The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to understand the narratives of gay male individuals who identify as Christian. Although some researchers have focused on conducting studies on religious topics and others on various aspects of the LGBTQ community, there remains a paucity of research that has examined the intersection of these…

Background: In recent years, social work has become increasingly concerned with efforts to produce professionals capable of effectively supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clients. Research examining LGBT-competence in social work remains limited, however, because it often neglects to address the role social work education…

Black men who have sex with men (MSM) on Historically Black College/University (HBCU) campuses face a unique set of challenges. In addition to being disproportionately affected by HIV, Black MSM are impacted by risk behavior, stigma, and environmental policies and practices that adversely influence their experiences. The purpose of this study was…

In higher education, the people working in student affairs are as diverse as the students who are served by these professionals. Those who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual are often faced with challenges to moving up the career ladder. Many who seek senior-level administrative positions, such as director, dean of students, vice president or…

This study investigated attitudes toward gay men and lesbians among collegiate varsity athletes and recreational sport club participants, including an investigation of differences in attitudes across competitive levels, team and individual sport divisions, sport by sport comparisons, gender, grade level, race, contact with gay men and lesbians and…

The purpose of this attitudinal study is to investigate the role that social studies methods courses in Florida play in examining controversial issues with their pre-service teachers. Five research questions established the parameters for the investigation of pre-service teachers' attitudes toward the use of controversial issues through the…

School psychologists are adult learners. They support children and youth within the K-12 system who are facing academic, emotional, behavioral, or systematic barriers to education. Among the most vulnerable are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth, and school psychologists need to learn to be LGBTQ competent. The purpose of…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender school educators are practically invisible within the nature of heterosexist and homophobic education (Blount, 2005). "Openly gay and lesbian teachers were once thought of as immoral, and in some states coming out is still a risk to one's job" (McCarthy, 2003, p. 182). One's sexual orientation has nothing to…

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) students in public education are challenged with the detrimental effects of homophobic harassment. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions and lived experiences of former GLBTQ high school students and their experiences with school…

The literature on school leadership and on effective schools has long held that the leadership of the principal is the single most important factor in creating and sustaining the culture of a school; it follows, then, that the leadership of the principal has tremendous potential to increase the safety, comfort, and academic achievement of LGBT…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine graduate counseling students' self-perceived counseling competency with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients using the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS; Bidell, 2005). In addition, participants' self-perceived competency levels were examined across gender, degree program…