The bell rings. It’s 12:15 in the afternoon and you just got done taking the chemistry test you have been cramming for all week. Everyone piles out of the classroom and into the narrow, crowded hall swarmed with groups of loud chattering kids. You’re standing there alone by your locker, when someone down the hall screams, “Hey fag.” Fear creeps in putting all of its weight on your back as you sit there anticipating what may happen next. Before you can turn around, the kid who has been harassing you since freshman year throws you up against the locker. Every day for 3 years, the same kid has bullied you for being different, and not a single person has done anything about it.
Students who identify within the LGBT community face higher levels of discrimination and safety concerns each day compared to their peers. Over 85% report being harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and over 20% report being physically attacked (Biegal and Kuhel, 2010). More times than not faculty and administration do nothing in response. The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youths have made their way to the forefront of literature and social issues in the last decade or so. Although there has been increasing support worldwide for the LGBT community harassment continues to grow in schools. The scope of this research will be students in grades 6-12 between the ages of 13-18. Also, this research will be based only on data collected in The United States.
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How does discrimination in schools against LGBT youth affect academic success? And how does in-school support change this? Discrimination in schools against LGBT youth leads to lower academic success. The only exception to this is when there are school-based supports—safe school policies, supportive school personnel, and gay-straight alliance (GSA) clubs—that may offset these effects. This paper will cover 3 major topic areas, how discrimination in schools has direct effects on overall academic achievement and success, what type of school-based supports and policies school districts and administrations are implementing, and how these systems are proving to decrease the magnitude of these effects felt.
Studies indicate that youth who have same-sex sexual preferences, romantic relationships with persons of the same sex, or who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender are more likely than their straight and cis counterparts to experience harassment, bullying, suicidal temptations, and depressive symptoms. A study conducted in 2007 in Washington, DC, by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance system showed that “40% of youth who reported a minority sexual orientation indicated feeling sad or hopeless in the past 2 weeks, compared to 26% of heterosexual youth” (Almedia & Johnson 2009). Schools nationwide are hostile and dangerous environments for a growing amount of LGBT students, with the majority who routinely hear anti-LGBT remarks and experience victimization in schools. 59.5% of LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, 44.6% because of their gender expression, and 35.0% because of their gender (GLSEN 2018).
Most of the literature written on these topics focuses on the experiences of anti-LGBT discrimination and the consequences, such as depression, higher suicide rates, higher dropout rates, and substance abuse. Most scholarly research conducted is to create better school policies and a commitment to better school environments for all. Recently, there has been a push for research in the context of safer school environments and what characteristics in schools support negative attitudes and behaviors toward LGBT youths. They also present examples of traumatic peer mistreatment, the resulting harm to the academic achievement and aspirations of LGBT students, high levels of LGBT runaway rates, and teen homelessness.
Less attention has been focused on research concerning discriminatory effects on LGBT students, and their abilities to learn and access further education. “LGBTQ students who experienced higher levels of victimization because of their sexual orientation were nearly twice as likely to report that they did not plan to pursue any post-secondary education (e.g., college or trade school) than those who experienced lower levels (9.5% vs. 5.0%)” (GLSEN 2018). Another area that the literature lacks focus on is, what type of policies can we create that not only help the students who have been victimized but also limit the discrimination as a whole. A big challenge for these schools is how to identify when someone is a victim and how to create spaces that induce support for all types of students. Some literature discusses what impacts school-based support systems like educators supporting LGBT students, gay-straight alliance clubs (GSAs), anti-bullying policies that provide specific coverage for LGBT students, and curricula inclusive of LGBT histories have on improving school climates.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that school-based support systems have in helping LGBT students experience lower levels of discrimination and higher levels of academic achievement. My research will build on previous studies by examining the ways that LGBT students experience discrimination and then the role of inclusive school policies and systems create safer and more successful academic environments. First, we will examine the types of harassment and discrimination LGBT students face and how it directly affects their academic achievement and performance in school.
LGBT students who suffer from discrimination in school experience lower levels of self-esteem and are at higher risk of depression and suicide. A lack of policies protecting LGBT youth from harassment or failure to enforce policies that do exist means that LGBT students nationwide continue to experience bullying, exclusion, harassment, and discrimination in schools. LGBT students are statistically more likely to show symptoms of depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, self-harm, and emotional distress. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, and gay teens are 4 times more likely than straight teens to attempt suicide (Almedia & Johnson 2009). Data shows that 42.8 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth had considered suicide, and 29.4 percent had attempted suicide, compared with 14.8 percent of heterosexual youth who had considered suicide and 6.4 percent of heterosexual youth who had attempted suicide (Dwedar 2017). A lack of support from family, friends, school administrators, and peers can have severe consequences on a student’s mental health. As predicted, there is a direct link between students decreasing mental health and increased levels of harassment in school. This data is helpful to this study because it helps set the premise that LGBT youths experience higher levels of discrimination in school that directly affects their mental well-being.
Hostile school environments in which LGBT students feel personally discriminated against lead to lower academic performance for those who are victimized. LGBT students who experienced high levels of in-school victimization have lower academic performance, attendance rates, high school graduation rates, and post-secondary education. One study found that 29% of LGBT students missed at least one day of school in the past month due to feeling unsafe. Also, LGBT students who frequently experienced harassment had GPAs that were about 10% lower than those who did not (Kosciw, 2004). Over and over we see that LGBT students are not receiving the same quality of education and school experiences as their non-LGBT peers. Furthermore, they don’t get involved in the same activities or have the same level of school support due to feelings of exclusion. Many students respond to harassment by dropping out of school or avoiding formal educational environments altogether. LGBTQ students who reported higher levels of victimization based on their sexual orientation or gender expression reported lower educational aspirations than LGBTQ students who reported lower levels of victimization (GLSEN 2018). If a large portion of our youth are being victimized due to the way they identify, why is no one doing anything to help? This shows just how severe harassment can be on adolescents’ development and ambitions. If parents, teachers, and administrators can recognize that this is a problem then they can start to create the solution. What types of policies and support systems need to be in place to effectively combat discrimination received by LGBT youths?
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