An Exploration of Teachers’ Knowledge and Awareness of Issues and Barriers Encountered in Supporting LGBT+ Students: A Study in a Catholic Secondary School in Ireland
Stephen McShane & Margaret Farren
Equity & Excellence in Education
Institute of Education
Abstract

Over the last several years, there have been positive large-scale social changes in Ireland for the LGBT+ community. These include the passing of the marriage equality referendum, gender recognition for over-18s, and a change in the legislation of Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act (1998) that protects LGBT+ workers in religious institutions. However, these positive changes have not had a major effect on schools, considering a negative school climate still exists for LGBT+ students across Ireland. In Ireland, most schools are still managed or owned by religious institutions. According to Ryan, 95% of primary schools and 48% of secondary schools have a Catholic ethos, which suggests that most schools have an ethos that contradicts the sexual identity of some of their LGBT+ staff and pupils. This DCU research project aimed to gain insight into teachers’ experiences in a Catholic secondary school and whether they felt the ethos of the school had any effect on the inclusivity of their thoughts and actions. Research on the lack of knowledge and training on LGBT+ issues has been carried out internationally, but there remains a lack of research in Ireland on these issues. Instead, many studies in Ireland have focused on the experiences of students and teachers who are LGBT+. For this study, 40 teachers completed an online questionnaire, which was followed by a smaller focus group interview comprising 6 teachers. The findings demonstrate a lack of knowledge about LGBT+ issues among teachers, and the majority have not received any training related to this topic. It also is clear from the results that there are mixed perceptions of what is acceptable to discuss and support due to the Catholic ethos of the school. These findings reflect several barriers to supporting LGBT+ students and issues.