Ways Teachers Can Prevent Harassment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Middle and High School Students

The research highlighted in this Master of Arts thesis is a quantitative study based on the issue of harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) middle and high school students. The participants in this study are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or ally (LGBTQ/A) college students and faculty from a mid-sized university in southern California. The research question guiding this study is: in what ways do university LGBTQ/A faculty and students think teachers can prevent harassment of LGBT students in uncontrolled areas of middle and high schools? The researcher created and administered a survey to the said participants and gathered data regarding their sexual identity and their experiences with harassment in middle and/or high school. On the survey, participants were asked to identify their sexual orientation, state whether or not they were harassed in middle or high school, identify the type of harassment they endured, and explain their ideas for harassment prevention. The findings from this study indicate that participants felt that verbal harassment is the most common form of harassment among LGBT students. Participants felt that harassment was more prevalent in middle school than in high school and that school hallways are the most common place for harassment to occur. Based on the data gathered from the survey responses, the researcher identified several key recommendations that teachers and administrators can implement to effectively prevent harassment in middle and high schools. These recommendations include encouraging teachers and administrators to become safe zone certified, integrating LGBT issues/people into the curriculum, and creating groups or programs for LGBTQ/A students on middle and high school campuses.School of Educatio