experiences as professional teachers in heteronormative schools?

In the dissertation, heteronormativity is viewed through its manifestations in the institutional and localized social context of schools as a desexualized, normalized structure that results in bias against queer people and queer visibility (e.g., Brett 2024; Reimers 2020). This reality is set against the backdrop of Finland as one of the inclusive and progressive Northern European countries, where affirmative, progressive policies and practices are in place (e.g., NCC 2014), but where schools nevertheless often remain as homotolerant sites that are permeated by homo- and transphobic discourses (Lehtonen 2023; Odenbring 2023; Røthing 2008). Further, the role and the position of queer teachers is examined as a juxtaposition, where moral and normative assumptions and expectations regulating teachers that stem from the dominantly heteronormative society clash with queer visibility and authenticity (Llewellyn & Reynolds 2021; Ullman 2020). Language use and interaction of the teachers is viewed as a site of knowledge production, theoretically framed through discourse theoretical and the third-wave sociolinguistic framework (Fairclough 2010; Eckert 2012), particularly within the understanding that social reality, meanings, and discourses are produced, established, and mediated in discourse and through social interaction, and revealed through the variation of indexical meanings of language use in different interactional contexts. In this dissertation, I am examining in particular the heteronormative discourse influencing language and interaction of queer teachers, further proceeding to construct meaning and discourses based on the teachers’ reported language use.

In the presentation, I will be discussing the doctoral research project as a whole, with focus on presenting the overarching key findings of the three studies and an overview of the significance of this contribution to the educational research field of sexuality and gender in Europe and particularly in the Nordic countries.

This paper explores Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) as a vehicle for transformative pedagogies in rural and socially vulnerable contexts, integrating feminist and queer approaches that place the body, emotions, and active participation at the centre of learning. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s conception of education as a practice of freedom, we understand education as a process that stands in opposition to banking models of education, and conceives learning as a dialogical, situated, and transformative experience (Freire, 1970). Within this framework, CSE emerges as a particularly fertile pedagogical space for the implementation of transformative pedagogies. Rather than constituting a mere set of contents about sexuality(ies), CSE invites to rethink traditional modes of teaching and (un)learning by foregrounding dimensions historically excluded from the school curriculum: bodies, emotions, affects, relationships, and lived experiences.

Feminist and queer pedagogies provide a theoretical and political framework for understanding this transformative potential of CSE. Closely linked to social movements, these pedagogies conceptualise education as a situated, embodied, affective, and collective process, capable of challenging the normative frameworks that regulate how knowledge is (re)produced and which bodies and voices are recognised as legitimate (Platero, 2018).

From an intersectional perspective, classrooms are shaped by multiple, intersecting axes of inequality that cannot be addressed in isolation (Crenshaw, 1989). Although CSE is often associated primarily with gender and sexuality(ies), its transformative potential lies precisely in its capacity to bring all these dimensions into dialogue and to question the processes of exclusion that operate within educational and social contexts.

This theoretical framework not only informs our analysis but also serves as the methodological point of departure for the design of a socio-educational intervention in rural contexts, combining a review of the literature with participatory practices. Drawing on workshops conducted in the rural schools (Centros Rurales Agrupados, CRA) of Alta Ribagorza (Huesca, Spain), the study shows that CSE enables a shift in the locus of knowledge, legitimising experiences, histories, and knowledges often excluded from the curriculum.

The results indicate that these practices foster meaningful learning, strengthen educational equity and promote the development of educational projects that care for otherness and challenge the reproduction of norms. Far from reproducing a differential socialisation based on gender stereotypes or adult-centred hierarchies, workshops enhance a more equitable participation, where diversities apply as a resource, instead of as an obstacle. Additionally, the embodied activities developed generate (un)learning practices that apply far beyond cognitive dimension.

