Building LGBTQ Knowledge and Awareness Among Education Graduate Students and Faculty

• In Event: 54.068 - Queering Knowledge to Action: Supporting LGBTQ+ Identities in Educational Spaces

Abstract

Recent research studies found school of education faculty and graduate students lack an understanding of the needs of LGBTQ students within schools. For this reason, faculty often exclude LGBTQ themes from their coursework. To address this gap in knowledge, 30 Education graduate students and faculty participated in five workshops. Utilizing a pre-test and post-test design, this study seeks to measure the effectiveness of the workshops to increase graduate student and faculty knowledge of LGBTQ issues in education, attitudes towards LGBTQ people, feelings of preparedness to include LGBTQ topics in future coursework, and commitment to include LGBTQ themes in future course instruction. Based upon differences in means, the workshop series was effective on all measures.

Author

• Clyde Harrelson, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill