Cultivating Equitable Educational Environments for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth: A Multi-Case Cross-Case Analysis of Advocacy in the School Environment

Abstract

Transgender and gender-expansive youth often fail to receive equitable treatment in educational settings. School counselors are in a privileged position to advocate for students belonging to this underserved group. To increase understanding of advocacy efforts in school settings, the authors conducted a multi-case cross-case analysis focusing on the phenomenon of advocacy efforts for transgender and gender-expansive youth. Themes align with the categories of macro, systems, micro, inter-personal and intra-personal levels of advocacy. Original themes emerging from the data include increasing awareness and facilitating conversation (macro-level advocacy), community collaboration and district wide policies (systems-level advocacy), and affirming students and cultivating positive school culture (micro-level advocacy). The unique needs and challenges faced by transgender and gender-expansive students, and the role of school counselors in supporting, affirming, and advocating for these students are further discussed.