勇敢當自己！？──大學教師課堂「出櫃」的探討

Let Me Be Me!?--A Study of Faculty Coming Out in the College Classroom

古語說：「經師易得，人師難求」，就是強調「人師」比「經師」更能發揮教育的功效，而能勇敢當自己更是身為「人師」的要件。「出櫃」是同志族群自我認同、勇敢當自己的表露。本研究訪談十位任教於美國中西部大學的同志教授，針對他們在課堂上出櫃的心路歷程進行探討。根據訪談，六位表示贊同也付諸行動、兩位覺得沒有必要但並不介意學生提問、一位覺得必要但自己還沒有準備好要出櫃、一位覺得沒有必要也不會如此去作。參與者表示出櫃的動機是渴望能當真正的自己。然而是否會真正出櫃則又受到找到角色模範與親友的支持、專業訓練背景、個人家庭生活的轉變、教學課程的目標，以及工作環境的安全與穩定的考量等因素的影響。同志教授選擇出櫃的教育理念是因相信相信最好的教材是由「心」出發、相信「自己的人生故事」是給學生最好的典範，以及相信透過出櫃所營造的教學氛圍有助於學生「勇敢當自己」。針對同志教授出櫃對教學氛圍之影響的探討歸納所得，教授是希望出櫃能讓學生感受到歸屬感並增進師生之間真誠的互動關係、幫助學生瞭解與尊重自己和他人的文化，並幫助學生在「安全」的環境中塑造自己並從「不舒服感」中去擴大視野。最後研究者提出數點建議作為未來研究與實施建議的參考。

A Chinese proverb says， “It's easier to get a teacher of classics than a teacher of man，” which emphasizes how essential it is for a teacher to be authentic to ensure effective teaching. While authenticity， integrity， and honesty are positively associated with disclosure， it is not unusual for LGBTQ faculty to keep silent about their sexual orientation to protect themselves from being stereotyped or discriminated against. This study aims to understand what factors and teaching philosophies influence college professors in their decision to come out in the classroom， and whether and how they impacted the climate of teaching and learning. The participants of this study were ten faculty members from universities in the Midwestern United States. This study collected qualitative data through in-depth interviews and found that the primary motivation for faculty members to come out was their desire to be themselves. The findings of this study indicated that several factors， including the faculty member's family support， professional background， course objectives， life-changing events， safety concern， job security， opportunity to find a role model， and environmental support， influence whether the faculty member comes out professionally. The findings also revealed that faculty members who come out in the classroom believe that the best teaching strategies and materials are based on their authentic selves， that their life story could serve as a role model for students to learn from， and that the best educational outcome is to help students become their authentic selves. These faculty members can serve as a role model to encourage students to be who they are and know that “where there is a will， there is a way.＂ The findings also demonstrated the depth and magnitude of coming out have an impact on the climate of teaching and learning. First of all， when a faculty member is willing to be authentic， it facilitates genuine faculty-student interaction and increases LGBTQ students’ sense of belonging on the college campus. Secondly， by coming out， the faculty member could teach students to respect their own and others’ cultures， to value the essentials of using unbiased language in communication， and to challenge them to think critically and creatively. Finally， by coming out， the faculty member could be conducive to a safety learning environment to empower students to restructure themselves as well as to learn to accept and deal with uncomfortableness that pushes them to expand the horizons of their worldviews.