When CSE is approached from feminist and queer perspectives, it enables an intersectional questioning of the norms that shape schooling –in terms of gender, sexuality(ies), corporeality, age, origin, and ability, among others– and fosters spaces where diversity is not merely abstractly tolerated but actively inhabited, named, and cared for. This is particularly meaningful in rural contexts, which are often assumed to be less open to non-hegemonic approaches. Experience shows, on the contrary, that when spaces of trust and continuity are created, educational communities actively engage in processes of critical reflection and transformation. Moreover, this highlights that implementing such practices in rural scenarios is not only feasible but also challenges prevailing prejudices about the lack of pedagogical innovation outside urban environments, demonstrating that rurality can also be(come) a fertile ground for critical and transformative educational initiatives.

The discussion highlights the importance of differentiating between normative and transformative CSE, reflecting on how schools can function as spaces of emancipation or as mechanisms for reproducing inequalities. Finally, the study argues that CSE, when articulated with transformative pedagogies, constitutes a tool for pedagogical innovation and social improvement, with transferable potential to other educational contexts and teacher training, contributing to more equitable and diversity-sensitive systems.

Schools as institutions actively contribute to the construction of gender and sexuality, both as institutional agents of the formation processes and as the settings in which these take place (Martino et al., 2022). The lack of LGBTQ+-inclusive school practices is repeatedly reflected in students’ views on gender as a binary construct grounded in stereotypical assumptions that are not contested in the school environment (Renold, 2020). The pressure to conform has been reported in the ways that schools reproduce heterosexuality and cisheteronormative understandings of gender, reinforcing gender categories that marginalise students who do not fit the cisheteronormative gender norms (Woolley 2017; Þrastardóttir & Kjaran, 2023). This can have detrimental effects on LGBTQ+ youth who is trying to figure out their identities especially in times of a current international backlash and lack of support from their environment. International research on LGBTQ+ youth has consistently shown poorer mental health compared to their heterosexual peers (Price-Feeney et al., 2024). They are also more likely to encounter minority stress and stigma following bullying and physical violence. They have difficulty accessing services that meet their needs, which in turn elevates risk of poor mental health (Hill et al., 2021).

There has been limited research on LGBTQ+ youth in Iceland, a country recognized as having strong commitment to gender and sexuality equality (ILGA Europe, 2024; World Economic Forum, 2024). Findings from an Icelandic survey conducted among LGBTQ+ youth in 2017 showed that participants reported insecurity related to gender expression, sexuality, body size, and academic ability. Findings from two studies conducted in Iceland in 2010 and 2018 concluded that LGBTQ+ youth exhibited greater levels of depression, anger, and stress than their heterosexual peers and that they were more in a risk of school dropout and suicidal thoughts (Guðmundsdóttir et al., 2018; Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al., 2010). These findings report the experiences of young people but the experiences of their families is lacking.

Resarch focus

There is a need for research on the experiences and perceptions of parents of LGBTQ+ youth who have an important role in supporting their children, information about how parents support their children in times of mental health difficulties including self-harm , how the current backlash is affecting their children and the role of the school system when it comes to their children’s wellness and security.

This support is vital as it is known to work against mental health conditions, stress, isolation, and promote youth wellbeing (Wilson & Cariola, 2020). Research findings have reported that parents of LGBTQ+ youth have experienced personal barriers and challenges when supporting their children, for instance, prejudice from their social environment, minority stress connected to their child being LGBTQ+ and feeling of insecurity in their parenting practices (Hidalgo & Chen, 2019; Matsuno et al., 2022). Due to the importance of parental support when it comes to LGBTQ+ youth a more nuanced understanding of parental experiences is needed to promote better support for LGBTQ+ youth and their families.

Research questions:

How do Icelandic parents of trans youth experience their children’s lives in and out of school in the ongoing international backlash and how do they support their children when it comes to mental health and school life?

Analyzing the data, queer theory (Butler, 1990), particularly the concepts of heteronormativity and cisnormativity, are utilized to interrogate the ideological foundations of school systems. Schools often operate on implicit assumptions that students are heterosexual and cisgender and that families conform to traditional gender and sexual norms.