The capacity of South Australian primary school teachers and pre-service teachers to work with trans and gender diverse students

Abstract

Growing numbers of young people are disclosing that they are trans or gender diverse, requiring affirming and informed responses from schools. This article reports on a survey examining attitudes towards inclusion, comfort, and confidence amongst 180 South Australian primary school teachers and pre-service teachers. The findings suggest that women held more positive attitudes and had greater comfort in working with trans and gender diverse students than men, and that awareness of programs designed to increase understanding was related to more positive attitudes, and greater comfort and confidence. The article discusses the need for further training alongside additional resourcing of initiatives aimed at facilitating inclusion.