LGBT Educators' Perceptions of School Climate Across a Decade and Implications for School and District Leaders

Abstract

LGBT educators have historically experienced various challenges in their schools, while school leaders have needed to balance the rights and needs of LGBT educators with sometimes unwelcoming community norms. The three iterations of this study that spanned across a decade aimed to gain an understanding of the ongoing climate for LGBT educators so that administrators utilize best practices related to policy enactment, advocacy, and enforcement – and in this chapter, relating specifically to creating an LGBT-inclusive climate in schools. Overall, the school climate for many LGBT educators continues to vary. In some respects, it has not changed dramatically from 2007 to 2017. Many participants over the three studies easily described positive and negative consequences of being out. Additionally, LGBT educators working with younger students consistently feel most unsafe being out to students to any degree, and they are experiencing an intense dichotomy of more policy and administrative support with more vehement opposition to being out as teachers. While there are still places for principals and other administrators to demonstrate stronger support for LGBT educators, these results show that their level of support is moving in the right direction.

Citation

Wright, T. and Smith, N. (2023), "LGBT Educators' Perceptions of School Climate Across a Decade and Implications for School and District Leaders", Tran, H. and Jean-Marie, G. (Ed.) Leadership in Turbulent Times (Studies in Educational Administration), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-197-920231001