Teachers' perceptions of creating supportive school environments for children from same-sex parented families

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore foundation phase teachers' perceptions of the way in which supportive school environments are being created for children from same-sex parented families. It focused specifically on how foundation phase teachers perceive their role in accommodating, including, and positively representing the same-sex parented family in their classroom practice. Current literature highlights the negative experiences of homophobia and heteronormativity in schools, together with the need to create more supportive school environments for children from samesex parented families. The increasing prevalence of same-sex parented families in South Africa has created the need for extended research in this regard, and yet there is a gap in national literature on the school experiences of children from this nontraditional minority family form. Foundation phase teachers play a central role in teaching their young learners to accept and celebrate diversity. However, no research has been done in South Africa to explore foundation phase teachers' perspectives on their role in interrupting heteronormativity in their schools and classrooms. This study was approached from an interpretive paradigm and qualitative methods were employed to collect and analyse the data. Individual interviews were conducted with four foundation phase teachers, and interpretive thematic data analysis techniques were used to analyse the data. Culturally responsive pedagogy was used as a framework to explore barriers to inclusion, and to recommend ways in which foundation phase teachers in South African schools can be supported in creating safe, positive and counter-heteronormative school environments for children from same-sex parented families.