The Gender-Friendly Classroom

Among researchers and educators focused on gender diversity in Canadian schools, there is certainly much to celebrate. We have a growing body of Canadian studies on how gender diversity is playing out in our contexts of practice. This is an incredible achievement, and a tool in successful advocacy for policy, curricular and legislative changes that stand to improve the lives of gender-diverse students in K-12 schools. As someone who is active this area, however, I have noticed that school boards tend to interpret their responsibilities in relation to gender diversity as a set of actions triggered by the presence of an out or openly self-identifying transgender student who is in an exceptional situation, usually either crisis or transition. Of course, there are compelling reasons to devote time and energy to supporting out and openly self-identifying K-12 transgender students through exceptional situations, and a growing body of research shows what happens when we don't.