Trans/Gender-Diverse Students’ Perceptions of Positive School Climate and Teacher Concern as Factors in School Belonging: Results From an Australian National Study

Abstract

Background/Context: In recent years, numerous, ongoing moral panics with respect to the acknowledgment of gender and sexuality diversity within curriculum/policies have done considerable damage to Australian educators’ confidence and capacity to support gender and sexuality diverse students. Trans/gender-diverse students have been specifically targeted during this period. Purpose: Cisnormative microaggressions are a pervasive element of the Australian school climate, impacting trans/gender-diverse students’ relationships with school-based adults and peers and their experiences of schooling more broadly. This article seeks to contribute to scholarship exploring school well-being for trans/gender-diverse students, inclusive of students’ sense of their teachers’ concern for their personal and academic well-being, and its relationship to students’ perceptions of their school climate. Participants: This article explores data from trans/gender-diverse participants (n = 685) in the 2021 Free2Be. . .Yet? Australian national online survey of gender and sexuality diverse high school students in Grades/Years 7–12. Research Design: Using students’ self-reported data on selected quantitative measures of school climate with respect to gender and sexuality diversity, alongside perceptions of teacher concern and expectations for success, as selected indicators of school-based well-being, this research sought to identify these variables’ predictive impact on students’ sense of belonging at school. Conclusion: Multiple regression analyses revealed the influence of an accepting and supportive schooling environment for gender and sexuality diversity on trans/gender-diverse students’ sense of school belonging, explaining additional factor variance beyond included demographic factors or students’ sense of teacher concern and expectations. Findings add to the body of existing literature recommending professional development for educators that interrogates and seeks to redress both structural and interpersonal cisnormative microaggressions and articulates the need for gender expansiveness.