Little is known about the professional experiences of trans school workers. This brief describes the demographic characteristics of a non-random sample of 296 trans PK–12 school workers (i.e., teachers, administrators, staff) in the United States and Canada and reports their workplace experiences and the structural and social supports for trans employees compared to trans students. The analysis suggests that although most respondents are satisfied with their role, they experience high levels of discrimination and harassment, and there is a lack of administrative guidance for trans staff compared to trans students. The brief concludes with a discussion of the implications for school leadership and policy.
AirtonL.KirkupK.McMillanA.DesRochersJ. (2019). What is “gender expression”? How a new and nebulous human rights construct is taking shape in Ontario school board policy documents. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l’éducation, 42(4), 1154–1182. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1238888.pdf
2.
BiegelS. (2010). The right to be out: Sexual orientation and gender identity in America’s public schools. University of Minnesota Press.
DaytonJ.BarryM. (2020). LGBTQ+ employment protections: The US Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia and the implications for public schools. Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender and Society, 35(2), 115–142.
5.
EckesS. E.McCarthyM. M. (2008). GLBT teachers: The evolving legal protections. American Educational Research Journal, 45(3), 530–554. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831208314764
JohnsM. M.LowryR.AndrzejewskiJ.BarriosL. C.DemissieZ.McManusT.RasberryC. N.RobinL.UnderwoodJ. M. (2019). Transgender identity and experiences of violence victimization, substance use, suicide risk, and sexual risk behaviors among high school students—19 states and large urban school districts, 2017. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68(3), 67–71. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6803a3
KosciwJ. G.ClarkC. M.TruongN. L.ZongroneA. D. (2020). The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth in our nation’s schools. GLSEN.
12.
LewisM. M.Fetter-HarrottA.SunJ. C.EckesS. E. (2017). Legal issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and public schools. Social Education, 81(5), 316–322.
13.
ManginM. M. (2020). Transgender students in elementary school: Creating an affirming and inclusive school culture. Harvard Education Press.
14.
MayoC.AdelmanM.McQuillanM. (in press). Surveying the law and policy terrain: Pursuing transgender and nonbinary equity in K-12 schools. In SuárezM. I.ManginM. M. (Eds.), Trans studies in K–12 education: Creating an agenda for research and practice. Harvard Education Press.
McGuireJ. K.AndersonC. R.ToomeyR. B.RussellS. T. (2010). School climate for transgender youth: A mixed method investigation of student experiences and school responses. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(10), 1175–1188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9540-7
MeyerE. J.KeenanH. (2018). Can policies help schools affirm gender diversity? A policy archaeology of transgender-inclusive policies in California schools. Gender and Education, 30(6), 736–753. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2018.1483490
SinghA. A. (2013). Transgender youth of color and resilience: Negotiating oppression and finding support. Sex Roles, 68(11–12), 690–702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0149-z
TaylorA. B.ChanA.HallS. L.SaewycE. M., & the Canadian Trans & Non-binary Youth Health Survey Research Group. (2020). Being safe, being me 2019: Results of the Canadian trans and non-binary youth health survey. Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre, University of British Columbia.
23.
TraversA. (2018). The trans generation: How trans kids (and their parents) are creating a gender revolution. New York University Press.
24.
TurbanJ. L.AlmazanA. N.ReisnerS. L.KeuroghlianA. S. (forthcoming). The importance of non-probability samples in minority health research: Lessons learned from studies of transgender and gender diverse mental health. Transgender Health. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2021.0132
U.S. Department of Education. (2016). Percentage of public school teachers based on years of teaching experience, average total years of teaching experience, percentage of teachers based on years teaching at current school, and average years teaching at current school, by selected school characteristics: 2015–16. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Teacher Data File,” 2015–16. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/tables/ntps1516_18051504_t1n.asp
27.
U.S. Department of Education. (2018). Average and median age of public school teachers and percentage distribution of teachers by age category, sex, and state: 2017–18. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Teacher Data File,” 2015–16. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/tables/ntps1718_fltable02_t1s.asp
28.
WoolleyS. W. (2016). Contesting silence, claiming space: Gender and sexuality in the neo-liberal public high school. Gender and Education, 29(1), 84–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1197384
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
