ERIC Number: EJ1162781
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Dec
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
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Available Date: N/A
Gay-Straight Alliances as Settings for Youth Inclusion and Development: Future Conceptual and Methodological Directions for Research on These and Other Student Groups in Schools
Poteat, V. Paul; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Calzo, Jerel P.; Russell, Stephen T.; Horn, Stacey
Educational Researcher, v46 n9 p508-516 Dec 2017
Outside the immediate classroom setting, efforts within other school spaces also can shape school climate, address inequality, and affect student performance. Nevertheless, in this respect there has been little research on school-based extracurricular groups focused on issues of social inclusion and justice. An exception to this lack of focus has been Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs), which promote social inclusion and justice for sexual and gender minority youth (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth; LGBTQ) through support, socializing, education, and advocacy. As this literature has matured, we detail and provide examples of the following conceptual and methodological recommendations to address emerging research needs for GSAs: (1) Move from a monolithic to contextualized treatment of GSAs, (2) attend to heterogeneity among members, (3) utilize multiple data sources for triangulation, (4) apply a range of methodological approaches to capitalize on strengths of different designs, (5) collect longitudinal data over short-term and extended time periods, and (6) consider GSAs within a broader umbrella of youth settings. Further, we note ways in which these recommendations apply to other student groups organized around specific sociocultural identities. These advances could produce more comprehensive empirically supported models to guide GSAs and similar groups on how to promote resilience among their diverse members and address broader social issues within their schools.
Descriptors: Clubs, Homosexuality, Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity, School Culture, Educational Environment, Inclusion, Social Justice, Minority Group Students, Qualitative Research, Group Dynamics, Data Analysis, Research Methodology, Data Collection
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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