If you haven’t already done so, spend a few minutes looking into queer studies in your field…what kind of work is being done? What sort of role does it seem to be playing in research? Is the theory being used as a tool to analyze data? Is it operating more at the paradigmatic level, serving as a broad organizational tool or orientation? Is it activist in nature?
Behavior Science has a sordid and complex history with the LGBT community, best evidenced by the ongoing controversy over the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (generally seen as the leading journal in our field) refusing to retract a study printed in the 70s in which Rekers and Lovaas (Lovaas often seen as an early leader in ABA, though most decry his methods now), at the request of parents, implemented interventions designed to shape the gender expression of a young boy. While JABA has issued a statement condemning that study, they have not retracted it despite its ethical violations.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of how queer theory is applied in my field, the reality is that mostly, it isn't. Theories grounded in philosophy tend to receive short shrift in ABA. This is, particularly in the case of queer studies and critical race theory, to our detriment.
With that said, there are increasing outside pressures to change this dynamic - there is a lot of anti-ABA sentiment from many autistic self-advocates who refer to it as autistic conversion therapy, and that largely stems from ABA's refusal to shift how it handles discussions and applications of its science. There are those in the field who are working to change this, although change is happening more rapidly along cultural and racial lines than it is with regards to sexuality. For those seeking to effect change, activism is a major element - there is a serious need to protect those with intersectional identities in the communities to which ABA is applied - it is not uncommon for younger autistic children receiving ABA services to have identities that ABA does not really adjust for on a systemic level.
In counseling, work with the LGBTQ+ population has been prevalent for quite some time. Sexual orientation falls under the category of multicultural counseling which is taught to counselors in training during their Masters program. Multicultural counseling is a staple of the profession and encompasses gender, race, culture, and sexual orientation among other factors. Currently, the field of counseling has a strong focus on the area of social justice to address systemic oppression experienced by different marginalized groups. One area of research that continues to emerge is transgender studies, which continues to grow separate from traditional LGBTQ+ research. Counseling consistently has studied the experiences of marginalized groups so that counselors can better serve these populations with the problems that they bring into the counseling relationship.
ReplyDeleteIn school counseling, the topic of sexual orientation can be a difficult one to broach in certain conservative areas. I have found that working in a conservative area, I must be careful about how to present certain topics related to LGBTQ+ identities. I certainly have not seen queer pedagogy being implemented into the education of my current employment. I do run a small group for LGBTQ+ support and I hope that there will be more widespread support for LGBTQ+ shifts in education in my county in the future.
I’m not aware of any queer theory that has been actively used in higher education, at least in my current role/acadmeic unit. However, I will say that VCU and the College of Health Professions is being very intentional when it comes to diversity and inclusion and that includes LGBTQIA inclusion. I serve on a diversity in curriculum committee, we have created an instrument so that each faculty member is able to do a self-assessment and course assessment in regards to diversity. Ideally these instruments will help instructors to see where there are gaps or room for improvement. So while Queer theory is not addressed specifically, an instructor could incorporate this in their their classes in the future.
ReplyDeleteA quick search for queer theory in higher education pulled up some stuff, however, I noticed that there was not really anything that was recent. Most of the stuff I was able to find between 2005-2015 (more so in those later years). One of the articles I read referenced the “It gets better” campaign which was started in 2010 and how that campaign may have prompted some more action in higher education around that time (although the Manning article did reference Duke University in the early 90’s). I’d be interested to hear from my classmates who work in higher ed if they had more luck finding current information, or if there are practices in place where they work.
Comment - Lauren Mortensen
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ReplyDeleteFrom Dana R-D
ReplyDeleteMy primary field of work is Adult Learning with a primary focus on leadership development, particularly in terms of “shared leadership team” models as a contrast to the prevailing hierarchical (and historically patriarchal in many cultures) “leader and followers” models. A brief search on Web of Science and our Cabell Library search database yielded 5 articles that match the topics of both “queer theory” and “adult learning”, and 14 articles that match “queer theory” and “adult education” – a pretty limited range of resources. Topics related to “queer theory” are seldom raised in the literature on adult learning that I have come across in a four-decades career as a field practitioner and informal researcher. The one connecting element that has gained prominence in recent years is the increasing attention given to valuing and supporting “diversity” as a key contributor to organizational effectiveness.
