Exploring School Gender Climate and School Outcomes for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Students in Australia

• In Event: Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Considering School Practices and Student Identities in Particular National Contexts

Abstract

Australian transgender and gender-diverse (TGGD) secondary students report routine social and curricular marginalization at school, factors which have been linked to negative social and academic outcomes. This paper examines data from the “Free2Be?” project, which surveyed 704 same-sex attracted and gender-diverse Australian teenagers (aged 14-18), to examine school gender-climate as a potential stressor for the 51 (7%) students who identified as TGGD. This paper focuses on students’ reports of their teachers’ positivity regarding diverse gender expression, as a hallmark of school gender-climate. Multiple regression analyses revealed the significant predictive impact of teachers’ positivity on TGGD students’ sense of connection to their school environment.

Author

• Jacqueline Ullman, University of Western Sydney