Queering STEM classrooms: Exploring queer literacy and perceptions of relevance among pre-service teachers

With nearly 17% of Generation Z worldwide identifying as queer, creating inclusive educational spaces is highly important. While STEM is often viewed as neutral, identity-sensitive environments are especially crucial here. Grounded in Queer Theory and guided by existing frameworks for queer-inclusive teaching, this exploratory qualitative study examines queer literacy among eight pre-service STEM teachers at a German university. Findings show that most pre-service teachers held open attitudes and understood queer as an inclusive term, but had limited understanding of gender identities and perpetuation of exclusionary norms in STEM. Pre-service teachers relied heavily on informal sources like queer peers and media. Moreover, many delegated queer inclusion to non-STEM subjects and overlooked how stereotypes may affect queer students’ identification with STEM. These findings underscore the urgent need for diversity-sensitive STEM teacher training and structural reforms at the policy level to challenge harmful stereotypes and foster inclusive STEM learning environments for queer students. • Pre-service teachers associate queerness with sexuality rather than gender. • Pre-service teachers feel uncertain about using queer terminology. • Queerness in the classroom is seen as relevant, but mainly in non-STEM subjects. • Pre-service teachers feel unprepared to address queer identities proactively. • Queer literacy is developed incidentally through queer peers and social media.