Pedagogue Perceptions And Comprehension Of Miscellaneous Sexual Orientations - Research Paper Example

Students who are LGBTQI2-S gender-questioning are part of a distinctive cultural group. These students also come from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Additionally, students who are LGBTQI2-S doubly stigmatized because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, their cultural, racial, or ethnic identity as such a potential for double discrimination could further deter them from accessing resources. Therefore, it is important to provide services in a culturally and linguistically competent manner to address sexual prejudice, bullying, discrimination, and other forms of victimization at school.

Because many GLBTI students performed worse in school, but not every student hampered by GLBTI identity and some relied on resilience skills to succeed while others performance negatively. The survey of gender minorities’ estimates that the gender minorities’ population range from one to greater than ten percent of the overall States population (Remafedi et al 1992) The American Community Survey provides an estimate of 8.8 million gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons in the States indicating there is a significant number of gender minorities existing in the United States.

(Gates 2006) Homosexual households, established as a category of interest by the 2000 States Census, found in all Congressional districts in the States and total 594,391 unmarried-partner residents and still the number is increasing year by year. (Congressional Budget Office 2004) (Simmons and O’Connell 2003) As a same-sex marriage, civil unions and spousal rights form a patchwork of state recognition of same-sex spouses, the States. Census 2010 will count same-sex partner spouses as married in 2010.

Census data as many as six million children raised by parents who are GBLT. (Stacey and Biblarz 2001) (Stein et al 2004) (Patterson and Freil 2000) A States study estimates an upper limit of more than 14 million for children with one or two gay or lesbian parents in the U.S. indicating that youths’ become aware of sexual attraction at about age 10 on average and teenagers are coming out as gender minorities at a younger age. This is an alarming figure of minority children, who may require special care, especially the school going children who face a lot of stigmas.

(Damon et al 2006) (Elias 2007) (Kreiss and Patterson 1997) (Setoodeh 2008) Due to the cultural differences among the racial and ethnic youth in Black and Latino communities found to disclose their homosexuality to fewer others. Indicating greater degrees of underestimation cited in the research literature. The risk and resilience factors associated with the GLBTI youth's identity, are salient to mental health workers seeking to uphold the system of health care principles, improve quality of care, increase effective outreach, engagement, treatment, and support for this young population. 

(Leonard et al 2008) Effective services and supports to youth and families who are LGBTQI2-S require that both processes and structures in systems of care be addressed, including frontline practice shifts that focus on the skills, know, and attitudes of service. (Flood and Hamilton 2005) (Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby 2000) With few exceptions, consideration of GLBTI people remains an optional extra, often the result of case-by-case advocacy. There are few GLBTI-specialist services and mainstream providers rarely acknowledge the existence of their GLBTI TEACHER PERCEPTIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS OF GLBT STUDENTS 4 clients or provide GLBTI-sensitive services and practices.

(Victoria Department of Health 2009) According to Australian research about 7 to 11 per cent of youths attracted to others of their own sex or unsure of their sexual attraction. (Smith et al 2003) (Smith et al 2009) There are little data on the percentage of young people whose gender identity do not conform to gender norms. However, studies conservatively estimate the percentage of the population transgender at 1 in 11,900 males and 1 in 30,400 females. Sixty per cent of SSAGQ respondents’ age 14 to 24 years reported that they hid their sexual orientation or gender identity from family and 70 per cent when at an educational institution.

(Leonard 2002) There increased tension between social acceptance and ongoing homophobia the gender questioning young people are more prone to discrimination and harassment. GLBTI gender questioning young people are under intense pressure as they negotiate through their sexual feelings, attractions, and identities in environments which is hostile to gender minorities and that tend to discriminate them. Majority of gender minorities’ young people, their families are the major sites of homophobic abuse, while the capacity of the GLBTI community to support gender minorities compromised by claims of adult homosexual conversion and In the absence of a policy framework that includes GLBTI youths in any given school activities and services depended largely on the good will of individual staff and senior management.

(Leonard et al 2008) The Victorian government provided funding for a number of social and support groups for gender minorities young people across the state. However, the majority of that funding went to projects based on short term and non-recurrent expenditures, which TEACHER PERCEPTIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS OF GLBT STUDENTS 5 compromised the individual support groups that came and left with the resultant loss of personnel. There was frustration on efforts of developing and maintaining both mainstream and specialist services that would address the needs of gender minorities’ youths the lack of a comprehensive and coordinated policy framework, recurrent funding and dedicated resources played a big role in determining the success of those services.

(Government Working Group 2006) Again there is little data on levels and types of violence against gender questioning young people. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that they are subject to similar if not greater levels of violence than SSA young people. (Aizura et al 2006) (Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby 2000) There is support by a recent Australian and New Zealand study of transgender health and wellbeing in which over 88 per cent of respondents reported having experienced at least one form of stigma, harassment, bullying or discrimination and 18 per cent physically attacked because of their GLBTI gender identity.

(Couch et al 2007) There is an indication that GLBTI youths are at increased a greater risk of homelessness with studies suggesting that over 15 per cent of homeless youths are gender minorities. (Cull et al 2006) Research indicates that GLBTI youths living in rural and regional Victoria many face additional challenges because of higher levels of homophobia bullying, discrimination; harassment increased surveillance, and reduced access to relevant information resources and services specific for them.