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Past event

Queer-in(g) Education: mis/uses and matterings

Calling all educators, researchers, and advocates interested in critically exploring how queer theory has come to matter in the field of gender and sexuality education. 

Join us for an online event hosted by the Sexualities and Gender special interest group of the British Education Research Association.

This event begins with a recorded keynote presentation by Professor Louisa Allen (University of Auckland) featuring insights from the recently published “Queer Studies and Education: An International Reader” (Rodriguez, Mizzi, Allen, and Cover 2023). 

Following Professor Allen’s presentation, the rest of the session will include a series of 5- or 10-minute reflections from SIG and non-SIG members of whom you could be one! We invite you to offer your perspective on the journey and/or current state of the concept ‘queer’ in the field of education in ways that might explore the following key questions: 

  • What is the state and status of queer research in educational studies today? 
  • How is the concept of ‘queer’ being used and misused in the public domain? 
  • How can we navigate the intersection of queer theory, policy, and practice?
  • How might we envision a collaborative praxis for transformative change in queer educational studies.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in critical dialogue, forge connections, and shape the future of queer education research. Register now and be part of the movement towards inclusivity, equity, and empowerment in gender and sexuality education studies.

10:00 Welcome & Introduction
10:05 Keynote Lecture: Holding Open Queer Potential in Education
Professor Louisa Allen, University of Auckland 
10:45 Queer-in(g) relationships and sex education in UK secondary schools: insights from teachers and young trans people
Sophie Atherton, Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh
11:00 Possibilities for Queer Joy and Challenge at ‘the Queerest School in Toronto’
Kim Snider, University of Auckland
11:15 Transcending the gender binary: towards an inclusive approach in education
Pip Lee Meer, Northumbria University
11:30 Queering one’s own pedagogy through “Identity Molecule” tool: an intersectional exploratory investigation with Italian teachers in training
Barbara Centrone, Roma Tre University
11:45 Reflecting on the tensions between queerness and disciplinary academic writing (and perhaps finding refuge in education)
El Crabtree, Trinity College Dublin
12:00 Spiral temporalities and expanding space as queer forces in Education
Gustavo Mariano, University of Coimbra
12:15 Break
12:30 A reflection as an RSHE practitioner. How the use of queer theory has changed my practice and why this matters
Charlie Shaw, Middlesex University
12:40 Praxis in zine-ic research: Mapping lines of flight in creative sexuality education research with young people
Elizabeth Ascroft, Open University
12:55 Queer Prefiguring: Connecting struggles and hopes through intersectional materialist pedagogies
Phuong Tu Nguyen, Edge Hill University
13:10 Future Planning
13:30 Event Close

Chairs & Speakers

Profile picture of EJ Renold
EJ Renold, Professor

Professor of Childhood Studies at Cardiff University

EJ Renold is a professor of Childhood Studies at the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University. They are the author of Girls, Boys and Junior Sexualities (2005), Children, Sexuality and Sexualisation (with Ringrose and Egan, 2015) and the...

Profile picture of Kate Marston
Kate Marston, Dr

Lecturer at Cardiff University

I am a Lecturer in Education with a particular interest in young people's gender and sexual cultures, digital relationships and creative, visual and arts-based methods. My teaching and research is driven by a passion for creating social change...

Profile picture of Kayden Schumacher
Kayden Schumacher, Mx

PhD Scholar at Coventry University

Kayden Schumacher is a PhD scholar at Coventry University. He is currently completing his PhD at Coventry University in ‘Global Learning: Gender, Equality and Diversity’. His research focuses on trans* and gender diverse students’...

Profile picture of Louisa Allen
Louisa Allen, Professor

Professor at University of Auckland

Louisa Allen is a Professor in, Critical Studies in Education, in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at The University of Auckland. She specializes in research on sexualities, young people, gender and schooling. This work is informed by...

Profile picture of Elizabeth Ascroft
Elizabeth Ascroft, Ms

Student at The Open University

Elizabeth is a researcher, a rights activist and a creative facilitator. She is a PhD Student in the School of Health Wellbeing and Social Care at The Open University and a scholar with the ESRC Grand Union Doctoral Training Programme. Her...

Profile picture of Kim Snider
Kim Snider, Ms

PhD Student at University of Auckland

Kim Snider (she/her) is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. Her research focuses on queer and trans-affirming pedagogical practices in the arts and is informed by 21 years of secondary...

Profile picture of Sophie Atherton
Sophie Atherton, Dr

Research Fellow at University of Edinburgh

Sophie Atherton is a research fellow in the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society in the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently working on an ESRC-funded project entitled ‘Viral Memories: From HIV to Covid-19 and...

Profile picture of Pip Lee Meer
Pip Lee Meer, Mx

PhD Candidate and Education Consultant at Northumbria University

Northumbria University Research, Teacher and Activist. Nonbinary genderqueer (they/them) research interests: Gender diversity and inclusion in education LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools Teacher training and staff...

Profile picture of Phuong Tu Nguyen
Phuong Tu Nguyen, Mr

Doctoral Student at Edge Hill University

I'm a PhD researcher specialising in gender, sexuality, and education, with over 8 years of experience in gender advocacy and sexuality education in Vietnam and the UK. Holding an MA in Education, Gender and International Development at UCL and...

Profile picture of Charlotte Shaw
Charlotte Shaw, Mrs

Teacher at Middlesex University

MA student with Middlesex University. RSHE teacher in North Lincolnshire.

Profile picture of Gustavo Mariano
Gustavo Mariano, Mr

University of Coimbra

Gustavo Mariano is a PhD student in the program Human Rights in Contemporary Society at the Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra. He holds a master's degree in Philosophy of Law (University of Coimbra) and a Bachelor's Degree in Law...

Profile picture of Barbara Centrone
Barbara Centrone, Mx

Phd Student, teacher at Università degli studi Roma Tre

Barbara Centrone (they/she – l*i/lei): a queer, disabled, and neurodivergent person, is an intersectional transfeminist activist and an expert teacher in education on differences. An expert in Disability Studies, they are a PhD candidate in...

Profile picture of El Crabtree
El Crabtree, Dr

Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin

I am an Irish Research Council Postdoc Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. My research experiences have spanned a few areas of the academic system — from languages and comparative literature scholarship, to educational research and professional...