I did find it interesting to see some elements of the applied practice of queer theory in K-12 education, as described in our readings, that seem very similar to well established principles and practices embedded in andragogy – the concepts and practices of adult learning. For example, Darla Linville writes about “attending to the needs and desires of the present interaction” and Summer Pennell emphasizes “dialogue”, “reflection” and “prioritizing student-led discussions with little teacher input to allow students to come to conclusions or further questions one their own.” as essential elements of their queering pedagogies. Such approaches to learning facilitation are core elements of andragogy (in contrast to traditional teacher-centric pedagogies) as developed and articulated in the 1970’s and early 1980’s by seminal adult learning theorists such as Malcomb Knowles (including the positioning of personal and collective experience-based learning as the essence of "true learning"). Of course there are many other strong influences reflected in the “queering of the classroom” as described by Linville and Pennell, but I am curious if a linkage to the heritage of andragogy is a source that they recognize.
Post by Mia Liadis
ReplyDeleteAmerican Counseling Association (ACA) has a code of ethics that encourages counselors to be trained in issues regarding gender and sexuality, and pursue active reflection about one’s own beliefs and experiences regarding gender and sexuality. There is a specific branch in ACA called the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC), that has competencies and advocacy recommended for counselors. While there is some coursework dedicated to gender and sexuality in master’s and doctoral level programs, there are no required classes that are specifically dedicated to queer studies.
There is a lot of research on working with LGB folx as a counselor, and recently more research about working with and serving transgender clients. However, there isn’t quite as much about working with queer counselors-in-training, resources that counselors may find useful in working with transgender clients, and navigating queer identity as a counselor educator and supervisor.
In student affairs, I’ve found that there’s a fair amount of freedom for staff to broach gender and sexuality in their offices and with students. We aren’t as restricted those in school systems with such topics, and often have the ability to openly advocate for LGBTQIA+ student rights and autonomy. However, this can depend on the climate of one’s office in student affairs. If there is queer representation among staff, or a strong allyship within one’s office, it often allows for a more inclusive space for students, faculty and staff to discuss queer culture and identity and how it intersects with their work.
Even though it is often considered a limitation, I actually really enjoy the broadness of the definition of queer theory. As a classroom teacher, queer theory has definitely been utilized as an activist tool for the LGBTQ+ community in the most recent years. However, for formal data analysis and collection, I can not remember off the top of my head if any change has been made.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago I was able to attend project inclusion which is essentially an intensive three day program designed to move beyond the labels and support acceptance and inclusion all around. I listened to a sermon today that was talking about how labels makes us lazy and as I read this I couldn’t help but make the connection. I’ve never quite understood why it’s so important to know how someone identifies in any area of life, other than to try to impose monolithic norms for that “group”.
Looking forward I am really interested in applying queer theory to other socially constructed identifiers. As I begin to look deeper into equitable polices, I think queer theory will be very beneficial. As Linville stated queering education forces us to see students, teachers, and/or administrators, as the complex humans were are with very different needs, wants, and desires.
Sierria
DeleteWhen I touched this topic in China several years ago, I heard it from a friend who is a teacher in high school. She had several students who claimed themselves gays. We discussed it and found most of them were from single-parent families. We felt curious about whether or not the change of students’ sexual orientation were caused by the family relationships. Hence, for me, when it comes to queer theory, I associate it with family counseling. I am interested in the combination of secular counseling and spiritual counseling. When families or individuals encounter relationship conflicts, career development, parent-child relationship, and the influence of family of origin on personal growth, etc., if they can think about them in combination and carry through adult preparatory education, it should have a positive impact on their marriage and child parenting. In secular counseling, the LGBTQ has been studied as queer theory for quite a while; however, in theological term, it’s still very sensitive. As a len, queer theory is used to explore this marginalized group’s social behavior or cultural phenomena. To me, it's activist in nature. Using a binary approach to explore the reasons why a person becomes an LGBTQ person, innate reasons or acquired factors, can help us better respect and help those who seek help.
