To provide preservice teachers with opportunities for contact with people from racially and ethnically different backgrounds, one university initiated intercollegiate reader response groups using the WebCT format, which allowed students to converse with one another over distances, both within and across universities. Students from separate…

As a result of hostile climates for homosexual/bisexual students, dropout rates, substance abuse, homelessness, isolation, and identity problems are growing rapidly. Recent court decisions hold educators and schools responsible for the safety and education of these youth. However, there is no consensus on how to teach such controversial issues to…

This paper reports on the development, design, and initial field testing of a narrative simulation, "'This Just Is!' Jeff's Story," that focused on homophobia and adolescent suicide. The initial field test was conducted with two user groups--a graduate class of professionals in the field of higher education student development, and a…

Increasingly, narrative has been accepted as an essential mode of knowing and thinking. However, contemporary educators are unlikely to acknowledge that narrative is as essential to social and political action as it is to personal catharsis and self-understanding. In many schools, narrative writing has become an end in itself rather than the…

This study used data from a national survey of homosexual and bisexual public school teachers to explore differences among participants in rural, suburban, and urban schools. A survey was sent to 1,350 participants through national, state, and urban based gay teacher organizations. Of those sampled, 904 responded. Findings included the following:…

This paper presents a study to improve and enrich understanding of how the disclosure or non-disclosure of a lesbian, gay male, or bisexual teacher's sexual orientation at work influences his or her perceptions of job satisfaction and job stress. Consideration was given to the general level of job satisfaction and job stress among lesbian, gay…

The purpose of this study was to provide data on what role organizations for homosexual teachers play in the lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers and to provide these organizations with information on how to strengthen their memberships. Thirteen lesbian and/or gay male teacher organizations assisted by distributing a survey on openness,…

This study examined the social and political climate surrounding the opening of a controversial gay/lesbian/bisexual support office at an anonymous midwestern public research university. In addition to analyses of university mission statements, plans, and policies, other "diversity" literature, and campus and local newspapers, fieldwork…

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing educators of today is to create and sustain high-quality educational environments for low-income students and students of color. The Boston Pilot Schools Network, a network of eleven small, innovative schools within the Boston Public Schools, can be a model for other schools and districts as to how to create…

North Americans' fear and preoccupation with safety and security as a result of the September 11 attacks is similar to that felt by gays and lesbians in daily life. Queer persons are not part of the Christian family, according to Jerry Falwell and other rightist Christian fundamentalists, including those involved in transformative ministry and…