| Sexual minority youths are coming out, revealing their gender identity or sexual orientation to others, 10 years earlier than they did 30 years ago. Unfortunately, some schools were hostile settings for LGBTQ students: 55% of LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school, and 90% said they were emotionally distressed due to adverse sexual language. One strategy that increased a safe school environment was to provide an inclusive sexuality curriculum that addressed the needs of LGBTQ students. One method to address the needs of LGBTQ youth was teaching the topic of sexual orientation and gender identity. However, some teachers omitted this topic from their instruction thereby increasing feelings of anxiety and emotional distress for LGBTQ students. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to investigate the challenges teachers encountered when creating a positive learning environment and teaching the topic of sexual orientation and gender identity. Through a purposeful sampling method, ten health education teachers from Illinois public high schools were interviewed. The data from these interviews revealed some of the challenges health teachers encountered when providing an inclusive sexuality curriculum, and what strategies increased their ability to teach an inclusive curriculum. Future studies should include health teachers of different sexual orientations, a more diverse school population, and focus groups consisting of transgender students and their parents. |
