Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A Gender Perspective in Initial English Language Teacher Education: An Argentinian Experience

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Sexuality & Culture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In second language teacher education there is a gap in the literature concerning initial teacher preparation on gender and sexuality education. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of a foreign language teaching module with a gender perspective on the education of a group of 30 student–teachers at an online initial English language teacher education programme in Argentina in 2018. Following an ecological approach to teacher research, data were gathered through surveys and student–teachers’ completion of coursework. Overall, the student–teachers found the experience beneficial both regarding their personal development as citizens and future teachers, in terms of their increased awareness of gender matters and their ability to produce motivating language activities anchored in wider social practices which promote gender equality and diversity. The study includes implications for initial teacher education and curriculum development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A complete set of activities through which data were collected and samples of student–teachers’ activities can be retrieved from https://drive.google.com/open?id=1afGXTP7kdNCl6cxbWapSkgQbWEm2R8d.

References

  • Appleby, R. (2010). ELT, gender and international development: Myths of progress in a neo-colonial world. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ariyanto, S. (2018). A portrait of gender bias in the prescribed Indonesian ELT textbook for junior high school students. Sexuality and Culture,1, 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9512-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bargalló, M. L., & Lavari, M. (Eds.). (2015). Educación sexual integral en la Argentina: Voces desde la escuela. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educación.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benavides, C. (2017). EFL students’ social identities construction through gender-based short stories. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal,19(1), 11–21. https://doi.org/10.14483/calj.v19n1.10641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bianco, M., Mariño, A., & Re, M. I. (2008). Docentes y educación sexual integral: Un papel en constante construcción. Buenos Aires: Fundación Para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (FEIM).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bobbio, S., & Papini, R. (2016). An interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to the construction of gender. In D. L. Banegas, M. López-Barrios, M. Porto, & A. Soto (Eds.), ELT as a multidisciplinary endeavour: Growing through collaboration Selected papers from the 41st FAAPI Conference (pp. 7–17). San Juan: ASJPI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borg, S. (2013). Teacher research in language teaching: A critical analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brochin, C. (2019). Queering bilingual teaching in elementary schools and in bilingual teacher education. Theory Into Practice,58(1), 80–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2018.1536917.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock, D., & Smith, R. (Eds.). (2015). Teachers research!. Faversham: IATEFL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, K. L., Bos, H. M. W., & Sandfort, T. G. M. (2015). Understanding teachers’ responses to enactments of sexual and gender stigma at school. Teaching and Teacher Education,48, 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.02.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Congreso de la Nación Argentina. (2009). Ley 26.485. Buenos Aires.

  • Congreso de la Nación Argentina. (2010). Ley 26.618. Buenos Aires.

  • Congreso de la Nación Argentina. (2012a). Ley 26.743. Buenos Aires.

  • Congreso de la Nación Argentina. (2012b). Ley 26.791. Buenos Aires.

  • Consejo Federal de Educación. (2009). Lineamientos curriculares para la educación sexual integral. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educación.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. A., & Skilton-Sylvester, E. (2004). Looking back, taking stock, moving forward: Investigating gender in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly,38(3), 381–404. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, E., & Burns, A. (2016). Language teacher–researcher identity negotiation: An ecological perspective. TESOL Quarterly,50(3), 735–745. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evripidou, D. (2018). The interrelationship among sexual identity, learning, and sexualisation: Primary EFL teachers’ attitudes in Cyprus. TESOL Quarterly,52(4), 1062–1072. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogia do oprimido. New York: Herder & Herder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. (1997). Escritura y pensamiento crítico en los estudios sociales. Los profesores como intelectuales: Hacia una pedagogía crítica del aprendizaje. Barcelona: Paidós.

