This qualitative study explores how rural high school principals perceive and support LGBTQ students. Through semistructured interviews of these principals, we examine how the context of the schools, specifically rural communities with conservative values, affects principals’ perceptions and implementation of a positive climate for all students. The study's findings suggest that these leaders upheld community normative values by exhibiting their own bias against LGBTQ students. Insights drawn here indicate that the school leader's position within and affinity toward rural school communities provide a unique context for examining equity constraints. Theoharis’ (2007) framework of resistance for social justice leaders is used as a reference for viewing these rural principals, and the study offers an extension to his three-prong model.
AnsaraY. G., & HegartyR. (2012). Cisgenderism in psychology: Pathologising and misgendering children from 1999 to 2008.Psychology & Sexuality,3(2), 137–160.
AstorR. A., BenbenishtyR., & EstradaJ. N. (2009). School violence and theoretically atypicalschools: The principal's centrality in orchestrating safe schools.American Educational Research Journal,46(2), 423–461.
5.
BauerG. R., HammondR., TraversR., KaayM., HohenadelK. M., & BoyceM. (2009). “I don't think this is theoretical; this is our lives”: How erasure impacts health care for transgender people.Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care,20(5), 348–361.
6.
BerkL. E. (1999). Infants, children, and adolescents (3rd ed). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
7.
BiegelS. (2010). The right to be out.Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
8.
BirkettM., EspelageD. L., & KoenigB. (2009). LGB and questioning students in schools: The moderating effects of homophobic bullying and school climate on negative outcomes.Journal of Youth and Adolescence,38, 989–1000.
9.
BlackburnM. V., & SmithJ. M. (2010). Moving beyond the inclusion of LGBT-Themed literature in English language arts classrooms: Interrogating heteronormativity and exploring intersectionality.Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,53(8), 625–634.
10.
BourdieuP., ChamboredonJ., & PasseronJ. (1991). The craft of sociology: Epistemological preliminaries. Translated by Richard Nice.New York, NY: deGruyter.
BrownK. M. (2004). Assessing preservice leaders’ beliefs, attitudes, and values regarding issues of diversity, social justice, and equity: A review of existing measures.Equity & Excellence in Education,37, 332–342.
13.
BrownK. M. (2006). Leadership for social justice and equity: Evaluating a transformative framework and andragogy.Educational Administration Quarterly,42(5), 700–745.
14.
BustamanteR. M., NelsonJ. A., & OnwuegbuzieA. J. (2009). Assessing schoolwide cultural competence: Implications for school leadership preparation.Educational Administration Quarterly,45(5), 793–827.
15.
Cambron-McCabeN., & McCarthyM. M. (2005). Educating school leaders for social justice.Educational Policy,19(1), 201–222.
CraigG. J., & DunnW. L. (2010). Understanding human development (2nd ed). New York: Prentice Hall.
18.
CreswellJ. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19.
DantleyM. E., & TillmanL. C. (2006). Social justice and moral transformative leadership. In MarshallC., & OlivaM. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 16–30). Boston, MA: Pearson.
20.
DillardC. B. (1995). Leading with her life: An African American feminist (re) interpretation of leadership for an urban high school principal.Educational Administration Quarterly,31(4), 539–563.
21.
EpsteinD., O'FlynnS., & TelfordD. (2000–2001). “Othering” education: Sexualities, silences, and schooling.Review of Research in Education,25, 127–179.
FinlayB., & WaltherC. S. (2003). The relation of religious affiliations, service attendance, and other factors to homophobic attitudes among university students.Review of Religious Research,44(4), 370–393.
24.
FlanaganC. A., & StoutM. (2010). Developmental patterns of social trust between early and late adolescence: Age and school climate effects.Journal of Research on Adolescence,20(3), 748–773.
25.
FrayndD. J., & CapperC. A. (2003). “Do you have any idea who you just hired?!?” A study of open and closeted sexual minority K-12 administrators.Journal of School Leadership,13, 86–124.
HenzeR., KatzA., NorteE., SatherS. E., & WalkerE. (2002). Leading for diversity: How school leaders promote positive interethnic relations.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
29.
HershbergerS. L., & D'AugelliA.R. (1995). The impact of victimization on the mental health and suicidality of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths.Developmental Psychology,31(1), 65–74.
30.
HershbergerS. L., PilkingtonN. W., & D'AugelliA. R. (1997). Predictors of suicide attempts among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth.Journal of Adolescent Research,12(4), 477–497.
31.
HurtadoS., EngbergM. E., PonjuanL., & LandremanL. (2002). Students’ precollege preparation for participation in a diverse democracy.Research in Higher Education,43(2), 163–186.
32.
JuvonenJ., WangY., & EspinozaG. (2010). Bullying experiences and compromised academic performance across middle school grades.The Journal of Early Adolescence,31(1), 152–173.
33.
KarpinskiC. F., & LuggC. A. (2006). Social justice and educational administration: mutually exclusive?Journal of Educational Administration,44(3), 278–292.
34.
KosciwJ., GreytakE., & DiazE. (2009). Who, what, where, when, and why: Demographic and ecological factors contributing to hostile school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth.Journal of Youth & Adolescence,38(7), 976–988.
