Creating Inclusive Schools for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, and Questioning Persons: Equitable Educational Leadership and Research Practice

• In Event: Preparing Principals for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTIQ) Equitable Leadership: Town Hall Discussion of the 2010 University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) Equity Study

Abstract

This paper is organized into four sections that offer educational leaders and researchers 1) a language for understanding “LGBTIQ” (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning) as a signifier of difference rather than a fixed identity or population, 2) queer theory as a conceptual resource for rethinking cultural dynamics through which heterosexuality becomes privileged in schools and society, 3) evidence based strategies for creating educational equity for LGBTIQ youth, staff, and families in P-12 schools, and 4) implications for future educational research. Taken as a whole, these sections argue the compelling need for both queer and non-queer school leaders and educational researchers to act deliberatively in the work of equitable leadership for LGBTIQ persons in schools. Suggesting research based strategies for equitable educational leadership practice is particularly complex in that doing so could inadvertently reinscribe fixed, and therefore problematic, notions of leadership, identity, structure, power, or research. Reading the extant research literature in this area through the lens of queer theory offers a reflective pathway toward informed advocacy and action while simultaneously resisting the constraining allure of permanent, settled, and stable categories. The full paper will be distributed in the symposium, though only the most key concepts will be presented in order to allow time for the facilitated town hall discussion among all attendees.

Author

• Michael Patrick O'Malley, Texas State University