ReplyDeleteFrom Hui Sun
I failed to locate any relevant queer studies in my field of study.
ReplyDeleteQueer studies plays a very significant part in my field, from both a researcher standpoint and a practitioner standpoint. One of the journals I subscribe to, The Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, frequently publishes articles and studies that seek to explain the queer experience on college campuses. And, of course, VCU does a significant amount of work to address the needs of LGBTQ+ students (and staff to a slightly less deliberate extent). I primarily see qualitatitve/phenomenological studies that seek to explain what obstacles and hardships queer students face in higher education, often utilizing smaller populations. The goal of these studies is to influence colleges and universities to adopt policies that support the emotional needs of queer students.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I find that sort of limited methodology to be lacking when it comes to true activist power. The studies demonstrate hardships just fine, and they do an excellent job of making the reader aware of the problem, but what's missing from the academic space are studies about deliberate intervention. I never read articles about how X school implemented a new policy that had some success. Those reports are restricted to non-academic conferences, where schools share their success stories. And their interventions aren't often informed by the academic research, but on their own casual observations. As a result, both sides are only seeing a fraction of the picture; the academic researchers are missing the interventions, and the practitioners are missing the context.
Ash TB
The short answer is no. As Dana mentioned in his post, the field of adult learning does discuss the value of “diversity” and being “student-centered”, but there isn’t much literature about queering education. There is a lot of conversation around diversity and inclusion among career services professionals because LGBTQ+ is often left out of employers’ idea of “diverse students.” There is also a lot of conversation in the career services field about being authentic at work, what that means, and how to identify when the organization culture is supportive of people bringing their most authentic selves to the workplace. I say all this to note that the idea of social justice as a part of experiential learning in STEM does not seem to have been explored thus far. There is a movement toward community-engaged research which may lead to a discussion, but it is somewhat limited right now.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Carter
ReplyDeleteThere is very limited research in queer studies within K-12 education (which I believe is largely due to the controversy that has historically surrounded the conversation), however I am hopeful that K-12 education is shifting in a way that promotes inclusivity & belonging within the communities it serves. Linville’s article discusses how queer terminonlogy and stories have been avoided in the elementary classroom .
ReplyDeleteWhen considering the activist approach, I think about a project that I am currently overseeing with high school students in partnership with our division’s office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Students are collecting stories from their peers with the intention to bring awareness & action to topics including the LGBTQ community that promote a sense of belonging. Their goal is to create bite-sized clips for all high school students to watch as one of their beginning of the year student online modules! I definitely see that as a win for moving forward in the right direction of policy change.
Jasmine Williams
Queer theory is very lacking in my area. I would love to see how literature could help create some normalization (I know this is different in different areas) for the LGBTQ community within the hetero community. I am speaking in very generalized terms here, just to be clear. I realize the levels and complexity of addressing this in public education, and I don't mean to simplify it or make it sound like it is easy. I just really think about this all of the time, and I know that in order to make this shift happen, it has to start somewhere. In my area, language arts, literature and how characters are represented in literature create norms in young children's minds. This is where we could do a better job. I think we are moving this direction, but it will take time because of the religious and moral stigma that people have placed on the LGBTQ community. Also, the idea of teaching any kind of sexuality is taboo, so how does an educator address this in public education? My simple answer is just having books that represent many kinds of families and lessons that include all sorts of lifestyles and lessons of acceptance in general. We could really do a better job of teaching kids NOT to be afraid of those who aren't like them, but it is difficult to undo what is done at home. I see so many of my LGBTQ community who feel like outsiders in their own community and then add other intersectionality to it, and that is a lot for a kid who is still trying to figure themselves out. Like I said, we need to do much better. I was encouraged last week when they made an announcement for a club and I asked the kids what it was. They simply replied, "Oh that is the spectrum club for LGBTQ kids." It was an absolutely non- judgmental response with no negativity attached, and I simply responded, " So cool!" They all nodded in agreement. That was encouraging. The schools are trying to create something positive with the clubs, but there is more we can do, and I would love to see more. I am working on deficit language and student perspectives this semester, and I will be interested to see what LGBTQ students feel about what schools are doing to make them feel that they are a part of the school community.
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