Gender mainstreaming and LGBTIQ+ inclusion in elementary teacher education programs in Chile: Insights from two case studies

Abstract

Globally, gender mainstreaming and LGBTIQ+ inclusion remain marginal concerns in teacher education. This study investigates how these issues are discursively constructed and implemented within the elementary teacher education programs of two Chilean universities—one public and one private—in the wake of the 2018 feminist movement and recent constitutional debates. Through documentary analysis, focus groups with preservice teachers, and photo-elicitation interviews with faculty and gender office directors, the case studies examine institutional, curricular, and pedagogical discourses. A reflexive thematic analysis, informed by post-structural feminist and queer theories, reveals two distinct institutional approaches: the public university adopts a “diagnosis-solution model,” framing gender and sexuality diversity as socio-educational variables affecting learning. In contrast, the private university employs a “human rights-based approach” grounded in social justice advocacy. Despite curricular constraints and neoliberal pressures, teacher educators in both contexts demonstrated a commitment to non-sexist and anti-homophobic/transphobic education, employing pedagogies of embodied learning, evidence-based teaching, and human rights advocacy to foster personal transformation among future educators. The findings underscore the pivotal yet precarious role of feminist and queer faculty in driving inclusion and highlight the need to move beyond tokenistic or depoliticized approaches to challenge dominant narratives of gender and sexuality in teacher education.