Trans/gender-diverse students' perceptions of positive school climate and teacher concern as factors in school belonging : results from an Australian national study

Background/Context: In recent years, numerous, ongoing moral panics with respect to the acknowledgment of gender and sexuality diversity within curriculum/ policies have done considerable damage to Australian educators' confidence and capacity to support gender and sexuality diverse students. Trans/gender-diverse students have been specifically targeted during this period. Purpose: Cisnormative microaggressions are a pervasive element of the Australian school climate, impacting trans/gender-diverse students' relationships with school-based adults and peers and their experiences of schooling more broadly. This article seeks to contribute to scholarship exploring school well-being for trans/gender-diverse students, inclusive of students' sense of their teachers' concern for their personal and academic well-being, and its relationship to students' perceptions of their school climate. Participants: This article explores data from trans/gender-diverse participants (n = 685) in the 2021 Free2Be. . .Yet? Australian national online survey of gender and sexuality diverse high school students in Grades/Years 7-12. Research Design: Using students' self-reported data on selected quantitative measures of school climate with respect to gender and sexuality diversity, alongside perceptions of teacher concern and expectations for success, as selected indicators of school-based well-being, this research sought to identify these variables' predictive impact on students' sense of belonging at school.