Gay-Straight Alliance Network

About: Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a education organization based out in Oakland, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Transgender & Homosexuality. The organization has 2 authors who have published 4 publications receiving 386 citations.

Youth Empowerment and High School Gay-Straight Alliances

Abstract: In the field of positive youth development programs, “empowerment” is used interchangeably with youth activism, leadership, civic participation and self-efficacy. However, few studies have captured what empowerment means to young people in diverse contexts. This article explores how youth define and experience empowerment in youth-led organizations characterized by social justice goals: high school Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). Through focus group interviews, fifteen youth leaders of GSAs from different regions of California explain what they think empowerment means and how they became empowered through their involvement with the GSA. Youth describe three inter-related dimensions of empowerment: personal empowerment, relational empowerment, and strategic empowerment through having and using knowledge. When these three dimensions are experienced in combination, GSA leaders have the potential for individual and collective empowerment as agents of social change at school. By understanding these youth’s perspectives on the meanings of empowerment, this article clarifies the conceptual arena for future studies of socially marginalized youth and of positive youth development.

Students’ Perspectives on LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum

Abstract: Implementing curriculum that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) people has the potential to create an equitable learning environment. In order to learn more about students’ experiences of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, 26 high school students with diverse racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender identities were recruited from the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Network in California. Students participated in focus groups conducted by telephone by GSA staff, sharing their experiences of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in school. Qualitative coding methods, including grounded theory, were used to identify themes and interpret students’ responses. Data revealed that LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum was most often taught in social sciences and humanities courses as stand-alone lessons. LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum rarely met standards of social justice education, though opportunities for critical conversations about systemic oppression regularly emerged. For instance, teachers often fail...

Adolescent Perceptions of School Safety for Students with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Parents

Abstract: A growing body of research indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are often unsafe at school. Little research has examined school safety for students with LGBT parents. We examined adolescents' perceptions of school safety for students with LGBT parents using data from a survey of 2,302 California sixth through twelfth grade students. We examined the influence of adolescents' personal characteristics and school environments on perceptions of school safety for students with LGBT parents. Compared to heterosexual students, adolescents who identified as LGBT were less likely to perceive their schools as safe for students with LGBT parents. Students who received education on LGBT issues knew where to get information about LGBT issues and had teachers that step in to prevent harassment were more likely to say that their schools were safe for students with LGBT parents. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.