Moderating role of the pedagogical relationship in LGBT inclusivity of schools in Croatia

Abstract

This article presents a thematic analysis of a part of research results on LGBT (in)visibility in education from the perspective of educators, obtained by four focus groups conducted with educators (N = 27) employed at four secondary schools. The aim of the article is to apply the pedagogical relationship as a conceptual framework to analyze the modalities of the role of educators in mediating LGBT topics and in pedagogical interactions, which may be particularly important for LGBT students, presented through the threatening vs. supporting dichotomy. The results indicate it is possible to understand the quality of the pedagogical relationship between teachers and students as a continuum, with homophobic behavior of teachers on one end and explicit addressing of others’ homophobic practices on the other, while also grasping the importance of the pedagogical relationship’s microcontextual framework for the well-being of LGBT students.