ERIC Number: EJ1009035
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1245
EISSN: N/A
Challenging the Sounds of Silence: A Qualitative Study of Gay-Straight Alliances and School Reform Efforts
Mayberry, Maralee; Chenneville, Tiffany; Currie, Sean
Education and Urban Society, v45 n3 p307-339 May 2013
We explore the efficacy of one increasingly familiar strategic intervention designed to disrupt antigay school environments--Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). Despite the increasing popularity of GSAs, there has been little research on the ways in which they do--and do not--impact school climate. The ubiquity of antigay and homophobic attitudes throughout schools highlights the importance of documenting the advantages and disadvantages of this tactical intervention. Using research with GSA student members, GSA advisors, high school principals, and district-level administrators from a case study of high schools, we identify school practices that either support or destabilize antigay school environments: Silence and passive resistance, the provision of safe spaces, and attempts and challenges to breaking the silence. We then explore the limitations of current efforts to create safe-school environments for sexual minority youth and end by discussing how systemic school reform efforts could be used to transform the broader social context. (Contains 1 table and 3 notes.)
Descriptors: Homosexuality, Intervention, Educational Environment, Peer Acceptance, Peer Relationship, Social Bias, Principals, High School Students, High Schools, Administrators, Resistance (Psychology), Social Justice, School Role, School Safety, Change Strategies, Interviews, Administrator Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Clubs, Barriers, Qualitative Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A