[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-596788-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-596788-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","lesbian-and-gay-parents-experiences-and-their-relationships-within-schools-an-alberta-study","Lesbian and Gay Parents' Experiences and their Relationships with/in Schools: An Alberta Study","","Researchers examine challenges faced by sexual minority people in schools, but lesbian and gay parents’ experiences with their children’s schools remain insufficiently studied. Using a qualitative case study with one gay couple and one lesbian couple, individual parent interviews and school document reviews were analyzed. Critical queer theory guided interpretation of themes on openness of school actors, inclusion or exclusion through symbolic policy processes, and responsiveness to school climate. Social capital helped parents navigate barriers and opportunities; nonetheless, heterosexual norms shape parenthood markers that require deliberate vigilance by lesbian and gay parents to feel welcome.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/lesbian-and-gay-parents-experiences-and-their-relationships-within-schools-an-alberta-study/596788/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/lesbian-and-gay-parents-experiences-and-their-relationships-within-schools-an-alberta-study/596788.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Danger Angel","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What gap does the study address about LGBTQ experiences in schools?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study highlights that educational research has not sufficiently focused on lesbian and gay parents’ perspectives within school communities, even though it examines challenges for LGBTQ students and educators.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How was the case study designed and what data were used?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The study used a qualitative case study with one gay couple and one lesbian couple. Individual interviews with parents were the chief data source, supported by reviews of school documents.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What themes were interpreted using critical queer theory?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Three main themes were identified: how parents are shaped by openness among teachers and administrators, how inclusion or exclusion depends on policies and administrative framing of parenthood, and how parents read school climate through gestures, speech, and artefacts.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},596788,1792189703,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962090769052,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Lesbian and Gay Parents' Experiences and their Relationships with/in Schools: An Alberta Study  \nCraig Kenneth Michaud & Bonnie Stelmach University of Alberta  \nAbstract  \nResearchers have identified challenges for sexual minority individuals in schools; however, attention to lesbian and gay parents’ experiences with their children’s schools has not been given. We used a qualitative case study involving one identified gay couple and one identified lesbian couple to document their experiences and relationships with/in their children’s urban publicly funded schools. Individual interviews with these parents were the chief data source, which we augmented through reviewing school documents. Through the lens of critical queer theory, we interpreted three themes: (1) lesbian and gay parents are shaped by the teachers’, administrators’, and other parents’ openness of attitudes and willingness to question assumptions about family; (2) lesbian and gay parents feel included, or excluded, depending on the policy and administrative processes that symbolically frame definitions of parenthood; and (3) lesbian and gay parents are sensitive to school climate as expressed through gesture, speech, and artefacts in the school. These four parents had the social capital to navigate barriers and opportunities. However, through the lens of critical queer theory, we conclude that there are real and symbolic markers and practices that normalize a heterosexual understanding of ‘parent’ in two-parent families that necessitates lesbian and gay parents to be intentional and vigilante about their positions in ways that heterosexual parents are not required to be to feel welcome in schools.  \nKeywords: LGBTQ, parent involvement, queer theory, qualitative case study, Alberta  \nIntroduction and Purpose of the Case Study  \nAccording to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, being a sexual or gender minority in the 21st century can be complicated and often dangerous (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 2017) . Globally, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals experience significant discrimination (Dankmeijer, 2012) . For example, identifying as LGBTQ is a criminal offence in seventy-three state/countries and, most concerning, punishable by the death penalty in thirteen state/countries worldwide (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 2017) . Canada fares better in this regard. Amendments made to the criminal code in 1969 decriminalized homosexuality, and The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees individuals freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Nonetheless, we know from educational research that sexual orientation is among the factors that marginalize students and parents (Burn, 2000, Burn, et al. 2005; Ferfolja, 1998 Kelleher, 2009; Morrow & Gill, 2003; Shields, 2012; Swearer, et al., 2008) .  \nIn Fraynd and Capper’s (2003) words,“schools have become the stage for society’s most complex dramas”(p. 97) . Given the national commitment to safe and caring schools (e.g. Canadian Forum on Public Education, 2018), educators are positioned to interrogate religious, cultural, and ideological value systems that threaten the equality of LGBTQ individuals. Nevertheless, while heterosexual individuals  \nmight contribute to broader discussions of social justice as an academic exercise, LGBTQ identified individuals, in particular, whether they are teachers, administrators, students, or parents, may find themselves in the centre of debates and controversies regarding heterocentricity, both intellectually and personally.  \nEducational research on LGBTQ topics has predominately focused its lens on postsecondary and adult education settings (Burn, 2000; Burn et al, 2005; Butler, 1994; Chonody et al, 2009; Cotton-Huston, 1999; Getz & Kirkley, 2006; Grace & Hill, 2004; Szymanski & Carr, 2008), LGBTQ youth in schools (","cbCaienDnrKe7aSp","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaienDnrKe7aSp","pdf",422255,17,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction and Purpose of the Case Study\n## Context of LGBTQ discrimination and education\n## Research gaps on LGBTQ parents\n## Study background and research questions","[{\"question\":\"What gap does the study address about LGBTQ experiences in schools?\",\"answer\":\"The study highlights that educational research has not sufficiently focused on lesbian and gay parents’ perspectives within school communities, even though it examines challenges for LGBTQ students and educators.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the case study designed and what data were used?\",\"answer\":\"The study used a qualitative case study with one gay couple and one lesbian couple. Individual interviews with parents were the chief data source, supported by reviews of school documents.\"},{\"question\":\"What themes were interpreted using critical queer theory?\",\"answer\":\"Three main themes were identified: how parents are shaped by openness among teachers and administrators, how inclusion or exclusion depends on policies and administrative framing of parenthood, and how parents read school climate through gestures, speech, and artefacts.\"}]","Lesbian and Gay Parents' Experiences and their Relationships with/in Schools: An Alberta Study | PDF",1792083724,43]