This study sought to examine the attitudes of heterosexual university students to peer suicide when that peer was gay, lesbian, or heterosexual. University students (n = 206) completed several questionnaires, including The Suicide Attitude Vignette Experience. Results indicated that the suicide act was seen as more justified, acceptable, and…

Maughn Gregory's refreshing essay presents an honest teacher's struggle to square theory and practice. It also demonstrates how difficult it is for any teacher to be public about one's identity, beliefs, and values without inhibiting or tainting the dialogue that promotes student and teacher growth. Gregory's position and goals reflect the…

A former elementary school principal describes the challenges she faced and outcomes that resulted and lessons learned as she worked to create safe, respectful schools for students and adults of all sexual orientations. (Contains 1 note.)

This case study details the events surrounding a gay student's "coming out" in a small, rural high school. Through the eyes and experiences of the student, his teachers, classmates, and community, we hear the story of how the school and community dealt with an issue they had never before actively considered. Through qualitative interviews, the…

Reports on the school climate for gay and lesbian students in the United States suggest that negative attitudes toward gay and lesbian individuals are quite common in adolescence. Very little research, however, has investigated adolescents' sexual prejudice from a developmental perspective. In this study, 10th- (N = 119) and 12th- (N = 145) grade…

Over a 12-year teaching career--7 years on the college level--an instructor has found that his healthy identity as a gay male informs his performance in the contact zone of the classroom in ways that may be different than that of heterosexual teachers. It appears that gay male composition teachers who are less closeted view their sexual…

Eleven percent of teenage girls and 14 percent of teenage boys in a recent survey acknowledged having had a same sex sexual encounter. It may be assumed that the number of adolescents with concerns related to sexual orientation exceeds the number with actual same sex experiences. If, as self-identified homosexual adults have reported, their sexual…

This article is a dialog between colleagues from different races who struggle with the complexities of doing qualitative research with participants who come from backgrounds that do not match their own. Based on transcriptions of extensive audiotaped conversations, the article explores issues related to studying across difference. The discussion…

Empirical evidence suggests that client gender, client sexual orientation, counselor gender, and counselor sexual orientation are factors that influence counselors attitudes and treatment practices with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. However, it is unclear how these factors may interact to affect attitudes and treatment practices.…

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…

This publication discusses documented attacks on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth who have been subjected to abuse by their peers, and in some cases by their teachers and school administrators. To date, these violations are compounded by the lack of legislation to protect these students from discrimination and…

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) aims to unite with educators in cultivating an informed citizenry and future generations of children who respect and accept all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. By supporting educators in their efforts to build schools where information and expression flow…

Highlights contemporary sexuality issues that confront children, adolescents, and the adults who care for them. Discusses teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS, sexual orientation, and sexual harassment. States that schools and treatment programs have an important role in sexuality education and that the costs of neglecting that role is high…

Uses field data to build a case for presenting sexual orientation as another form of diversity that preservice teachers must recognize, understand, and be prepared to live with, exploring the power of democratic principles to support the conceptual framework and examining the role of teacher educators in promoting democratic values that extend to…

Discusses impact of defining homosexual orientation on development and identity formation of youths who "come out" during adolescence. Four dimensions are presented: recognizing oneself as lesbian or gay, exploring sexual orientation through the gay and lesbian community, disclosing sexual orientation to others, and becoming more comfortable with…