Queer Teaching - Teaching Queer

Declan Fahie, Aideen Quilty, Renée DePalma Ungaro, Declan Fahie, Aideen Quilty, Renée DePalma Ungaro

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781000007589
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book draws upon contemporary Irish and international research which explores the critical interplay between education studies and sexualities.

Scholars from Ireland, Canada, Spain, the U.K. and Sweden employ the conceptual lens of Queer Theory to interrogate and destabilise long-standing regimes of truth/knowledge, and in so doing, highlight the suitability and applicability of this theoretical perspective within educational discourses. By reframing and repositioning gender identity/expression as a performative expression on a fluid continuum, this book provokes readers to (re)view how they see education, pedagogy and schooling. The book interrogates what happens to teaching, and teachers, when queerness permeates their practice, thus exposing the ways in which heteronormativity informs and shapes our places/sites of education.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Irish Educational Studies journal.

Faith of our fathers – lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of religion in Irish denominational primary schools

Declan Fahie

Owing to a variety of complex historical and socio-cultural factors, the Irish education system remains heavily influenced by denominational mores and values [Ferriter, D. 2012. Occasions of Sin: Sex & Society in Modern Ireland. London: Profile Books], particularly those of the Roman Catholic Church [O’Toole, B. 2015. “1831–2014: An Opportunity to Get it Right This Time? Some Thoughts on the Current Debate on Patronage and Religious Education in Irish Primary in Primary Schools: Reflections from the Republic of Ireland.” Irish Educational Studies 34 (1): 89–102. doi:10.1080/03323315.2015.1010704; Faas, D., M. Darmody, and B. Sokolowska. 2016. “Religious Diversity in Primary Schools: Reflections from the Republic of Ireland.” British Journal of Religious Education 38 (1): 83–98]. Unsurprisingly, with the declaration by the Church that homosexuality was ‘intrinsically disordered’ [Libreria Edittrice Vaticana. 2003. “Roman Catholic Catechism.” Accessed January 18 2013. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm], the professional identity and practice of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) teachers working in denominational schools is often (in)formed by fear, as well as perceived, or actual, harassment and discrimination [Gowran, S. 2004. “The Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Teachers in Irish Schools.” In Primary Voices, edited by J. Deegan, D. Devine, and A. Lodge, 37–56. Dublin: IPA; Fahie, D. 2016. “‘Spectacularly Exposed and Vulnerable’ – How Irish Equality Legislation Subverted the Personal and Professional Security of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Teachers.” Sexualities]. This paper examines the lived-experience of 23 self-identified LGB teachers who work(ed) in Irish Roman Catholic primary schools. Their unique experiences and perspectives of faith-based schooling are examined against a backdrop of the complex processes of rationalisation and reflexivity these teachers undertake as they endeavour to reconcile their sense of personal integrity – as members of the LGB community – with their professional responsibilities. The study draws particular attention to those LGB teachers who hold deeply felt, and sincere, beliefs in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church but who, nonetheless, express a level of discomfort at the language and tone of church dogma in respect of minority sexualities.

Introduction

On Friday, 22 May 2015 more than 62% of the Irish electorate voted to permit marriage between ‘ … two persons without distinction as to their sex’ (Thirty-Fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Act 2015b). Preceded in April 2015 by the Children and Family Relationships Act (2015a) which provided for adoption rights for same-sex couples, this new law represented, not just a victory for supporters of marriage equality, but also a fundamental shift in attitudes among the Irish people towards lesbian, gay and bisexual people in general (Boland 2015; Rhodes 2015). Ireland had become the first country in the world to legislate for same-sex marriage following a popular vote; a fact which is even more extraordinary given Ireland’s complex socio-historic relationship with the Roman Catholic Church and its influence on shifting values and mores (Elkink et al. 2015).

The Roman Catholic Church’s response to the referendum outcome was mixed, while Archbishop Martin of Dublin stated that the result indicated that the church needed a ‘reality check’ (Irish Times¹ May 23), the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin argued that the vote represented a ‘defeat for humanity’ (Irish Times² May 30). Nonetheless, activists in the gay rights movement have heralded the results of the referendum as both a concrete validation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Ireland and a type of psychic uncoupling from the deeply embedded (and some would argue, dysfunctional) interplay between Irish civil society and Roman Catholicism (Healy, Sheehan, and Whelan 2015). However, while more hard-line, conservative attitudes towards homosexuality may have softened, national and international studies have consistently argued that considerable tensions remain for those who learn and work within schools in respect of the complex matrix that is human sexuality (Endo, Reece-Miller, and Santavicca 2010; Rudoe 2010; Connell 2015; GLEN 2016).

Drawing on the 23 in-depth interviews, this paper highlights the unique experiences of Irish LGB primary teachers who work, or worked, in faith schools. The study underlines the strategies of reconciliation undertaken by this cohort as they strive to resolve the determining discord which often characterises the lived expression of their professional and professional identities. By excavating the complex and enduring relationship between Irish education and the Roman Catholic Church (particularly in terms of curriculum content, management structures and employment law derogations), the paper reveals a unique emotional topography; one which is hidden in plain sight and populated by a cohort of teachers whose distinctive perspectives and experiences have resonance for national and international scholars of queer pedagogy and beyond.

Schools and religion in Ireland – a vivifying relationship?

