ERIC Number: EJ1051377
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-1498
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Beyond the Dialectics and Polemics: Canadian Catholic Schools Addressing LGBT Youth Issues
Liboro, Renato M.; Travers, Robb; St. John, Alex
High School Journal, v98 n2 p158-180 Win 2015
In 2012, Canadian media coverage on Bill 13--an Ontario legislative proposal to require all publicly funded schools to support Gay-Straight Alliances as a means of addressing issues concerning bullied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students--instigated a divisive exchange among representatives of the Ontario Catholic school sector. Beyond these dialectics and polemics, a proactive mix of advocates from schools in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) of Ontario took steady steps to address the circumstances of their LGBT students. This study included semi-structured interviews with ten stakeholders from the WCDSB to determine if strategies and programs deemed successful for supporting LGBT students in public, secular schools in the United States could also be successful in supporting LGBT students in publicly funded Canadian Catholic schools. The study findings revealed that the strategies and programs could indeed be successful in supporting LGBT students in Canadian Catholic schools. We further found that the success of strategies and programs was influenced by factors such as acknowledging the priority of LGBT youth's needs over ongoing disputes, realizing the significant influence of Catholic values, and recognizing the necessity for school boards to maintain legitimacy as publicly funded institutions.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Catholic Schools, Homosexuality, Community Programs, Social Support Groups, Secondary School Students, High Schools, Public Schools, Social Bias, Bullying, Prevention, Safety, Educational Environment, Professional Development, Curriculum Development, Educational Change, School Administration, Board of Education Policy, Educational Legislation, Semi Structured Interviews
University of North Carolina Press. 116 South Boundary Street, P.O. Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288. Tel: 800-848-6224; Tel: 919-966-7449; Fax: 919-962-2704; e-mail: uncpress@unc.edu; Web site: http://uncpress.unc.edu/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A