“The Changers and the Changed”: Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Work With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families

Source: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Volume 33, Issue 3, 2012, pages 208-223.

The Census Bureau estimates that up to 14 million children under the age of 18 are being raised by lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) families.
However, similar to other educational institutions, the early childhood field has either held negative beliefs regarding diverse family structures or ignored the unique needs of LGBT families.

As part of an effort to address teachers' understandings of equity, faculty at a southeastern university sponsored a course designed to prepare early childhood teacher education students to offer welcoming, inclusive learning environments for LGBT families and their young children.

This article is aimed to examine the learning process and transformation of students in this course.

The authors present the findings the discussion on how courses on family equity can and should be incorporated into teacher education programs.