Greek Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions Regarding Gender and Sexual Diversity and Sexuality Education
Abstract
This study explores preservice teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding gender and sexual diversity and sexuality education. Preservice teachers from universities in Greece were invited to participate in an online survey within the framework of the project “All Inclusive! Building LGBT+ friendly schools across Europe”. A total of 123 preservice teachers completed a structured questionnaire investigating their knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding gender and sexual diversity and sexuality education in schools. The findings demonstrate that the majority of the participants endorse the idea of equality between heterosexual, homosexual and transgender people and have positive perceptions of their university setting’s inclusivity. The results also indicate that although the surveyed preservice teachers received limited education on sexuality-related issues when they themselves were at school, they acknowledge the importance of providing sexuality education in schools today. The findings highlight the lack of preparedness of preservice teachers to support students on sexual diversity issues due to the limited teaching knowledge acquired during their initial teacher education. The study has several implications for initial teacher education in Greece with respect to sexuality education.
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References
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