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Science Teachers' Attitudes, Beliefs, and Enactment of Practices through Professional Development for Gender and Sexual Diversity-Inclusive Science Teaching

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Title: Science Teachers' Attitudes, Beliefs, and Enactment of Practices through Professional Development for Gender and Sexual Diversity-Inclusive Science Teaching
Language: English
Authors: Gary W. Wright (ORCID 0000-0002-5362-1922), Sarah Poor (ORCID 0000-0001-5346-0201), Victoria Barron (ORCID 0009-0003-9561-803X), Austin Gaskin (ORCID 0009-0005-9004-0229)
Source: Science Education. 2026 110(3):826-851.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 26
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Descriptors: Science Teachers, Science Education, Faculty Development, Teacher Attitudes, Secondary School Teachers, Beliefs, Diversity, LGBTQ People, Educational Practices, Program Effectiveness, Social Bias, Attitude Change
DOI: 10.1002/sce.70039
ISSN: 0036-8326
1098-237X
Abstract: Despite increasing calls for gender and sexual diversity (GSD)-inclusive science education, exploring how science teacher professional development (PD) can be designed to prepare in-service science teachers to engage with and enact GSD-inclusive science teaching (GSDST) remains an important area for research. This mixed methods study drew on survey, interview, and observational data to examine changes in 14 secondary in-service science teachers' attitudes and beliefs, and their enactment of practices following participation in a 22-h GSD-aligned PD program. Our quantitative findings suggested that the teachers were mostly supportive of measures indicative of GSDST before the intervention, with some individual variation. There was an overall trend in favor of GSDST with medium to large effect sizes after the intervention, which reached statistical significance on measures of heteronormative attitudes and beliefs. Qualitative analysis identified distinct patterns of change among the participants: static supportive, positive shifters, and negative shifters. Observations further illustrated diverse enactments of GSDST across the participants, including critical enactments that disrupted normative structures and existing curricular frameworks in science, equity enactments focused on integrating GSD topics within existing curricular frameworks, and constrained enactment where external pressures such as administrative pushback or community resistance limited some teachers' GSDST. These findings underscore the need for discipline-specific PD and structural support to foster sustained and critical science teacher engagement.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1502224
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Science Teachers' Attitudes, Beliefs, and Enactment of Practices through Professional Development for Gender and Sexual Diversity-Inclusive Science Teaching
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gary+W%2E+Wright%22">Gary W. Wright</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5362-1922">0000-0002-5362-1922</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarah+Poor%22">Sarah Poor</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5346-0201">0000-0001-5346-0201</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Victoria+Barron%22">Victoria Barron</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9561-803X">0009-0003-9561-803X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Austin+Gaskin%22">Austin Gaskin</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9004-0229">0009-0005-9004-0229</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Science+Education%22"><i>Science Education</i></searchLink>. 2026 110(3):826-851.
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: 26
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Teachers%22">Science Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Education%22">Science Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Faculty+Development%22">Faculty Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Attitudes%22">Teacher Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+School+Teachers%22">Secondary School Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Beliefs%22">Beliefs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Diversity%22">Diversity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22LGBTQ+People%22">LGBTQ People</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Practices%22">Educational Practices</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Effectiveness%22">Program Effectiveness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Bias%22">Social Bias</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attitude+Change%22">Attitude Change</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1002/sce.70039
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  Data: 0036-8326<br />1098-237X
– Name: Abstract
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  Data: Despite increasing calls for gender and sexual diversity (GSD)-inclusive science education, exploring how science teacher professional development (PD) can be designed to prepare in-service science teachers to engage with and enact GSD-inclusive science teaching (GSDST) remains an important area for research. This mixed methods study drew on survey, interview, and observational data to examine changes in 14 secondary in-service science teachers' attitudes and beliefs, and their enactment of practices following participation in a 22-h GSD-aligned PD program. Our quantitative findings suggested that the teachers were mostly supportive of measures indicative of GSDST before the intervention, with some individual variation. There was an overall trend in favor of GSDST with medium to large effect sizes after the intervention, which reached statistical significance on measures of heteronormative attitudes and beliefs. Qualitative analysis identified distinct patterns of change among the participants: static supportive, positive shifters, and negative shifters. Observations further illustrated diverse enactments of GSDST across the participants, including critical enactments that disrupted normative structures and existing curricular frameworks in science, equity enactments focused on integrating GSD topics within existing curricular frameworks, and constrained enactment where external pressures such as administrative pushback or community resistance limited some teachers' GSDST. These findings underscore the need for discipline-specific PD and structural support to foster sustained and critical science teacher engagement.
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      – SubjectFull: Science Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Faculty Development
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Secondary School Teachers
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      – SubjectFull: Attitude Change
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      – TitleFull: Science Teachers' Attitudes, Beliefs, and Enactment of Practices through Professional Development for Gender and Sexual Diversity-Inclusive Science Teaching
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