User:DetectivePrince/sandbox

= Education and the LGBTQ+ Community =

Curriculum
School curriculum have been predominantly reinforcing heteronormativity in subtle and overt ways while ignoring or marginalizing homosexuality. Inclusive curricula allow for positive and truthful representations of LGBT people that have initially been excluded when teaching about historical events. Schools that have successfully implemented an inclusive curriculum report a decrease in homophobic remarks, and absenteeism. A curriculum is considered inclusive when LGTBQ experiences are added to the lesson plan; ensuring that the lesson and examples are not strictly heterocentric. In 2010, Kosciw, Greytak, Diaz and Bartkiewicz suggested that the incorporation of positive representations of LGBT people, history, and events into existing curricula would improve the experiences of sexual minorities throughout their schooling years.

The state of California introduced The FAIR Education Act; Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful, which aimed to include LGBT events into history books and instructional materials. Individuals that have shaped the political and social sphere such as Harvey Milk and Matthew Shepard are now recognized as important and have become a part of the curriculum. Research has yielded that the exclusion and marginalization of LGBT people and events from school curriculums and history in general perpetuate negative stereotypes of the LGBT community. Positive representations have been shown to promote respect and decrease bullying. Adopting an inclusive curriculums have reported increased feelings of security within school settings, better attendance and feelings of somewhat to high acceptance of LGBT people as opposed to educational institutions without an inclusive curriculum.

Prevention of Bullying
The creation of safe spaces can potentially reduce or alleviate the effects of harassment and violence that LGBTQ students face. These effects can include an increase in dropout rates, poorer academic performance, higher rates of depression, increased risk of PTSD and substance abuse, and absenteeism. Safe spaces at schools can include gay student organizations as well as having an Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity that is handled at the administrative level. The majority of harassment towards a student’s sexuality is either under-reported or not reported at all. This is due to students feeling that school personnel and administrators will not do anything about it or because they fear it might make the situation worse. Schools that include safe spaces as well as implementing courses in queer studies helps in making students feel welcome and safe.

Student Organizations
Gay student organizations are groups that are created with the purpose of providing support to students who identify as gender-nonconforming and are sexual minorities. These student organizations help promote the education of homophobia as an issue while spreading gay positive messages on campus. A common student organization found throughout school settings are Gay Student Organizations, also referred to as GSO. Another type of organization are Gay-Straight Alliances; commonly abbreviated to GSAs. The first GSAs were mainly established to combat the invisibility of LGBT students. The main difference between Gay Student Organizations and Gay-Straight Alliances is that the latter emphasizes the issues of the LGBT community as affecting not only sexual minorities but everyone. Gay-Straight Alliances memberships are open to include all sexual orientations, including heterosexual students.

Student clubs such as Gay-Straight Alliance are created with fostering a safe space for queer students at school. These clubs are used for a variety of purposes such as serving as a space for students to socialize without needing to censor their identity and with the knowledge that people within that space are either allies or queer. There is evidence reported by LGBT students that shows a decrease in homophobic remarks and targeted victimization when compared to educational settings that do not have safe spaces incorporated into the school structure. With this decrease in negative experiences there are also reports of student body cohesiveness and intolerance for displays of homophobia. Literature revolving around the inclusion of GSAs within educational settings has shown to increase the quality of student life. These support networks are aimed at the welfare and mental health of LGBT students through connecting the students with the larger community. GSAs have been shown to enhance the overall level of LGBT visibility, safety and comfort, and open up opportunities to develop and sustain relationships with other students and school staff members. Public schools in the US that received funding are able to implement more measures to support LGBT students. These include support strategies and programs such as GSAs. Catholic and religious private schools on the other hand, which do not receive funding from the government have less support measures in place for their students.