Making Schools Better for LGBT Youth: Experiences of Gay-Straight Alliance Advisers in Ontario, Canada

• In Event: Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: Climate Change: Welcoming LGBTQ Issues and Identities Into Educational Spaces

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the supports and barriers that advisors of gay straight alliances (GSAs) experience when advocating for LGBT youth within schools in Ontario, Canada. The data, which emerged from interviews with 14 advisors (who had initially participated in a survey of 41 GSA advisors), suggests that multiple ecological systems (e.g., sociocultural, school and individual factors) interacted positively to create opportunities for committed advisors to help make a difference in the climate LGBT youth in Ontario schools. Results suggest that increased social acceptance, supportive legislation and policy, interest within the school community, and the dedication of GSA advisors have created significant, lasting change in schools.

Authors

• Julian D. Kitchen, Brock University

• Christine Bellini, Peel District School Board