While there is evidence of a diminution of the influence of the Roman Catholic church over wider Irish society’s values and mores (Inglis 2007; Moran 2009; Parker-Jenkins and Masterson 2013), it still retains and, indeed, exercises, significant power over systems and structures of education at all levels (Hogan 2011; Smyth, Darmody, and Lyons 2013; O’Toole 2015; Rougier and Honohan 2015; Faas, Darmody, and Sokolowska 2016). This is particularly true of primary schooling, with over 96% espousing a denominational ethos and 92% of primary schools under the direct, or indirect, control and/or ownership of the Roman Catholic Church (Devine 2011). Despite these schools being publically funded, the Roman Catholic Church, as a patron body, retains a significant role in the appointment of principals, for example, and also controls the selection and appointment of the Chairperson of every school’s Board of Management. In addition, as a patron body, it also appoints two other board members as patron nominees. The Board of Management is responsible for the overall management of the school and, critically, is the legal employer of every teacher in that school. In addition, it is the responsibility of the Board to ‘uphold, and be accountable to the patron for so upholding … the characteristic spirit of the school … (in respect of its) … moral, religious … and spiritual values and traditions … ’ (Education Act 1998, 15.-1(b)).

As well as its influence at Initial Teacher Education at primary level (all but one of the mainstream colleges of education in Ireland were founded by Roman Catholic religious orders), religious instruction and religiosity permeates every aspect of school life. Indeed, Rule 68 of the Rules for National Schools, which was only rescinded in early 2016 (see Circular Letter 0009/2016, DES 2016), underlined this clearly when it stated that

Of all the parts of a school curriculum Religious Instruction is by far the most important … Religious Instruction is, therefore, a fundamental part of the school course, and a religious spirit should inform and vivify the whole work of the school. (Department of Education 1965, 38)

However, there is concrete evidence of a fundamental shift in the structure of schooling in Ireland over recent years, specifically in respect of the remarkable growth of the multi-denominational system of schooling (Darmody, Smyth, and McCoy 2012). Under the patron body Educate Together, there are currently 77 primary and 9 second-level multi-denominational schools in Ireland. Demand for such schools is high and several more are in advanced planning stages. These schools do not have a denominational ethos and teach a broader Ethical Education curriculum which focuses on social justice, equality, ethics and offers an understanding of the belief systems of a variety of world religions.

Religion and the ‘revised’ curriculum

Replacing an earlier national curriculum (Department of Education 1971), the current Irish primary school curriculum was introduced in 1999 and is composed of 11 discrete subject areas. The teaching of each of these subjects is informed by two official curricular documents, published on behalf of the then Department of Education and Science by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), which prescribe the subject content/assessment strategies as well as recommended teaching methodologies for every class level (NCCA 1999a). Religion is not one of these 11 subject areas. However, as part of this suite of departmental publications, the ‘Primary School Curriculum Introduction’ (NCCA 1999b), which provides a contextual preface to the overall curriculum, offers some suggestions on how the teaching of religion can be accommodated within the primary classroom and, specifically, within a broader timetabling framework. In the document’s foreword the then Minister for Education, Míchaél Martin, wrote that ‘The development and implementation of the curriculum in religious education in primary schools remains the responsibility of the relevant church authorities’ (NCCA 1999b, vi). However, later statements within the document point to the profoundly embedded relationship between Irish primary curricular structures and faith formation.

The importance that the curriculum attributes to the child’s spiritual development is expressed through the breadth of learning experiences the curriculum offers, through the inclusion of religious education as one of the areas of the curriculum, and through the child’s engagement with the aesthetic and affective domains of learning. (NCCA 1999b, 27)

While this introductory document acknowledges the importance of recognising religious diversity, it explicitly situates the curriculum within a Judeo-Christian framework which ‘ … acknowledges the centrality of the Christian heritage and tradition in the Irish experience and the Christian identity shared by the majority of Irish people’ (NCCA 1999b, 28). In practical terms, it also suggests that, out of a 5-hour and 40-minute school day, 30 minutes be spent on religious education in all Irish state-funded primary schools. Though there has been some criticism about the amount of time spent teaching religion (Irish Primary Principals Network [IPPN] 2015)³, the recommended half-hour of instruction is somewhat elastic, and considerably more time is dedicated to faith formation at different times of the year (e.g. Christmas and Easter) as well as for those classes preparing for the sacraments of First Communion or Confirmation.

In theory, parents can choose to withdraw their children from religious instruction under Section 30, (2)–(e) of the Education Act 1998 which, though not referring to religion specifically, allows parents to withdraw their child from any subject that is contrary to the conscience of the parent of the student or,...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Citation Information
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction
• Foreword – Foreword: queer teaching – teaching queer
• 1 Faith of our fathers – lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of religion in Irish denominational primary schools
• 2 From invisibility to visibility: a policy archaeology of the introduction of anti-transphobic and anti-homophobic bullying guidelines into the Irish primary education system
• 3 Two good gay teachers: pioneering advocate-practitioners confronting homophobia in schooling in British Columbia, Canada
• 4 Lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers’ ambivalent relations with parents and students while entering into a civil partnership
• 5 Queer youth and mental health: What do educators need to know?
• 6 Homonationalism in teacher education – productions of schools as heteronormative national places
• 7 Queer provocations! Exploring queerly informed disruptive pedagogies within feminist community-higher-education landscapes
• Afterword – Teaching queer/queer teaching: an afterword
• Index