Young Adults Who Identify As LGBTQ (Brickman)

 

Credit: PinkNews

Advocacy Plan

Individuals who may not hold an LGBTQ identity have a plethora of opportunities to be an advocate for the LGBTQ community. Being a student on a college campus potentially provides me with even more opportunities than others. At Ohio State, there are more than a dozen student groups and campus organizations geared toward the LGBTQ community and allies. As a member of one of these organizations, an ally can learn more about LGBTQ experiences and issues as well as participate in advocacy activities in the community. Next semester, I plan to join the group called PrideOSU. Their mission statement is, “We envision a national and local community where gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer students can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the OSU community.” Group membership is open to anyone, even those who are not students at OSU. My intention in joining PrideOSU is to gain more knowledge about the LGBTQ population as well as events and settings where I can further express my advocacy, such as the pride march pictured above. Advocacy is about finding things that the population is doing and supporting those things; I think joining a student organization as well as attending events like a pride march is a great place to start my LGBTQ advocacy journey.

Source: The Dana Mariner

Servant Leadership

As a future school counselor, I will be in an optimal position to have the opportunity to serve students who identify as LGBTQ. Modern research shows that a method of school-based support with some of the strongest positive results is the allowance and support of Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) groups in schools (Loker, 2013). A GSA is a faculty-sponsored, student-run organization aimed at supporting and improving the school climate toward LGBTQ students. Membership is open to any student and the group’s activities vary based on the specific school’s climate and its students’ specific needs (Loker, 2013). The value of GSA groups is not only supported by scientific research, but also by personal anecdotal evidence I gathered while engaging in this assignment. Part of my immersion experience involved speaking individually with members of my population of interest. In each of my one-on-one discussions, I asked if anything in particular helped improve their student experience as a student identifying as LGBTQ. In more than one conversation, the individual referenced either their GSA organization in high school or a similar type of group here at Ohio State. Helpful aspects of these groups included making school-wide gestures of support of LGBTQ students, as well as providing a setting for these students to meet and talk about their experiences. Based off these findings, I decided that my plan for servant leadership is to serve as the faculty sponsor for a Gay Straight Alliance once I begin working in my desired school setting, whether that be high school or middle school. Sponsoring a GSA in my future school will mean attending the meetings of the group while making sure to serve in accordance with what the student members want or need from me. Being a counselor sponsor could be extra beneficial should members want to engage is individual or group counseling regarding their experiences. Having a group in which to find support seems to be an instrumental factor in improving the experiences of LGBTQ students. While sponsoring a GSA is something I cannot do until I am a practicing school counselor, I think being a sponsor for a GSA in my future school will be the perfect servant leadership opportunity based off the needs this population has expressed.

 

Credit: GLSEN

Strengths-Based Needs

When it comes to this population’s needs, a study by Loker examines exactly what LGBTQ students say they experience as well as desire in their school. Students seek and appreciate administrators who allow and support the existence of Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) student groups in their schools. Teachers should demonstrate support for GSAs as well as volunteer to be sponsors for these groups. Additionally, students want their teachers to be open-minded and willing to support all student identities, which includes verbalizing their acceptance as well as including LGBTQ information or issues in course content (2013). These proactive actions and attitudes are extremely achievable and prove to make a significant difference for LGBTQ students. Similarly, at the college level, support should come in the form of LGBTQ-inclusive university policies, as well as the existence of programs and services that students may seek out (Pitcher et al., 2018). The common, overarching need of students who identify as LGBTQ is the feeling that their identity is accepted in their environment. While much work certainly needs done to improve the experience of students who identify as LGBTQ, this image and research gives me hope because we as individuals can all contribute to the needs of this population. Living our lives in a way that expresses acceptance, especially those of us who work in schools, can have a hugely positive impact on the feelings and academic outcomes of students who identify as LGBTQ. Although I was aware of the importance of an accepting, safe school climate, this image and research taught me tangible ways through which I can put these goals into fruition.

References:

Loker, T. N. (2013). Learning from voices of diverse youth: school-based practices to promote positive psychosocial functioning of LGBTQ high school students(Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4719

Pitcher, E. N., Camacho, T. P., & Renn, K. A., & Woodford, M. R. (2018). Affirming policies, programs, and supportive services: using an organizational perspective to understand LGBTQ+ college student success. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education,11(2), 117-132.

 

Systemic Challenges

LGBTQ students face an abundance of obstacles in their pursuit of an education. These obstacles often include negative opinions and attitudes toward LGBTQ identities from fellow individuals in their school. This image displays the prevalence of this hostility in today’s schools as well as the negative affects it has on LGBT students’ well-being and education. The social injustice occurring in schools is producing significant, measurable consequences on these student’s feelings and their futures. I feel saddened by the statistics in this graphic as well as inspired to promote change. I think school counselors can have a pivotal role in improving schools’ climates toward LGBTQ students. Asplund and Ordway state, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) students experience high rates of bullying and suicidal ideation yet are often underserved by school counselors,” (2018). This images teaches me that, as a school counselor, I not only can but must use my position to advocate for LGBTQ students in my school, including educating others about these identities and promoting the respect they deserve.

References:

Asplund, N. R., & Ordway, A. M. (2018). School counseling toward an LGBTQ-inclusive school climate: implementing the SCEARE model. Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling, 12(1), 17-31.

GLSEN. (2015). [Infographic LGBTQ student survey findings]. The 2015 National School Climate Survey. Retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/commentary/can-education-reduce-prejudice-lgbt-people/?agreed=1

 

Annotated Bibliography

Asplund, N. R., & Ordway, A. M. (2018). School counseling toward an LGBTQ-inclusive school climate: implementing the SCEARE model. Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling, 12(1), 17-31.

