Code-Switching Queer Controversy: Pre-K-8 Educators' Perceptions of LGBT-Inclusive Policy Framing

Colleges of Education at Arizona State University and the University of South Florida. c/o Editor, USF EDU162, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-5650. Tel: 813-974-3400; Fax: 813-974-3826; Web site: https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/epaa

Y

25

LGBTQ People; Inclusion; Elementary School Teachers; State Legislation; Middle School Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Textbook Content; History Instruction; Curriculum; Educational Practices; Teacher Responsibility; Teacher Characteristics

1068-2341

This paper uses sensemaking theory and frame analysis to examine how a non-system actor's framing for advancing LGBT inclusion, what they called "code-switching," was taken up. Drawing on qualitative interview data generated as part of a larger mixed-methods study, this article examines the material and ideological affordances and constraints of elementary educators implementing the Inclusive Curriculum Law in Illinois (House Bill 246), a law promoting LGBT representation in history textbooks and curriculum. Findings highlight how the impetus to code-switch created a disconnect between policy and perceived practice, which in turn complicated organizational efforts to transform inclusive instruction. As our analyses illustrate, problem framing--refracted here through a non-system agent--not only shaped the direction of proposed solutions but also played a critical role in coordinating individual action and sensemaking.

As Provided

2024

EJ1437316