Music Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Transgender Students and Supportive School Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure music teachers' attitudes toward transgender individuals and toward school practices that support transgender students. Participants (N = 612) included men and women who teach a variety of music subjects in elementary, middle, and high schools, in urban, suburban, and rural areas. An online questionnaire was distributed to participants representing 28 states in the United States. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information and several attitudinal statements designed to measure music teachers' attitudes toward transgender individuals (MT-ATTI) and music teachers' attitudes toward supportive school practices (MT-ATSSP). The results indicated that participants had fairly positive attitudes overall. Multiple regression analyses also revealed that gender and political persuasion on social issues significantly predicted participants' scores on the MT-ATTI and the MT-ATSSP; female participants had more positive attitudes than did male participants, and individuals identifying as more socially liberal had more positive attitudes than did those identifying as more socially conservative. The variables of school location and age did not significantly predict scores on the MT-ATTI or the MT-ATSSP. Implications for teacher preparation programs and professional development are discussed, and future directions for research are recommended

Melanie’s Story: A Narrative Account of a Transgender Music Educator’s Journey

“…While I have long professed to be an LGBTQ ally, in retrospect, before undertaking this project, I had no real understanding of the needs of transgender students, the challenges faced by the transgender community, or the actions I could take to ensure that my classrooms were safe spaces for gender diverse students. My experiences align with McKinney's (2005) findings that university faculty and staff members are often uneducated about transgender issues and Silveira and Goff's (2016) assertion that "although many teachers believe in the importance of creating a safe environment for students regardless of gender identity and expression, they may fail to do so-perhaps due to lack of training or institutional support" (pp. 15-16).…”

“…Within the music education community, educators and researchers have begun to consider how we as music teachers have a responsibility to adapt our practice to accommodate the needs of students of diverse gender and sexual identities. This concern is evidenced by a growing number of articles dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) matters in music education contexts (Aronoff & Gilboa, 2015;Bergonzi, 2009;Carter, 2013;Freer, 2013;Garrett, 2012;Nichols, 2013;Paparo & Sweet, 2014;Silveira & Goff, 2016;Taylor, 2011) as well as the symposium, Establishing Identity: LGBTQ Studies and Music Education, now in its third iteration. In the original call for papers (Establishing Identity, 2009), symposium organizers noted, "Music education has yet to consider research, theory, and practice from a LGBT perspective" (p. 280).…”

“…In this landmark article, transgender issues were brought to the Journal of Research in Music Education for the first time and the voice of one transgender individual was drawn into the scholarly discourse. A second article (Silveira & Goff, 2016) explored music teacher attitudes toward transgender students through the administration of an online survey, finding that the majority of respondents professed transsupportive attitudes. While these findings are encouraging, they run counter to multiple reports that trans youth face both nonintervention (Kosciw et al, 2014;McGuire et al, 2010) and open discrimination among faculty in American schools (Greytak, Kosciw, & Diaz, 2009;Kosciw et al, 2014).…”

“…While these findings are encouraging, they run counter to multiple reports that trans youth face both nonintervention (Kosciw et al, 2014;McGuire et al, 2010) and open discrimination among faculty in American schools (Greytak, Kosciw, & Diaz, 2009;Kosciw et al, 2014). Silveira and Goff (2016) suggested that this disconnect may be related to a lack of awareness or training among teachers professing to be supportive. In an effort to grow the body of research related to transgender experiences in music education, the purpose of the present study was to explore the experiences of a transgender music educator as she navigated her teacher preparation program and entered the field.…”

Mentally ill, HIV-positive, or sexual predator? Determining myths perceived as representative of transgender people

“…For example , Norton and Herek (2013) found that feeling thermometer ratings (i.e., 0 very cold to 100 very warm) toward transgender people were significantly lower than those toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Male attitudes and feelings toward transgender people tend to be significantly more negative than those of their female counterparts (Elischberger, Glazier, Hill, & Verduzco, 2016;Norton & Herek, 2013;Silveira & Goff, 2016). Additionally, religiosity, endorsement of traditional gender roles, and political conservatism correlate with negative attitudes toward transgender people (Elischberger et al, 2016;Norton & Herek 2013).…”