Gender & Sexuality Diversity in Schools (GSDS): Parental Experiences & Schooling Responses

Although schools are perceived as suitable environments in which to teach about sexual health, teachers often exclude gender and sexuality diversity-related topics in their teaching. This is reportedly due to a number of factors; however, a common perception is that parents disapprove of the inclusion of gender and sexuality diversity in the curriculum and that engagement with such content will ignite parental backlash. Recent moral panics over such inclusions have exacerbated this fear and have added to the complexity of teachers’ work through their contribution to teacher confusion about parental reactions in relation to gender and sexuality diversity inclusions. These events also contribute to apprehension about what knowledge is permissible in the classroom. However, there has been limited research in Australia that has examined what parents want in public school education (Foundations through to 12), if anything, in relation to gender and sexuality diversity, and no research that has comprehensively investigated this issue. Additionally, relatively few studies have examined how parents of school-aged, gender and/or sexuality diverse children navigate the schooling context with/for their child and what lessons their experiences can offer educators. This research contributes to addressing these gaps. Finally, the data from this research has resulted in the development of a performed ethnographic play which has been filmed, and, along with the production of teacher education materials, been made publicly available via the researchers’ website (https://westernsydney.edu.au/gsds/educator_resources) for teacher professional learning.