Educators' Beliefs about Raising Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in the Schools: The Experience in Ontario, Canada

Safe Schools for LGBTQI Students: How Do Teachers View Their Role in Promoting Safe Schools?

“…Respondents in Zack, Mannheim, and Alfano's (2010) study expressed a lack of confidence to address homosexuality regarding contradicting families' religious beliefs. Other studies have shown that teachers report avoiding topics related to sexual minorities due to a fear of parental reactions (Bower & Klecka, 2009;Dessel, 2010;Gerouki, 2010;O'Higgins-Norman, 2009;Schneider & Dimito, 2008). Teachers also reported avoidance of the topic because of fears related to disapproval from students, colleagues, and boards of management (Bower & Klecka, 2009;Dessel, 2010;O'Higgins-Norman, 2009), fear of political climate (Clark, 2010), fear of diminishing coverage of required curriculum materials (Meyer, 2008;Zack, Mannheim, & Alfano, 2010), and possible perceptions of being gay (O'HigginsNorman, 2009;Zack, Mannheim, & Alfano, 2010).…”

“…The students developed strategies to advocate for LGBTQI students by interrupting derogatory comments by students and teachers, providing awareness of issues within the curriculum, and providing written resources about sexuality to students. Additionally, Schneider and Dimito (2008) found that respondents whose school district had anti-LGBT harassment policies seemed to experience less discomfort and have a sense of protection when teaching about heteronormativity. Further, during intergroup dialogue with teachers who identified as LGBTQI, participants in Dessel's (2010) study reported more acceptance and general concern for LGBTQI issues in schooling.…”

“…Teachers participating in proactive behavior to counter heterosexism predominately report receiving support from their school district, professional development, and teacher education programs (Dessel, 2010;Schneider & Dimito, 2008;Zack et al, 2010). Clark (2010) investigated what ally work looks like in teacher education and found that after course work in LGBTQI topics, students were able to question and take positions around equity issues and felt prepared to teach against heterosexism and homophobia.…”

Confronting Homophobia at School: High School Students and the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles

“…This negotiation can be problematic for a straight-identifying student, but is especially challenging for a gay or lesbian student. The perception of heteronormativity is incredibly important to most middle and high school students (Gray, 1999;Herdt, 1989;Mayberry, 2006;Savin-Williams, 2000;Schneider & Dimito, 2008) and any indication of gender non-conformity at any age is difficult for many students to navigate, gay or straight (Baker, 2002;Lipkin, 1999;Roberts, Allan, & Wells, 2007;Sears, 1999;Thorne, 2004). One other common area in the research is finding students who are confronting and dealing with their own internalized fears of being gay in a heteronormative world, whether they will eventually identify as gay or not (Bergling, 2001;Gallagher, 2006;Gray, 1999;Herdt, 1989).…”

Turkish Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Children's Picture Books Reflecting LGBT-Related Issues

“…The results revealed that instead of individuals, these acts were perpetrated by groups of peers. M. S. Schneider and Dimito (2008) also investigated the experiences of 132 LGBT and heterosexual teachers and administrators and found that educators could not respond to LGBT issues in the school, fearing that parents would protest (56%) or because they needed more information about effective strategies (46%) and they could be harassed by students (40%). Respondents also indicated that LGBT people experienced verbal harassment (79%) and bullying (59%) at least once in their school.…”