Preservice Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Family: Considering Future Instruction on Lesbian- and Gay-Headed Families

Abstract

Sixty-eight preservice teachers from a midwestern university responded to a questionnaire asking the construct of their family, their definition of family, if they recognized 18 relationships as families, and if they would use those relationships as examples in their future teaching. We focus primarily on participants' responses to examples of lesbian- and gay-headed (LG) families. Chi-squared tests of association and logistic regression reveal participants' descriptions of their own families as the most influential factor in their recognition of nontraditional families. Results indicate that teachers will use personal schema of family to determine which constructs will be included in the formal curriculum. LG families are least likely to be included. Authors contend that the need to eliminate the negative consequences of excluding students' families from the classroom must trump teachers' biases and fears of addressing variations of this core social construct.

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