Abstract
This poster introduces a conceptual framework that guides a qualitative study exploring how gender diverse faculty experience, navigate, and express their gender identity within Canadian post-secondary education (PSE) environments. The framework acknowledges how intersectional aspects of an individual’s identity (including experiences of marginalization and resilience), interact with aspects of institutional environment (including policies, supports, and external structures) to shape the experiences of gender diverse faculty. While there may be some shared experiences among gender diverse faculty in PSE, their experiences are shaped by this interplay between identity and context. The framework further demonstrates how these experiences feed back to contribute to identity formation and institutional environment. This study is informed by a relativist ontology, a constructionist epistemology, and an interpretive/constructivist paradigm. These philosophical underpinnings acknowledge that multiple realities exist, are constructed as individuals interact with their environments, and value participant voices. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is used as the guiding methodology for the study, emphasizing the importance of individual meaning-making within lived experiences. Semi-structured interviews are used to generate in-depth accounts from faculty members across diverse institutional contexts, ensuring the voices of participants are at the fore. By foregrounding the voices of gender diverse faculty, this research contributes to ongoing conversations about EDI and policy in education. In addition to contributing to a gap in the research on gender diverse faculty in PSE, findings could inform decision-makers in fostering PSE environments that are safe, equitable, and inclusive for all faculty regardless of their gender identity.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Gender Diversity, Gender Identity, Intersectionality, Institutional Culture, EDI
