AARE Special Interest Groups

Gender and Sexualities SIG

Over the last few decades, there has been an interest in issues of gender identity within educational research in Australia and other nations. Relationships between gender and educational issues have been highlighted and explored, including attention to the multiple elements of identity that intersect with gender, shaping patterns of educational inclusion and marginalization. Increasing government interest in the education of boys has supported research engagements with both masculinities and femininities in relation to educational policies, curriculum and student cultures. Research into sexualities has added important work to studies in gender and identity, and has brought new theoretical perspectives and research paradigms to the field.

The aims of the SIG are:

• to bring together diverse voices from the research and practitioner communities, creating a forum for discussion and dissemination of research related to gender and sexualities in the context of education;
• to create opportunities for collaboration on research projects in this field;
• to establish a point of contact with parallel groups, such as the SIG in Gay and Lesbian Studies within the American Educational Research Association, and the SIG in Sexualities within the British Educational Research Association, contributing to opportunities for international collaboration and partnership;
• to support the publication of research reports and discussion papers in academic journals with an interest in this field, such as Gender and Education, Discourse, and Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education;
• to organise research events, such as conferences, seminars and lectures, focusing on gender and sexualities