Gay and bisexual men who are educators: a narrative analysis of space, identity and deployment

Biddulph, M, 2005. Gay and bisexual men who are educators: a narrative analysis of space, identity and deployment. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the experiences of gay and bisexual men who are educators and seeks to understand the complexity of their professional and social worlds and their responses to this. Research in this field to date has primarily concentrated on the professional worlds that individuals inhabit. This qualitative study seeks to expand this knowledge by considering the personal, social and sexual worlds that individuals traverse.

A key dimension of the work is the concept of narrative which is present in the form of visual and written texts provided by the researcher and participants. In line with recent developments in qualitative research, the researcher adopts a strategy of generating a thick description in both the narratives that explore his researcher positioning and the narratives that participants tell about their experiences. The strategy of researcher as bricoleur is adopted to develop methods that are responsive to the development of the project.

Feminist and post-structuralist theories provide the main theoretical frame for the consideration of key issues such as masculinity and queer identity. Queer theory is also influential as a strategy for analysing the narratives, disjunctures and fractures providing the main lines of enquiry. Judgements relating to trustworthiness are made via the process of verisimilitude, readers being invited to participate in the hermeneutic process that leads to the generation of multiple, refractory perspectives.

A striking conclusion to emerge from the research is the isolation of gay and bisexual men who are educators. With the exception of occasionally convened bespoke spaces such as teacher-union conferences on LGBT issues there are few spaces where individuals can meet or gain support. Individuals who operate from a position of strength appear to combine assertiveness with activist strategies.

With the emphasis on research into the experiences of young people in schools, there exists no large scale systematic study into the extent of homophobic incidents and their impact on recruitment, retention and promotion among the school work force. In terms of practice and policy we are at the very start of developing an understanding of the implications of working effectively with gay and bisexual men who are educators.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Biddulph, M.
Date:	2005
ISBN:	9781369324358
Identifiers:	Number Type PQ10290186 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Education
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	12 Nov 2020 10:50
Last Modified:	11 Oct 2023 10:30
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/41628

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