Tommi Niinisalo, doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, is a guest at this open webinar organized by the Collegium Gender Perspectives in Education.
The presentation focuses on an ongoing doctoral research project that explores the lived experiences of Finnish queer, or LGBTQ+, teachers in the workplace, from the perspective of language use and discourse variation.
Drawing from individual and group interview data, and using discourse analytical and ethnomethodological methods, I examine in the thesis the discourses and themes that emerge as queer teachers discuss their experiences in different interactive situations in Finnish schools, and analyze the meanings and understandings they give to the variation of their own language use in those situations. I argue that this perspective allows for critical examination of the complexities of cisheteronormativity in a societally significant context of schools.
The findings also display how queer teachers navigate the juxtaposition of working in a highly visible and valued profession while also belonging to a historically marginalized minority group.
The webinar is open to anyone with an interest in gender, norms, and educational issues.
Tommi Niinisalo is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Education in University of Helsinki, with background as class teacher and English subject teacher in Finland. His research interests include sociolinguistics of gender and sexuality, cisheteronormativity in schools and the workplace, and teacher norms.
The Collegium Gender Perspectives in Education engages with questions related to critical perspectives on gender/sex and education. Learn more on the collegium’s webpage.