The boy who was drawing princesses: primary teachers' accounts of children's non-conforming behaviours

Abstract

The aim of this work is to raise awareness of sexual minority issues with a special focus on the primary school domain in Greece. Greece is considered a conservative country where most people regard homosexuality as taboo and non-heterosexual people as an invisible group. Research data from interviewing primary Greek teachers showed that (homo)sexuality and gender-challenging behaviour are issues of concern in primary school children. Moreover, teachers occasionally identify sexuality and gender-related behaviours in children that do not conform to stereotypical expectations. In some schools, non-conforming behaviour is stigmatised, and pupils who failed to follow the norm are mocked. Such hostile behaviour often goes unchallenged. When respondents were prompted to discuss their personal reactions to such incidents, they referred to a range of reactions such as offering etymological explanations, ignoring the issue altogether, dismissing it as unimportant, or recalling it privately as amusing. Finally, the school personnel tended to handle ‘dangerous’ situations discretely (secretively). Data from this study could contribute to a framework for exploring teachers' school experiences with the overall goal of transforming them into learning.