School-Based Support Team Responses to Sexual Diversity and Homophobic Bullying in a South African School

Abstract

This article explores the gender and sexual diversity perceptions of teachers in a support unit at a South African school. The School Based Support team (SBST) is a formal structure that consist of selected teachers who are responsible for creating enabling, inclusive and safe learning environments for all students who experience barriers to learning. South African literature shows that school youth who do not conform to heteronormative expressions are subjected to homophobic violence, discrimination and excluded from academic activities. Through purposive sample individual interviews were conducted with ten SBST members, the three themes generated illustrate that teachers in the SBST continue to ‘other’ learners with non-heterosexual expressions and fail to uphold a social cohesive learning environment. The first theme found that the SBST members do not perceive learners with diverse sexual orientations in need of care and support. The second theme shows that the support structure is nonresponsive in the event of discrimination and prejudice faced by learners with diverse sexual orientations. Then the third theme discovered that some educators within the school are perpetrators of homophobia and violence. These results call for a comprehensive in-service teacher training on aspects of sexual diversity.