    Google Scholar 

  • Govender, N. N. (2019). Negotiating gender and sexual diversity in English language teaching: “Critical”-oriented educational materials designed by pre-service English teachers at a South African university. In M. López-Gopar (Ed.), International perspectives on critical pedagogies in ELT (pp. 125–150). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hanks, J. (2017). Integrating research and pedagogy: An exploratory practice approach. System,68, 38–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.06.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawker, S., & Kerr, C. (2016). Doing grounded theory. In E. Lyons & A. Coyle (Eds.), Analysing qualitative data in psychology (pp. 147–160). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, P. C., & Endo, H. (2016). Introducing (a)gender into foreign/second language education. In S. J. Miller (Ed.), Teaching, affirming, and recognizing trans and gender creative youth: A queer literacy framework (pp. 163–184). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mojica, C. P., & Castañeda-Peña, H. (2017). A learning experience of the gender perspective in English teaching contexts. PROFILE Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development,19(1), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v19n1.56209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, A. R. (2016). Inclusion and exclusion: A case study of an English class for LGBT learners. TESOL Quarterly,50(1), 86–108. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgade, G. (2006). Educación en la sexualidad desde el enfoque de género: Unaantigua deuda de la escuela. Novedades Educativas,184, 40–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgade, G., & Fainsod, P. (2015). Convergencias y divergencias de sentido en los talleres de educación sexual integral de la formación docente. Revista del IICE,38, 39–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, C. D. (2009). Sexual identities in English language education. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, H., & Yang, L. (2015). A queer learner’s identity positioning in second language classroom discourse. Classroom Discourse,6(3), 221–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2015.1093952.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B. (2016). Identity and language learning: Back to the future. TESOL Quarterly,50(2), 475–479. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B., & Pavlenko, A. (2004). Addressing gender in the ESL/EFL classroom. TESOL Quarterly,38(3), 504–514. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B., & Toohey, K. (2012). Identity, language learning, and social change. Language Teaching,44(4), 412–426. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444811000309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ollis, D., Harrison, L., & Maharaj, C. (2013). Sexuality education matters: Preparing pre-service teachers to teach sexuality education. Burwood: Deakin University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pakuła, Ł., Pawelczyk, J., & Sunderland, J. (2015). Gender and sexuality in English language education: Focus on Poland. London: British Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, S. (2016). Grounded theory. In E. Lyons & A. Coyle (Eds.), Analysing qualitative data in psychology (pp. 119–146). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potenza, E., & Vilalta, C. (2016). Educación sexual integral y educación visual en el nivel inicial. Paper presented at the III Jornadas de Formación Docente Desafíos y tensiones de la formación docente en los actuales escenarios. Bernal: Universidad Nacional de Quilmes.

  • Premat, L., & Tortone, N. (2018). Redefining ESP teaching practice: Reading comprehension from a gender perspective. In D. L. Banegas, M. López-Barrios, M. Porto, & M. Waigandt (Eds.), Adapting to meet diverse needs in ELT: Selected Papers from the 43rd FAAPI Conference (pp. 68–76). Río Gallegos: APISC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, K. H., & Ferfolja, T. (2008). Playing it up, playing it down, playing it safe: Queering teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education,24, 846–858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.11.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocha Pessoa, R. R., & de Urzêda Freitas, M. T. (2012). Challenges in critical language teaching. TESOL Quarterly,46(4), 753–776. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Román, C. (2013). ESI (Educación Sexual Integral): Del marco teórico a la puesta en práctica por estudiantes de la formación docente. Paper presented at the VII Jornadas Nacionales sobre la Formación del Profesorado. Buenos Aires: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata.

  • Sauntson, H. (2018). Language, sexuality and education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Siderac, S. (2015). Teacher training and comprehensive sexuality education at Unlpam. Entramados: Educación y Sociedad,2(2), 75–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stelma, J., & Fay, R. (2014). Intentionality and developing researcher competence on a UK master’s course: An ecological perspective on research education. Studies in Higher Education,39(4), 517–533. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2012.709489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vavrus, M. (2009). Sexuality, schooling, and teacher identity formation: A critical pedagogy for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education,25, 383–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.09.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villacañas de Castro, L. S., Cano Bodi, V., & Hortelano Montejano, A. (2018). Teaching English as a non-imperial language in an underprivileged public school in Spain. TESOL Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Warwick, Warwick, UK

    Darío Luis Banegas

  2. IFDC Lenguas Vivas Bariloche (Argentina), Río Negro, Argentina

    Darío Luis Banegas

  3. Sarmiento 798, 2A, CP 9200, Esquel, Chubut, Argentina

    Darío Luis Banegas

  4. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Lina Gabriela Jacovkis & Antonella Romiti

Authors
  1. Darío Luis Banegas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lina Gabriela Jacovkis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Antonella Romiti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Darío Luis Banegas.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Author A declares that he/she has no conflict of interest. Author B declares that he/she has no conflict of interest. Author C declares that he/she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Banegas, D.L., Jacovkis, L.G. & Romiti, A. A Gender Perspective in Initial English Language Teacher Education: An Argentinian Experience. Sexuality & Culture 24, 1–22 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09604-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09604-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation