Chilean University Teachers' Social Representations and Attitudes about Students' Sexual Diversity

This study seeks to explore social representations and attitudes of university teachers in relation to sexual diversity. The study has a qualitative approach through content analysis. The research was collected through 62 critical incidents with university professors, with at least one year of experience in undergraduate teaching, in five universities located in the northern macro zone of Chile. The results highlight that there are teachers who take on three different types of roles when faced with situations of gender diversity.. Some are in favour of the inclusion of the sexual minority community, others are more like external observers and a third group, with little interest in inclusion, practice for the students belonging to sexual minorities, within the diversity of the university classrooms. Many teachers tend to contain and compensate for the scarce support that sexually diverse young people have within their families. Teachers demand more training than they currently have in order to be able to carry out adequate interventions in the classroom. Finally, the number of feelings and emotions described by teachers in the face of events and experiences related to sexual diversity in their university institutions is highly significant.

Automated summary

This study examines the social representations and attitudes of university teachers towards sexual diversity. The qualitative research, conducted through content analysis, collected 62 critical incidents from university professors with at least one year of undergraduate teaching experience in five universities in northern Chile. The findings reveal that teachers adopt three different roles when faced with gender diversity situations – some support the inclusion of sexual minority community, some act as external observers, and a third group shows little interest in the inclusion of sexual minority students in the university classrooms. Teachers also play a role in providing support to sexually diverse youth who lack family support. The study emphasizes the need for more training to enable teachers to conduct appropriate interventions in the classroom. Additionally, teachers express a significant range of emotions and feelings in response to events and experiences related to sexual diversity in their university institutions.