Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Recent research shows that the use of derogatory terms, threats, and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in schools continues to occur (Collier, Bos, Sandfort, 2013; Taylor Peter, 2011). Moreover, the frequency of LGBTQ youth suicides (McFarland, 1998) and the extent of short- and long-term psychosocial issues experienced by LGBTQ youth are concerning (Deisher, 1989; Mufioz-Plaza, Quinn, Rounds, 2002). Research involving teachers has found that teachers were frequently aware that homophobic bullying was occurring, but they didn’t know how, or were unwilling, to address it (Warwick, Aggleton, Douglas, 2001). The current study was a qualitative investigation of teacher, LGBTQ youth, and bullying expert and advocate perspectives on homophobic bullying. Grounded theory methods were utilized to analyze the 18 semi-structured interviews. Four themes were identified around the participants’ understanding of what homophobic bullying is: Words as Weapons, Understanding “That’s so Gay”: Harmful Discrimination or Innocuous Slang, Exclusion as a Weapon, and It’s not Getting Better. Four additional themes emerged around how to facilitate positive change in the school system: Understanding Action: Explicit and Implicit Messaging, Understanding School Culture, Suggestions for Change: Stopping the Silence, and Creating Change: Top Down or Bottom Up? More specifically, the qualitative findings illustrated that verbal homophobic bullying is rampant and perceived as challenging for school staff to address and lessen, and the climate for LGBTQ students continues to be viewed as negative and hostile. Teachers reported acting on homophobic bullying regularly, whereas LGBTQ youth participants felt teacher action was minimal. Homophobic bullying was considered by participants to be a broad issue that required attention from various micro- to macro-systems. From these findings, a model for conceptualizing the influences of change around homophobic bullying was developed and is presented here. This model utilized Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Systems Theory (1977; 1989; 1999) as a guide to capture the key players that participants felt were most influential on homophobic bullying, from the individual level to the larger socio-political influences.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Kristen Brooke Dowling
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2616266061