Schools across the United States have taken up the task of 'protecting' lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth, but their reliance on identity-based antidiscrimination policies may reinscribe power inequities. While previous scholarship critiques and cautions against such protectionist approaches, this paper explores why such…

In his discussion of safety on campus, Eamonn Callan (2016) suggests a way to distinguish between two sorts of safety: "dignity safety" and "intellectual safety." As much as this author has some concerns that student activists should think more about pedagogy, she is not sure that "dignity" is the best approach to…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children in Texas and across the United States. The theme of this issue is "Gender Justice." Articles include: (1) Sexual Harassment -- Safe…

A renewed interest in diversity for English following the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey of 2017 aligns with the concerns of inclusive education. Since previous special issues of "English in Australia" on gender in 1994 and 1995, the field of inclusive education has burgeoned and become recognised as a discipline in its own right.…

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…

Research indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) college students face a hostile campus climate. Despite the hostile campus climate, many LGBTQ+ students persist. Understanding what helps students persist is important to student affairs professionals as they develop data-driven interventions to improve…

Educators concerned with social justice are working in very different social and legal contexts than when they first began to take up the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) lives in the school and the curriculum. The growing number of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, the recent US Supreme Court…

Transgender students have unique and intense needs to be addressed for a safer and more inclusive school experience. Experiencing harassment and feeling unsafe at school can lead to negative educational outcomes, such as depression, victimization, poor academic outcomes, substance abuse, school avoidance, risky sexual behavior, suicidal ideation,…

Research has highlighted that during school, European lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth experience significantly higher levels of discrimination and verbal, physical, and sexual violence in comparison with their heterosexual peers. Slovenian youth are not exempt from this experience. While the educational system is exclusively…

In this article we share the impact of a training program (Positive Space I and Positive Space II) on pre-service teachers' understandings of and abilities to create safe spaces for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Queering/Questioning (LGBTQ) youth and allies in our teacher-education program and in schools. Research has demonstrated…

In a school of 1,000 students, up to 100 will be gay, lesbian, or bisexual; 10 will be transgender; and one will be intersex (biologically neither male nor female). If their lives are average, 87 of them will be verbally harassed, 40 of them will be physically harassed, and 19 will be physically assaulted in the next year because of their sexual…

This essay provides a review of a resource guide written by Kristopher Wells, Gayle Roberts, and Carol Allan (2012) titled "Supporting Transgender and Transsexual Students in K-12 Schools: A Guide for Educators". The guide is an invaluable resource for educators in schools and teacher education programs.

Bullying toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youths is a pervasive problem in schools that has negative impacts on LGBTQ students' mental health and educational outcomes. School social workers need to understand the prevalence and dynamics of bullying toward LGBTQ students to respond appropriately to victims and…

We explore the efficacy of one increasingly familiar strategic intervention designed to disrupt antigay school environments--Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). Despite the increasing popularity of GSAs, there has been little research on the ways in which they do--and do not--impact school climate. The ubiquity of antigay and homophobic attitudes…

Research indicates lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are a vulnerable population--a status that can be attributed to a hostile social climate at school. Intervention strategies, such as educational policies, programs, and a supportive environment, improve the social climate for LGBT students in secondary schools and…