Refusing Relevance: School Administrator Resistance to Offering Professional Development Addressing LGBTQ Issues in Schools

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide insight to the multiple ways that school leaders resist, avoid, or block LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, queer, and questioning) professional development for their staff and, thus, resist the conversations around school responsibility to these students and families. Research Method: The data presented in this article include interviews and field notes drawn from evaluation studies of the Reduction of Stigma in Schools© professional development program and are related to a single emergent theme. Findings: School leaders who resisted LGBTQ professional development claimed such training was not relevant to their school contexts, the training would attract community backlash, the school board would not approve the training, or school personnel would not be interested in learning about LGBTQ students. Implications: The authors conclude that increasing LGBTQ content in educational leadership training is a necessary step for convincing school leadership that LGBTQ-competence is necessary for creating a positive school climate for all.