Should our teaching go LGBTI? Comparing the attitudes of EU and non-EU teachers about the inclusion of LGBTI matters in their lessons

Decades of fight and activism in the field of sexual and gender rights have resulted in an improvement of the social, political, and health life conditions of millions of LGBTI individuals across the world. As a result, since the 1980s the EU law has provided a solid political framework for the security of the rights of LGBTI actors across the continent. Unfortunately, these years of progress have turned into serious waves of resistance to the freedom of the LGBTI community in several parts of Europe, leading to increasing discrimination towards members of this community in countries allegedly committed to the principles of social equality, freedom, inclusion, tolerance, and non-discrimination of the EU.

UNESCO advocates for comprehensive sexuality and gender education for young generations to prepare them for a safe and fulfilling life regarding their sexual well-being. In this light, some countries, such as the UK, regulate this as compulsory in Primary and Secondary Education. However, research is scarce when analysing the attitudes of teachers about the inclusion of LGBTI matters in their lessons considering the impact they can have on learners; furthermore, no studies compare their opinions between those from EU countries and those from non-EU territories.

This study compares the attitudes of EU and non-EU teachers regarding the inclusion of LGBTI matters in their lessons. Four hypotheses are proposed: (1) Teachers’ attitudes are generally positive concerning the inclusion of LGBTI matters in their lessons; (2) teachers from EU countries have better attitudes concerning the inclusion of LGBTI matters in their lessons than teachers from non-EU countries; (3) among teachers from EU countries, those identifying as LGBTI have better attitudes concerning the inclusion of LGBTI matters in their lessons than those identifying as non-LGBTI; and (4) among teachers from non-EU countries, those identifying as LGBTI have better attitudes concerning the inclusion of LGBTI matters in their lessons than those identifying as non-LGBTI.

A total of 445 teachers participates in the study, out of whom 375 (84.27%) are from EU countries, and 70 (15.73%) are from non-EU countries. According to belonging to the LGBTI community, 305 (68.54%) participants identify as non-LGBTI, 118 (26.52%) identify as LGBTI, and 22 (4.94%) prefer not to provide this information. Findings reveal that participants generally have good attitudes towards including these matters in their lessons, although opinions are more positive in the case of teachers from EU countries. These results show that, despite the positive perceptions of the surveyed teachers, more information and specific teacher training in the field of LGBTI matters are still necessary to guarantee comprehensive sexuality and gender education for learners around the world.

Palabras clave