Chapter 9: “You Don’t Have to Think About it in That Way”: Deconstructing Teacher Assumptions About LGBTIQ Students

Educators are working in institutions and, in many cases, creating classroom spaces that promote heteronormativity or centralize heterosexuality as the norm (Nelson, 2009). The 2013 GLSEN (Kosciw, Greytak, Palmer, & Boesen, 2014) survey suggests that 56% of LGBTIQ students experience discrimination at school and that schools are unwelcoming and unsafe for the majority of LGBTIQ students. More alarming is the finding that schools are largely underprepared and lack the necessary resources to support LGBTIQ students. Hostile and underprepared school environments lead to negative impacts on LGBTIQ students’ educational success and well-being (Kosciw et al., 2014). When schools become hostile environments, students disengage from the school community. Just under one third of LGBTIQ students report missing one day a month due to feeling unsafe and vulnerable, and over two thirds of these students reported avoiding school functions. Absenteeism can greatly influence students’ academic engagement and success by decreasing instructional time and potentially lowering grade point averages. Avoiding school-based functions and extracurricular activities inhibits students from feeling connected to the school community. Both absenteeism and avoidance, two ways in which LGBITQ students deal with unsafe school environments, are indicative of students who may develop long-term negative associations with education (Kosciw et al., 2014).