Queering the Ed.D.: Developing Advocacy Leadership for LGBTQ Students and Studies Across a University System

• In Event: 29.090 - Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: 29.090-22 - Learning Environments and LGBTQ Identity and Well-Being Across Levels of Development

Abstract

Objective
This study examines how graduate preparation programs can contribute to broader understandings of social justice and advocacy by emphasizing the need to consider the identities of students at both the K-12 and higher education levels through an intersectional lens. Specifically we focus on the development of a network across campuses in one university system to develop support for LGBTQ students in education doctoral programs and for research that employs queer studies perspectives.

Theoretical Framework
An intersectional approach to understanding how different aspects of privilege and disadvantage are differentially experienced in context dependent ways has been applied to multiple identities (Hancock, 2011). Examining the role of LGBTQ identity as a “cross-cutting issue” through the lens of intersectionality is appropriate in this exploration of the complexities of professional role and personal identity. This project is also aided by the use of an explicitly transformative theoretical lens as it entails specific advocacy as well as research objectives; we use a broad definition of queer theory as one that seeks to disrupt heteronormative and binary assumptions about gender and sexuality and attend to intersectional aspects of identity with the goal of promoting inclusive practice.

Methods and Data Sources
This investigation seeks to assess the knowledge base of students and faculty relative to issues of gender identity and expression and sexual orientation in a particularly university setting, examine how LGBTQ students experience Ed.D. programs across locations, and explore how an intersectional understanding of identity can support the particular needs of LGBTQ students from diverse backgrounds in terms of race, ethnicity, disability status, religion, age, socioeconomic class, and language. Data will be collected through an online survey, individual interviews, document review, and focus group interviews.

Preliminary Findings
Data are currently being collected through a system-wide survey and interviews are being conducted in collaboration with faculty and students who have already been identified at five of the seventeen target campuses. An online platform is in development that will link resources across campuses and providing a space for students to discuss ideas and concerns related to their experiences. Findings from a pilot study and data collected so far suggest that even in parts of the state considered most welcoming to LGBTQ identities, students and faculty experience explicit heteronormative expectations in their university settings and have received conflicting messages regarding their interest in conducting research that incorporates queer theory perspectives.

Significance
Particularly in programs that emphasize social justice issues, lack of attention to gender identity and expression and sexual orientation is a problem that must be addressed. Ed.D. students are positioned in a potential double bind as they simultaneously occupy the role of both student and leader. As such, the developmental needs of Ed.D. students are different than those of undergraduates or students who leave their professional positions to attend graduate school. Additional research on queer issues in higher education can contribute to both programmatic and institutional transformation (Renn, 2011).

Authors

• Allison Mattheis, California State University - Los Angeles

• Dickson S Perey, Los Angeles Unified School District

• Valerie Fae Royaltey-Quandt, San Francisco State University