Emotions and pedagogies of discomfort: Teachers’ responses to sexual and gender diversity in the Free State, South Africa

Abstract

Emotions are central to social justice work in education but receive scant research attention in South Africa. Our study explores the role of emotions in teachers’ approaches to teaching about sexual and gender diversity in schools in the Free State. Using in-depth interviews, we found that teachers experienced discomfort with the topic, had inherited bitter knowledge about non-normative sexual and gender identities, and experienced strong negative affect when discussing the topic. In many ways, participants unconsciously and unreflexively perpetuated heterosexism and homophobia in their classroom teaching and school settings. We conclude that the growing emphasis in educational policy in South Africa on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) learners requires a greater awareness among educators of the role of emotions in enabling or hindering this form of social justice work in education.