35.
RoseB. W. (2009). The principal's role in professional development for social justice.Urban Education,44(6), 628–663.
36.
LiuR. T., & MustanskiB. (2012). Suicidal ideation and self-harm in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth.American journal of preventive medicine,42(3), 221–228.
37.
LopezG., & ChismN. (1993). Classroom concerns of gay and lesbian students: The invisible minority.College Teaching,41(3), 97–103.
38.
LuggC. A. (1998). The religious right and public education: The paranoid politics of homophobia.Educational Policy,12(3), 267–283.
39.
LuggC. A. (2003). Sissies, faggots, lezzies, and dykes: Gender, sexual orientation, and a new politics of education?Educational Administration Quarterly,39(1), 95–134.
40.
LuggC. A. (2006). Thinking about sodomy: Public schools, legal panopticons, and queers.Educational Policy,20(1), 35–58.
41.
LuggC. A., & Tabbaa-RidaZ. (2006). Social justice, religion, and public school leaders. In MarshallC., & OlivaM. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 130–144). Boston, MA: Pearson.
42.
MacNeilA. J., PraterD. L., & BuschS. (2009). The effects of school culture and climate on student achievement.International Journal of Leadership in Education,12(1), 73–84.
43.
MarshallC., & OlivaM. (2006). Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education.Boston, MA: Pearson.
44.
MarshallC., & RossmanG. B. (2011). Designing qualitative research (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
45.
MarshallC., & YoungM. (2006). The wider societal challenge: An afterword. In MarshallC., & OlivaM. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 307–317). Boston, MA: Pearson.
46.
MayhewM. J., GrunwaldH. E., & DeyE. L. (2005). Curriculum matters: Creating a positive climate for diversity from the student perspective.Research in Higher Education,46(4), 389–412.
47.
McKenzieK. B., ChristmanD. E., HernandezF., FierroE., CapperC. A., DantleyM., & ScheurichJ. J. (2008). From the field: A proposal for educating leaders for social justice.Educational Administration Quarterly,44(1), 111–138.
MilesM. B., & HubermanA. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
50.
MoolenaarN. M., DalyA. J., & SleegersP. J. C. (2010). Occupying the principal position: Examining relationships between transformational leadership, social network position, and schools’ innovative climate.Educational Administration Quarterly,46(5), 623–670.
51.
MustanskiB., & LiuR.T. (2013). A longitudinal study of predictors of suicide attempts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth.Archives of sexual behavior,42(3), 437–448.
52.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (n.d.). Search for schools, colleges, and libraries. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. (2010). Percentage of U.S. adults who are affiliated with evangelical protestant tradition: Texas. Retrieved from http://rehgions.pewforum.org/maps.
55.
RappD. (2002). Social justice and the importance of rebellious imaginations.Journal of School leadership,12(3), 226–245.
56.
RiversI., & NoretN. (2008). Well-being among same-sex- and opposite-sex- attracted youth at school.School Psychology Review,37(2), 174–187.
57.
RuusV., ViessonM., LeinoM., OtsL., PallasL., SarvE., & ViessonA. (2007). Students’ well-being, coping, academic success, and school climate.Social Behavior and Personality,35(7), 919–936.
58.
SeranoJ. (2007). Whipping girl: A transsexual woman on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity.Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.
59.
ShieldsC. M. (2010). Transformative leadership: Working for equity in diverse contexts.Educational Administration Quarterly,46(4), 558–589.
60.
SmithL. C. (2013). How the ASCA National Model promotes and inhibits safe schools for queer youth: An inquiry using critical theory.Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling,7(4), 339–354.
61.
StakeR. E. (2010). Qualitative research: Studying how things work.New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
62.
SzalachaL. A. (2003). Safer sexual diversity climates: Lessons learned from an evaluation of Massachusetts Safe Schools program for gay and lesbian students.American Journal of Education,110(1). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1209275.
TheoharisG. T. (2004). At no small cost: Social justice leaders and their response to resistance (Doctoral dissertation). Available from Proquest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3143016).
67.
TheoharisG. T. (2007). Social justice educational leaders and resistance: Toward a theory of social justice leadership.Educational Administration Quarterly,43(2), 221–258.
68.
TheoharisG. T. (2009). The school leaders our children deserve: Seven keys to equity, social Justice, and school reform.New York, NY: Teacher's College Press, Columbia University.
69.
ToomsA., & AlstonJ. A. (2006). (OUT)siders at the gate: Administrative aspirants’ attitudes towards the gay community.International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning.1–9.
70.
ToomsA. K., LuggC. A., & BogotchI. (2010). Rethinking the politics of fit and educational leadership.Educational Administration Quarterly,46(1), 96–131.
WallsN. E., & CostelloK. (2010). “Head ladies center for teacup chain”: Exploring cisgender privilege in a (predominantly) gay male context. In AndersonS., and Middleton'sV. (Eds.), Exploration in diversity: Examining privilege and oppression in a multicultural society, 2nd ed. (pp. 81–93). Belmont, CABrooks/Cole.
