Browsing by Author "Jern, Virpi"

Tiivistelmä - Referat – Abstract Increasing the consciousness and understanding of the gender diversitys has been pointed one of the aims in the latest national curriculum together with advancing equality. According to Lehtonen (2012) and Alanko (2014) school has not reached this aim yet. Even those teachers who seem to take positive stand towards contributing equality do not necessarily be willing to do that in school context. These results do not agree with the aims of curriculum. The purpose of this study is to create diverse and extensive review over teachers` ability to encounter diversity of gender and sexuality as pointed in the national curriculum. Futhermore it is examined what kind of teachers´ attitudes towards gender and sexual minorities the data reveals. The data of this feministic educational literature review consists of thirteen peer rewieved papers, four master thesis, one article from a article collection and five formal reports considering different themes and experiences of gender and sexual diversity in school context. Data was analyzed using interdiciplinary coding. The ability of encountering diversity consists of knowledge, experience and skillfulness. The synthesis was made by comparing the results of analyze with the aims of the curriculum. The results revealed that teachers´ ability to encounter diversity is inadequate compared to the aims of the curriculum. Teachers´ knowlegde of diversity was insufficient to maintain enough support to students with nonconforming gender expression. The lack of valid information about gender diversity and childrens´ sexual development reduced also their ability to reflect ones´ own working and recognise heteronormative conventions in school context. Many teacher were willing to support minorities and advancing diversity in school context, but they didn`t know how. About half of all the teachers had experience in working together with sexual minorities or havin taught them. The data also revealed that teachers attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities were mostly positive. The lack of knowledge might become a big challenge in the future, if teacher training won´t pay more attention and effort to this issue. Many students and teachers in the field are ready to change they habits and a way of teaching, if they are informed well or at least enough to take care of their job thouhg expectation of the curriculum. The more awareness, the better chance to change the athmosphere more positive and inclusive in the schools.