The School Climate of Israeli LGBT+ Teachers

• In Event: The Role of Teachers in SOGIE-Inclusive Education

Proposal

Most global literature concerning school climate (SC) for LGBT+ is students-oriented. Nevertheless, over the years literature has accumulated that deals with SC faced by LGBT+ teachers (Evans, 2002; Griffin & Ouellett, 2003; McCarthy, 2003; Jackson, 2007; Wright 2010; Tiffany, 2015). This body of literature tends to posits LGBT+ teachers in one of two poles: On the one hand, the teachers experience themselves an hostile SC as their workplace on base of their sexual Orientation, gender Identity and expression (SOGIE) (Blount, 2005; Connell 2015); On the other hand, they functions as central change agents in shaping better SC particularly in SOGIE contexts (Graves, 2009; Harris and Gray, 2014). Within these seemingly contradictory two poles, four main elements for experience emerge: (1) safety; (2) support; (3) SOGIE disclosure; and (4) agency. Each one of those elements plays a pivotal role in constructing LGBT+ teachers experiences and therefore functions as a significant factor. In this respect, studies of SC for LGBT+ teachers provide a unique case study of educational climate implicated both by their personal and professional experiences.

This paper will present research, first of its kind in Israel, that analyzes LGBT+ teachers' perceptions of their working climate and their own impact on the school climate. The goal of this paper is to provide primary data about the complexity of Israeli SC for LGBT+ teachers, both as subjects and as agents. This paper is based on self-answering questionnaire which was constructed for analysing SC parameters: the quantitative aspect of LGBT+ teachers exposure to acts of discrimination in school, exposure to acts of violence (verbal, physical, sexual) in school, satisfactional degree from the practical tools and support received within school, and the implications of their enactment (identification, visibility, content) on the school.

Sample
The analytical sample consisted of 212 respondents. The sample included 44% cisgender women and 43% cisgender men; other respondents identified as transgender, questioning, genderqueer, and other (2%, 2%, 3%, and 6%, respectively). Four in five respondents (80%) identified as gay/lesbian, others identified as bisexual (12%), pansexual (5%), and other (3%). The average age is 35.3 (SD = 8.6). Three in four respondents (75%) taught in a school that belongs to the Jewish secular public system; slightly more than one-fifth of respondents (22%) taught in an alternative school (e.g., democratic, arts, experimental, private). Only six respondents taught in a school that belongs to the Jewish religious public system or to the Arab public system. Two third of respondents (66%) taught in a secondary school (i.e., junior high (6-9), high school (10-12), or comprehensive school (6-12).

Results
The survey asked respondents to indicate their outness level (or the extent to which they self-disclosed their sexual orientation or of their gender identity). While a large majority (74%) indicated they are out to everyone outside of school, only 58% indicated they are out to everyone at school. Cross-tabulation of both questions (outness outside and inside school) suggest that 70% of the sample responded to both questions in a similar fashion. In other words, some of the respondents “hide” their SOGIE at school. Almost half of the sample (46%) reported on being part of professional learning communities for LGBT+ educators.
Echoing past reports by LGBT+ students, LGBT+ educators reported on hearing homophobic comments from students and teachers. Almost all respondents (94%) heard comments from students; almost two-fifths (37%) said they heard comments frequently or always. Slightly more than half of respondents (53%) heard comments from teachers, but these experiences were infrequent. A majority of respondents did not experience any type of violence. One-fifth of respondents (18%) reported on verbal harassment; and about one in ten respondents had students threatening them. In the full paper/presentation, we will report on additional indicators of school climate and their correlates.
In addition to documenting educators’ experiences in schools, our study also assessed their agency as change makers. Across most items, at least half of the sample indicated they engage in actions to improve school climate for LGBT+ students (e.g., including affirming content, and increasing visibility of the LGBT+ community in the school). The only exception is “talking with parents to support them with SOGIE-related issues). We found a weak correlation between school climate and engagement with these actions. We also found an association between outness level and engagement with these actions. In the full paper, we will report on multivariate analysis to predict educators’ agency as change makers.

Bibliography
Blount, J. M. (2005). Fit to Teach: Same-Sex Desire, Gender, and School Work in the Twentieth Century. SUNY Press.
Connell, C. (2015). School's out: Gay and lesbian teachers in the classroom. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
Evans, K. (2002). Negotiating the Self: Identity, Sexuality, and Emotion in Learning to
Teach. Routledge.
Gray, E. M., & Harris, A. (2014). Introduction: marked presence/unremarkable absence: Queer teachers,‘identity’and performativity. In Queer teachers, identity and performativity (pp. 1-10). Palgrave Pivot, London.
Graves, K. (2009). And they were wonderful teachers: Florida's purge of gay and lesbian teachers. University of Illinois Press.
Griffin, P., & Ouellett, M. (2003). From silence to safety and beyond: Historical trends in addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues in K–12 schools. Equity & Excellence in Education, 36(2), 106–114.
Jackson, J. (2007). Unmasking identities: An exploration of the lives of gay and lesbian teachers. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
McCarthy, L. (2003). Wearing my identity: A transgender teacher in the classroom. Equity & Excellence in Education, 36(2), 170–183.
Wright, T. (2010). LGBT educators' perceptions of school climate. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(8), 49–53.
Wright, T., Smith, N., & Whitney, E. (2019). LGBT educators’ perceptions of safety and support and implications for equity-oriented school leaders. Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies,Special Issue #2 on Educational Leadership and Social Justice, 3(2).
Tiffany E. W. & Nancy J. S. (2015) A Safer Place? LGBT Educators, School Climate, and Implications for Administrators, The Educational Forum, 79:4, 394-407.

Authors

• Avner Rogel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Magnus Hirschfeld Institute - IGY

• Oren Pizmony-Levy, Teachers College, Columbia University