Engaging Children's Spontaneous Questions About Social Diversity

Abstract

In this article the author shares conversations she has had with elementary students inquiring about her gender identity to make visible the daily-ness of conversations about sameness and difference and to surface her own struggles with, and pedagogical deliberations about, these conversations. The conversations are conceptualized as both the unit of participation and analysis. Analyzing transcripts of conversations creates a tool for teacher reflection and proactively surfaces discussions about identity and social participation.