Research shows that all students benefit when a school has an inclusive ethos, according to an article on the ABC Education website.
According to the article, “Large-scale research from the field demonstrates that inclusion of gender and sexuality diversity has positive impacts for the entirety of the student community.”
The article also points out that:
- A survey of over 2,000 Australian parents found that 82 per cent wanted to see gender and sexuality diversity introduced to students at some stage across K–12 education.
- There is still a long way to go; another survey of gender and sexuality diverse students found that 93 per cent reported hearing homophobic language at school.
- “Inclusion” is one of the five foundational elements of the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework, which is meant to underpin educators’ work across the country.
- Professional development of educators is critical.
Professional development resources
The article points to a suite of resources for educators, developed by Western Sydney University.
A central element of this is a short, professionally acted and produced film (What Parents Want: Talking about Gender and Sexuality Diversity in Schools), written from the verbatim accounts of parents of GSD students living across the country. The trailer for the film is below.
You can find all the resources on the Western Sydney University website.