The article is a position paper proposing a new model for creating an LGBTQ-inclusive school climate. The literature cited in the beginning of the article described the hardships LGBTQ students face at school as well as the harmful implications of those hardships. The literature is all fairly recent, with most sources having been published within the past 5 years. The author proposes the SCEARE model which includes four tiers: 1-Education; 2-Affirming Adults; 3-LGBTQ-Responsive Bullying Prevention Program; and 4-Student Empowerment. Implementing the tiers in order allows for each next tier to be more successful by having the support of the one(s) below it. The authors conclude by emphasizing that, while important, formal policy change is not enough to make schools feel LGBTQ-inclusive; the climate must change become more positive to actually improve the experiences of LGBTQ students. Implications for school counselors are include specific strategies they can implement in order to foster a more positive school climate. The article does well to describe the SCEARE model in detail, however future research in direct relation to the SCEARE model should be conducted in order to gain a better idea of the model’s effectiveness.

 

Butler, S. K., Kaloper, M., McReady, C., Ratts, M. R., & Tighe, L. (2013). Safe space programs in K-12 schools: creating a visible presence of LGBTQ allies. Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling,7(4), 387-404.

The article is a position paper describing a potentially effective safe-space program implementation strategy for use in K-12 schools. The opening literature details the negative consequences LGBTQ students experience as a result of going to school in a hostile environment, as well as how previous attempts at safe-space programs have helped but not done enough. Some of the references containing statistics are now over fifteen years old, but there are much more recent articles referenced as well.  The safe-space program implementation strategy described in the article includes teams of graduate counseling students implementing these safe-space programs in K-12 schools. Steps in this strategy include team building for the graduate students, development of each team’s specific program, implementation of the program, and finally evaluation of each program. The article implies that collaboration from school counselors and administrators is required to make each unique school’s program as effective as possible. While the proposed strategy has not yet been studied for effectiveness, the authors do well to mention potential obstacles with this strategy model.

 

Chen, C. P., & Keats, A. (2016). Career development and counseling needs of LGBTQ high school students. British Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 44(5), 576-588.

The article serves as a position paper with a goal of analyzing common career development needs of LGBTQ high school students, as well as ways to address those career needs and challenges. The early literature cited in the article discusses the overall lack of LGBTQ-inclusive school counseling, a major part of which is career counseling. The sources range from old to recent, and the authors acknowledge how there is a lack of research specifically targeting career-related counseling toward LGBTQ students. The authors identify specific difficulties LGBTQ students face in their career exploration, including occupational stereotyping, restricted career interests, identity confusion, and lack of support. The authors then emphasize that school counselors must invest more attention in providing sufficient career guidance for LGBTQ students. Suggestions for increasing counselors’ effectiveness in this area include increasing competence in LGBTQ counseling, providing students with career-related coping strategies, and enhancing their feelings of social support. While the article does well to draw attention to the lack of sufficient career counseling for LGBTQ students, it discusses a wide array of potential strategies and improvements, while only focusing a shallow amount of detail on each strategy.

 

Goodrich, K. M., Harper, A. J., Luke, M., & Singh, A. A. (2013). Best practices for professional school counselors working with LGBTQ youth. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 7(4), 307-322.

The article is a position paper, reviewing the best practices for counseling LGBTQ youth as well as introducing a model for school counselors to collaborate. Literature reviewed early in the article presents statistics on the higher rates of bullying toward LGBTQ students as well as what kind of negative behaviors from peers these LGBTQ students report commonly receiving. The literature also discusses how school counselors’ roles can and should extend into the community. The article includes a wide array of sources and they are almost all published within the past ten years. The authors assert that school counselors have an ethical responsibility to support and advocate for their LGBTQ students. Strategies for this are given, including collaborating with and educating stakeholders, practicing preventative and responsive interventions, and promoting systemic change in schools. The article implies the necessity for school counselors to increase their awareness and use of LGBTQ best practices, as well as what those practices are. The article successfully brings to light the areas in which school counselors can increase their usefulness toward LGBTQ youth as well as why this action is necessary. However, action plans are vaguely stated. For example, the authors’ call for systemic change is discussed in two paragraphs. Perhaps more specific and detailed strategies could cause more of an impact.

 

Kosciw, J. G., & Singh, A. A. (2017). School counselors transforming schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students. Professional School Counseling, 20(1a), 1-4.

This is a position article aimed to inform readers of the importance of improving the experiences of LGBTQ students in school and what areas of focus can be helpful in doing so. Literature cited in the article contributes statistics regarding the high rates of bullying toward LGBTQ students as well as the negative implications on their academic performance and personal well-being. The collection of literature also conveys that school counselors can be involved and effective in improving these experiences. Sources cited in this article are plentiful, with about half being published within the past ten years while half are older. The authors explain the lack of literature currently published on this topic. This article serves as the first article in an entire special issue devoted entirely to this specific topic. The authors point out the specific areas that are critical to increasing LGBTQ student support. These areas include: school counselors’ graduate training, specific everyday roles which can be implemented to heighten support, and the school counseling field’s professional standards and ethics. The article implies that most of the existing research on LGBTQ counseling has been broad and conceptual and that the aim should now be to address these more specific areas so that tangible actions can be taken. Overall, the authors point out the specific areas in which changes and actions can be focused. Even though the article may just provide evidence as to why looking at these specific areas is important, that is fine because the articles that follow in the special issue are crafted around those areas of interest. This article does well to identify which niches of school counseling may be the most valuable to examine when it comes to LGBTQ counseling.