Abstract
Tolerance, resilience, perseverance, and tenacity are some of the expectations young people are raised to believe in. Whilst these positive psychological, emotional, and behavioural character traits or strengths enable learners to withstand embarrassment in classrooms, teachers should not turn a blind eye when a learner feels discriminated against by peers. This is more so in Life Sciences classrooms, where some topics or concepts taught are controversial, as they invite scrutiny of one's appearance, behavioural traits, or unfavourable choices one makes in the eyes of peers. Informed by critical theory, the study determined how much prepared pre-service teachers were to manage classrooms in which episodes of discrimination erupt in their classrooms. A class of 120 pre-service teachers in their final year of study at a university in South Africa, who were enrolled for the Life Sciences methodology module, were given a scenario where they had to come up with strategies to handle the issue of menstruation, in which a learner messed her dress, chair, and her surroundings, attracting ridicule from her classmates. They worked in groups of five and submitted their reports, which formed data sources. Qualitative analysis of the participants' submissions revealed that, firstly, the scenario presented is a common occurrence in classrooms, as some of them had witnessed it in their own classrooms as learners and as pre-service teachers during practicum. Secondly, the findings showed that teachers may unintentionally reinforce typical gender stereotypical behaviours whilst teaching the topic of menstruation, which may be harmful to learners. The findings show curriculum-related shortcomings, such as the lack of inculcating values like empathy and respect when teaching.