National study on LGBTQ-inclusive education released

The final report of a national study, headed by Dr. Catherine Taylor, Professor (Education) at The University of Winnipeg — in partnership with The Manitoba Teachers’ Society — called The Every Teacher Project on LGBTQ*-inclusive Education in Canada’s K-12 Schools (*lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, Two-Spirit, queer and questioning) was released today. University of Manitoba members of the research team are Vice Provost (Academic) Dr. Janice Ristock and Professors Dr. Tracey Peter (Sociology) and Dr. Donn Short (Law).

The Every Teacher Project attracted tremendous support from project partner The Manitoba Teachers’ Society and from every national, provincial and territorial teacher organization in the publicly funded school systems of Canada. With their help in recruiting, researchers completed the project with 3,400 participants, making this the largest study of its kind in the world to date.

Participants provided a wealth of insight into their experiences. Among the main findings are the following:

The vast majority of teachers approve of LGBTQ-inclusive education
Teachers in Catholic schools are only slightly less likely to approve, but much less likely to practice, LGBTQ-inclusive education
Only 2% cited conflict with personal religious beliefs as holding them back
18% agreed that teachers should be able to opt out for religious reasons
Among the main reasons given for not teaching in LGBTQ-inclusive ways were lack of leadership and resources
Two-thirds were aware of teachers being harassed for being LGBTQ
Almost all rated their school as safe but far fewer rated their school as safe for LGB or transgender students

The Every Teacher project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada with additional funding from The Manitoba Teachers’ Society.

Read the Every Teacher Project Final Report WEB

Watch the release event below: