This kit offers a program designed to help individuals and organizations create effective anti-harassment training programs for schoolteachers and administrators. It can be used by groups wanting to work on harassment problems faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) youth in school. The training includes three parts: an…

In high schools, a conspiracy of silence shrouds the sexual orientation issue. Although the social atmosphere is vaguely supportive, fear and the realities of life cause most gays and lesbians to keep their sexual identities hidden. Homophobia can be addressed through staff development, support staff and services, inclusion of homosexual issues in…

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) conducted a survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students affiliated with local youth service organizations around the United States. A total of 496 youth from 32 states completed the survey fully. Over 90% reported that they sometimes or frequently hear homophobic remarks in…

Discusses the importance of creating safe school environments for gay and lesbian students. Anti-gay bias has been called the last acceptable form of discrimination in the United States, and many U.S. public schools are complicit in cultivating this intolerance. Describes one public and one private high school's efforts to make safe environments…

In a sample of 121 undergraduate students, found that 77 percent of respondents had experienced verbal abuse and 27 percent had been threatened with violence. Other students were the most frequent victimizers. Fear for one's personal safety on campus was related to frequency of personal harassment, and few victims reported incidents to…

In all but a handful of states, it is legal to discriminate against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation. Ways in which homophobia and anti-gay sentiments affect education in the United States are addressed in this collection of essays. They are written for educators and others concerned about schooling, from kindergarten through…

In 1997 an online survey of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth was conducted. The survey, which was available only on the Internet, was promoted through magazines and the World Wide Web. It contained more than 150 questions and took about half an hour to complete. Although all people accessing the web site were allowed to complete the…

Homosexual and bisexual students at an urban commuter university (N=33) evaluated academic and student services and commented on areas of needed improvement. Results suggest that these students experience harassment on campus and are ambivalent about the responsiveness of student services. Most students did not utilize many student services'…

Uses qualitative and quantitative measures to examine differences in levels of perceived alienation from campus among 41 students who identified themselves as gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and those who identified themselves as heterosexual. Found differences in alienation levels based on both sexual orientation and gender. Non-heterosexual students…

This collection of papers discusses homophobia in the field of education and challenges established practices and theories. Chapters are: (1) "Constructing Knowledge: Educational Research and Gay and Lesbian Studies" (W. G. Tierney, P. Dilley); (2) "A Generational and Theoretical Analysis of Culture and Male (Homo)sexuality" (J. T. Sears); (3)…

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers' Network presents suggestions for teachers for eliminating homophobia in schools. The following suggestions are intended as starting points as teachers begin to think about the issue of homophobia in school: (1) guarantee equality; (2) create a safe environment; (3) provide role models; (4) provide support…

This workbook provides an instrument to objectively analyze a school's current climate with regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people and the steps needed to move that school toward a more inclusive environment. It provides a detailed assessment survey (to be completed by key school stakeholders), descriptive data, and…

This paper presents data from the 2001 National School Climate Survey on school-related experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. LGBT students described experiences of homophobic remarks; verbal, physical, and sexual harassment; and comfort within their schools. They described experiences with racial and sexual…

Discusses various issues related to gay and lesbian students and art education. These include the harassment, intimidation, and alienation experienced by gay and lesbian students. Briefly covers the creation of gay/lesbian teacher and student organizations and their attempts to address these problems. (MJP)

Reports on a survey that asked, " What's it like to be a gay/lesbian/bisexual faculty member?" A research team reduced the responses to 61 items that the faculty members rated and sorted. The researchers placed this data on a two-dimensional concept map. Includes the map and the rating list. (MJP)