As legal structures for same-sex relationships are introduced in many contexts, the politics of sexuality are negotiated along religious/secular lines. Religious and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBT-Q) rights are pitted against one another such that LGBT-Q lives often assumed to be secular. Schools are crucibles of intermingling…

This paper considers the educational implications of the recent emphasis on the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer (LGBTQ) people in Ireland. Operating from the perspective that discourses constitute rather than merely reflect material reality, thereby shaping or "structuring" how we…

Owing to a variety of complex historical and socio-cultural factors, the Irish education system remains heavily influenced by denominational mores and values [Ferriter, D. 2012. "Occasions of Sin: Sex & Society in Modern Ireland." London: Profile Books], particularly those of the Roman Catholic Church [O'Toole, B. 2015.…

In September 2013, the Department of Education and Skills introduced revised anti-bullying guidelines which made it compulsory for all schools to ensure that their individual anti-bullying policies include a clause on identity-based bullying, specifically referencing transphobic and homophobic bullying. The introduction of these guidelines would…

Schools are quasi-public/private organisations and being a teacher involves negotiating personal and professional boundaries. These boundaries have posed particular challenges for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBT-Q) teachers whose everyday lives are complicated by legislative, religious and cultural constraints, moral panics…

This article describes experiences in an Irish context of education programs delivered in 2 communities, 1 based on class (a working class urban community) and 1 based on sexual orientation (an urban lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community). It aims to illustrate how feminist education can play an important role in feminist community…

The aim of this paper is to provide evidence-based guidance for educational practitioners and, in particular, for those in leadership positions in schools, on good practice in developing and implementing school level strategies and actions to promote an appreciation of diversity in schools and society.

The "Exploring Masculinities" (EM) programme was piloted in 22 Irish single-sex boys' post-primary schools during the late 1990s. Following objections from some influential journalists and an organisation representing parents whose sons attended Catholic secondary schools, the Minister for Education and Science put the planned…

There is a dearth of research on the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth in schools in the Republic of Ireland. The current study assessed the school-based experiences of twenty five (N = 25) participants in the BeLonG To LGBT youth group in Dublin city using a mixed design survey instrument. The majority (n = 19) of…

This paper outlines research that was conducted among students, parents, teachers and senior management teams in six secondary schools in the Greater Dublin area of Ireland. The research involved semi-structured interviews and observations. The findings of this research are significant in that it was the first time any data had been gathered on…

While developments have been made concerning the understanding of general bullying behaviour in Irish schools, considerably less is known about homophobic bullying. Presented here are the findings of a study into the views and perspectives of a self-selected sample of 123 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered (LGBT) secondary school-aged young…

In 2000, the Government of the Republic of Ireland introduced a syllabus for second-level schools (12-15 years) in Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE). Within this SPHE syllabus there is a significant component on Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). In terms of diversity and equality it is questionable to what extent this newly…