How do Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Teachers Experience UK Rural School Communities?

Abstract

This article examines how lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers in rural schools negotiate their sexual identities within the workplace. Although there has been progress towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) inclusion for teachers in urban and suburban schools, this article shows that their rural counterparts often experience their school communities differently. A questionnaire gathered data from school teachers in the United Kingdom identifying as LGBT. Whilst a small number of transgender, gender queer and non-binary teachers completed the questionnaire, it is important to note that these teachers taught only in urban environments. In rural schools, respondents identified only as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). Therefore, LGB is used when referring to the rural respondents in this study and LGBT is used when referring generally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The experiences of teachers working in rural schools were compared with those working in urban or suburban school settings. Results showed that LGB teachers in rural communities lack the opportunity to speak their identity into existence at school, and often find their personal and professional identities incompatible, leading to low self-worth, depression and anxiety. The article shows that in rural school communities, traditional and conservative rural norms and values are compelling and are often protected at the expense of creating safe and inclusive workplaces for LGB teachers.

“I Was Just Fed up of Not Being Myself”: Coming out Experiences of White British Divorced and Separated Gay Fathers

“…This echoes decades of research on rural LGBT people living in Western countries (mostly the US), which has highlighted the homophobic social climate of rural environments and the often weak and patchy LGBT resources available in such environments (e.g., Oswald & Culton, 2003). Such environments limit opportunities for identity expression, which potentially have negative impacts on mental health (Lee, 2019). Research specifically exploring gay men's experiences of growing up in a rural environment has identified a similar theme to that identified in the current study of an early sense of feeling different from other men (Cody & Welch, 1997).…”

A Preliminary Comparison of Intention to Quit between Heterosexual and Homosexual Elementary School Teachers: School-Related and Individual Contributors

“…Furthermore, the less favorable working conditions at school, which may lead to teachers' intention to quit their profession, sometimes are likely to be experienced by teachers of minority groups, such as those with homosexual sexual orientation (Lee, 2019;Smith et al, 2008). Specifically, it seems that teachers who do not identify themselves as heterosexuals but as homosexuals (e.g., lesbian, gay), namely they are romantically and sexually attracted by individuals of the same gender/sex, report that they usually feel unsafe and unsupported in their workplace, while they perceive their school climate with fear and distrust (Smith et al, 2008).…”

“…Also, homosexual teachers, due to their usual difficulty in revealing their real sexual identity at school, often perceive their personal and professional identities as incompatible. As a result, they experience low selfworth, as well as stressful and depressive emotions (Lee, 2019). Considering that teachers of color, due to the discrimination issues they experience at school, sometimes leave their profession (Marx et al, 2023), it could also be expected that homosexual teachers' negative school experiences could make them prone to quit.…”

How does openness about sexual and gender identities influence self-perceptions of teacher leader authenticity?

“…The Equality Act, 2010 categorized sexual and gender identity as protected characteristics from workplace discrimination. Whilst anti-discrimination policies are symbolically important in school communities, LGBT teachers report that equality policies have not enhanced their feelings of personal or professional security, nor have they made them any more willing to disclose their sexual orientation to either their colleagues or students (Lee, 2019b).…”

“…Despite equalities legislation protecting LGBT employees, the lived experiences of many LGBT teachers suggests that schools are not yet places where LGBT teachers, and in particular LGBT teacher leaders, are able to be their authentic selves. For example, Lee (2019b) found that 64% of the LGBT teachers surveyed had accessed help for anxiety or depression linked to a perceived incompatibility between their sexual and gender identities and their role as teacher. In the same study, Lee also found that 38% of teachers had experienced homophobia in their school workplace on at least one occasion and more than half of the teachers believed that their LGBT identities had been a barrier to promotion.…”