Lesbian and Gay Parents' Experiences and Their Relationships with/in Schools: An Alberta Study

Autor/inn/en	Michaud, Craig Kenneth; Stelmach, Bonnie
Titel	Lesbian and Gay Parents' Experiences and Their Relationships with/in Schools: An Alberta Study
Quelle	In: Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, (2019) 188, S.69-85 (17 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1207-7798
Schlagwörter	Homosexuality; Parents; Experience; Parent School Relationship; Urban Schools; Public Schools; Teacher Attitudes; Administrator Attitudes; Parent Attitudes; Social Isolation; School Policy; Social Attitudes; Educational Environment; Nonverbal Communication; Social Capital; Barriers; Social Theories + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Homosexualität; Eltern; Erfahrung; Parent-school relationship; Parent school relationships; Parent-school relationships; Parent-school relation; Parent school relation; Eltern-Schule-Beziehung; Urban area; Urban areas; School; Schools; Stadtregion; Stadt; Schule; Public school; Öffentliche Schule; Lehrerverhalten; Elternverhalten; Soziale Isolation; Schulpolitik; Social attidude; Soziale Einstellung; Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Non-verbal communication; Nonverbale Kommunikation; Sozialkapital; Gesellschaftstheorie
Abstract	Researchers have identified challenges for sexual minority individuals in schools; however, attention to lesbian and gay parents' experiences with their children's schools has not been given. We used a qualitative case study involving one identified gay couple and one identified lesbian couple to document their experiences and relationships with/in their children's urban publicly funded schools. Individual interviews with these parents were the chief data source, which we augmented through reviewing school documents. Through the lens of critical queer theory, we interpreted three themes: (1) lesbian and gay parents are shaped by the teachers', administrators', and other parents' openness of attitudes and willingness to question assumptions about family; (2) lesbian and gay parents feel included, or excluded, depending on the policy and administrative processes that symbolically frame definitions of parenthood; and (3) lesbian and gay parents are sensitive to school climate as expressed through gesture, speech, and artefacts in the school. These four parents had the social capital to navigate barriers and opportunities. However, through the lens of critical queer theory, we conclude that there are real and symbolic markers and practices that normalize a heterosexual understanding of 'parent' in two-parent families that necessitates lesbian and gay parents to be intentional and vigilante about their positions in ways that heterosexual parents are not required to be to feel welcome in schools. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Canadian Association for the Study of Educational Administration. Available from: College of Education, University of Saskatchewan. Tel: 306-966-7619; Web site: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjeap/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01