Chapter 3: Creating Inclusive Schools for Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (GBLTQ) Students: Applying a Social Justice Framework

Research consistently demonstrates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth are consistently marginalized in schools, in neighborhoods, homes, and in cyberspace. Among the deleterious outcomes experienced by gay youth are bullying, psychological distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, suicidal ideation), health problems (e.g., substance abuse, sexual risk-taking behavior), lowered academic performance (e.g., absenteeism, low academic achievement), and social isolation. This chapter proposes a social justice framework of inclusion that informs the development and implementation of antibullying and antidiscrimination practices and policies in the classroom and at our schools more generally. The authors review the current research specific to academic and social realities for LGBTQ students in secondary school settings, discuss how the application of a social justice framework will help ensure that schools do not perpetuate the marginalization of sexual minority youth (SMY), and discuss specific strategies educators at all levels, including colleges and universities, can implement to provide inclusive, safe schools for all students. This research adds to the extant literature by examining strategies for creating inclusive schools for all of our students, especially those who have been historically, systematically, and structurally excluded.