ABSTRACT
This empirical study aimed to explore Turkish pre-service teachers’ perceptions toward queer-inclusive pedagogies both in the English classroom and in teacher education programs. Data were derived from surveys conducted at the end of five sessions where the participants met the researcher in teacher education programs of three Turkish universities. The findings highlight the conservative social context and religious prescriptions leading to institutional constraints, invisibility of queer issues, and lack of attention given to queer-informed pedagogies in teacher education programs involved in this study. As is also desired by the participants, the findings point to the necessity of revising teacher education programs to embrace queer-informed pedagogies with specific references to classroom management issues, the use of queer-inclusive materials, reservations of pre-service teachers toward adopting queer-inclusive pedagogies, and overall (under)representation of marginalized queer communities in the cultural and educational context of Turkey.
