Music Education and Critical Reflection to Promote Sexual and Gender Diversity for Pre-Service Primary Teachers

Abstract

Teachers should have sufficient training in attention to diversity that includes people with sexual diversity and gender identity beyond the heteronormative framework. However, teacher training plans do not include this topic, which influences the lack of strategies to face situations of homophobia and transphobia in primary classrooms. Considering this reality, music education as a subject in teacher training has to contemplate attention to this diversity. Thus, from a critical approach to music education, the author designed an activity of reading papers and reflection on this topic. Reflecting on this problem offered the pre-service primary teachers an opportunity to learn about a challenge they will face in primary classrooms. Their level of reflection promoted in pre-service primary teachers an active attitude to find solutions by proposing various actions to include sexual and gender diversity through music education.