Leadership Training to Meet the Needs of Our LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning) Youth

• In Event: Inclusive Leadership Promoting Social Justice Praxis

Abstract

While much of this effort has been focused on the achievement among students who are poor, non-English speakers, or students of color, very little attention has been given to students who identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Transgendered, or Questioning (GLBTQ). This paper, (by a school administrator and an professor who both are openly gay) expands the discussion on what it means to lead for social justice by focusing specifically on changes that need to occur in the training of aspiring principals if they are to meet the needs of GLBTQ students.

According to reports, school-based homophobic bullying not only is pervasive (Predrag, 2003), but also often goes unchecked (Browman, 2001). It is well documented that GLBTQ students are regularly bullied and harassed in schools (Anderson, 1997; Blumenfeld, 2000; Frankfurt, 2000; Henning-Stout, James, & Macintosh, 2000; Human Rights Watch, 2001). Despite this evidence, school leaders generally underestimate the extent of this harassment (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, 2008). School leaders must create spaces where GLBTQ students are safe and free from victimization and future school leaders must be prepared to address these issues.

This paper synthesizes scholarship on GLBTQ students’ experiences in a manner to inform both faculty in principal-preparation programs and practitioners who work as school leaders. In addition to extant literature, we draw from own work as students, teachers, school principals, professors, and district administrators. We also draw from our collective years of experience in working with social justice school leaders and engaging in program re-design oriented toward social justice in our own departments.

This paper expands the discussion on what it means to lead for social justice by focusing specifically on changes that need to occur in the training of aspiring principals if they are to meet the needs of GLBTQ students. This is particularly significant as more and more students identify as GLBTQ in PK-12 schools.
Our work will have implication for how aspiring principals are trained and informed about issues relating to GLBTQ. Additionally this paper will also have substantive implication for how principals lead their schools to be more inclusive and supportive of GLBTQ students.

Authors

• Frank Hernandez, Texas Christian University

• Donald J. Fraynd, TeacherMatch