Oct 29, 2017 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Main Loft

Hubert Brard

Gay and Lesbian Principals:  A study exploring narratives of Gay or Lesbian Ontario school principals.

I questioned the construction of my professional identity (Beijard, Meijer & Verloop, 2004; Sachs, 2001; Slay & Smith, 2011; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998) alongside my identity as a gay man when I was entering the teaching profession as a pre-service teacher candidate. Although this was twenty years ago, I remember struggling with the navigation of my gay-self as a teacher; my professional identity alongside my sexual identity (Sedgwick, 1993; Butler, 2010) as I realized that both identities affect (are interdependent of each other); they are neither stable nor standalone identities (Volkmann & Anderson, 1998). Moreover, I questioned my legitimacy as a gay man allowed to interact, to build relationships with, to teach (and to be trusted with) students from grades seven to thirteen (Gowran, 1995; Silin, 1999). Not only was I dealing with societal homophobia, but I negotiated the maze of coming out1 while establishing my truest identity (my gay-self) made my decision of coming out as a teacher all the more impossible (Khayatt, 1997; Kissen, 1993). For many, many years in the classroom, I found myself not being this truest self to my students and to colleagues (Sparrowe, 2005). As I navigated my gay-self throughout the years and found myself in positions of responsibility (principal and instructional coordinator), I still struggle with my identity as a gay man and find myself continually questioning disclosing my gay-identity with colleagues and countless of teachers I work with across my school district and across the province (Jackson 2006; Mayo, 2008). Interestingly, in her study of gay and lesbian teachers, Jackson (2006) asks, “how do contextual factors promote or prohibit the construction of identities as gay teachers?” (p. 27). To answer this question, I agree with what Palmer (1998) says in that, “we teach who we are” (p.1). In the truest form of my identity I am a teacher (regardless of my roles as a principal and instructional coordinator) and as a teacher, I am thankful that Ontario schools continue to strive for social justice, equity and inclusion for all identities both invisible (e.g., ability, some religion and sexual orientation) and visible identities (gender, race and age).  However, as a past principal, I struggled with the reality of being a gay principal, specifically, disclosing my sexual identity at work to colleagues, staff, students and parents/community members while maintaining my professional identity within the school context navigating coming out as a principal.

The purpose of this research is to understand why and how principals come out at work, at school. My proposed dissertation will be the first to present an in-depth, focused study of public school principals who face this decision of coming out and who ultimately have come out. I will use semi-structured interviews to explore how school principals disclose their coming out at work, at school.

There is no research literature addressing the experiences of school principals coming out at work. My research explores this social phenomena of coming out specifically in the context of elementary and secondary non-denominational schools in Ontario. The narratives of lesbian and gay principals’ coming out experiences affect their decisions, actions, and overall roles as school principals. To date, no data has been collected to illustrate how Queer2 principals navigate their coming out and how coming out is precipitated by their understanding of the coming out process, the reasons why they came out, the strategies employed when coming out along with the challenges and consequences as a result of having come out. I will share the preliminary themes of my study pertaining to the narratives of gay and lesbian Ontario principals in this paper.

Anthony Mathieu, MA

Role Call: A Qualitative Study on Gender Reinforcement in Classroom Education

On February 22, 2017, the Trump administration revoked federal protections and guidelines for transgender students in public schools, as implemented by the Obama administration in the previous year. While these guidelines specifically addressed enabling students to utilize restrooms that correspond to their gender identity, the Trump administration justified its revocation citing a lack of research surrounding the issue, a lack of public involvement in informing the guidelines, and the potential for legal challenges to arise. The Supreme Court’s order vacated the 4th Circuit’s decision that overruled the Gloucester County Board’s restroom policy and abided by Obama administration guidelines and protections. This pivotal moment in the beginning stages of the Trump administration illuminates a lack of public discourse surrounding issues of gender identity. In order to compensate for such chasms, a qualitative study was conducted at a Boston Public School seeking to evaluate how conceptions of gender are reinforced (and challenged) in public school classrooms and what resources are currently being provided for teachers to gain a greater understanding of gender identity and issues surrounding identity affirmation. 10 teachers from the same Boston Public School (composing more than a tenth of the faculty at this particular school) across various content areas were interviewed over the course of half of one academic year. This qualitative study testifies to the lack of discourse and understanding surrounding gender issues, as evidenced by the Trump administration’s reluctance to adhere to Obama-era guidelines. Nevertheless, the study is simultaneously a call to action on the part of public school administrators and classroom educators to acquire greater resources and professional development in an effort to create opportunities for academic and social fulfillment for all students.