To tell or not to tell: how children of same-gender parents negotiate their lives at school

Abstract

Dr Carien Lubbe is a lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Pretoria. Her main research interest focuses on same-gendered (lesbian/gay) families. Other research areas include the exploration of asset-based and positive psychological approaches in Educational Psychology. Carien has a sincere interest in qualitative methodologies, especially narrative research. She is currently involved in the training of psychological counsellors (Honours programme), as well as the supervision of the career psychology component in a Master's programme. AbstractIn

Creating supportive learning environments: Experiences of lesbian and gay-parented families in South African schools

“…Some families avoided negative experiences by remaining silent about their familial identity, similar to the children in Lubbe's (2007b) study of lesbian/gay-parented families in South African schools. Children who were more open about the parents' sexual orientation often reported experiencing at least one instance of teasing or bullying.…”

“…Similarly, schools are not being compelled to ensure that their teachers uphold the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 'queer' (LGBQ) individuals. (2004,(146)(147) Further educator training is imperative for South African schools, as research has shown that much of the homophobia currently in the school system originates or is perpetuated by the teachers themselves (Bhana 2012;Francis 2012;Lubbe 2007b;Msibi 2012).…”

“…Though most of this research focuses on the experiences of LGBT learners, it is likely that children of lesbian/gay parents also internalise these discourses as messages about their family identity. To date, only one study explored the experiences of children with lesbian parents in South African classrooms (Lubbe 2007b). In her interviews with eight children with lesbian parents, Lubbe found that school experiences largely relied on whether or not the school environment was supportive or non-supportive of the children's family type.…”

“…As a result of current social attitudes, lesbian and gay individuals and their families are required to navigate daily life within a homonegative society (Knoesen 2004;Lubbe 2007a;Singh 1995). Though there is a steady increase in research exploring the lived experiences of lesbian and gay individuals in this social context, very few studies have explored the experiences of lesbians and gay men as parents, or of their children (Lubbe 2007a;2007b). The formative impact of school experiences, specifically, is potentially very powerful, as school is the first context in which many children are confronted with messages that contradict their understanding of their family (Fedewa & Clark 2009).…”

Å ha foreldre av samme kjønn - hvordan er det, og hvor mange gjelder det?

“…Undervisningen og laererne kan til og med bekrefte fordommene som ligger til grunn for slike kommentarer. I slike mindre tolerante skolemiljø føler barn av lhbt i større grad at de må kontrollere informasjonen om foreldrene sine (Lubbe 2007).…”