Managing Sexual Diversity in Secondary Schools: Perspectives from Canada

Despite increasing awareness and acceptance of sexual diversity, discrimination based on ‘homosexuality’ and/or gender non-conformity in schools remains a concern (Baitz, 2006; D’Augelli, Pilkington & Hershberger, 2002; Ferfolja, 2005, 2007, 2007, 2008, 2009; Hillier, Turner & Mitchell, 2005; Hohnke & O’Brien, 2008; Michaelson, 2008; Rudoe, 2010). International literature illustrates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (hereafter LGBTQ) individuals frequently experience discrimination expressed through negative behaviours such as ostracism, harassment, and verbal and physical violence (EGALE Canada, 2011; Ferfolja & Hopkins, forthcoming; Hillier et al, 2010; Schneider & Dimito, 2008; Taylor & Peter, 2011). Indeed, schools are highly heterosexual organizations and such interpersonal discrimination provides one means to regulate and police sexual and gendered subjectivities. This regulation is reinforced by the institutional silences around sexual and gendered diversities in curriculum, practice and policy (Bellini, 2012; Callaghan, 2007, 2009; Epstein & Johnson, 1998; Ferfolja, 2012; Taylor, 2008). Silence carries meaning (Foucault, 1978) and through such silence, the ‘Othering’ of LGBTQ subjectivities remains a reality (Atkinson, 2002). As a result, many LGBTQ teachers and students do not feel safe or comfortable within their own school community and may endeavor to hide or ‘manage’ their sexuality (Bellini, 2012; Holmes, 2001; Kendall & Sidebotham, 2004). The ongoing fear of, and/or experiences of, discrimination and social derision mean that LGBTQ youth are at greater risk of suicide and suicide ideation, homelessness, school drop-out and disengagement, substance abuse, and mental illness (Hillier et al, 2005; Peling, 2008). Addressing homophobia in schools and educating future generations about sexual and gendered diversities is crucial for the creation of a world that is socially just and equitable to all people. Yet, few education systems proactively endeavor to instill in their curricula, pedagogies and policies, visible and explicit measures that enhance knowledge about this area of (in)equity or to promote school cultures where LGBTQ subjects feel free and safe to be open. However, the Toronto District School Board (hereafter TDSB) in Ontario, Canada, has developed and endeavoured to implement visible and explicit policy in relation to human sexuality, through the ‘Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy Implementation1’ (hereafter Equity Foundation Statement). This document and its commitments marks the TDSB as a front-runner in the endeavor to increase equitable practices in schools and to reduce discrimination against those perceived to be ‘different’ from the heterosexual norm. This progressive position renders the implementation of the TDSB policy in schools as worthy of study and as a potential model to illustrate how cultural change could be created in other comparable education systems. Thus, this document reports on research that sought to understand how this human rights issue is enacted in TDSB schools that are deemed to be proactive in implementing TDSB equity policy and importantly how this implementation is occurring. The aim was to explore the approaches taken by schools perceived to be actively engaging in this equity area and the experiences of those affiliated with them.