Revisiting Past Experiences of LGBTQ+-Identifying Students: An Analysis Framed by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) places inclusive and equitable lifelong quality education at the center of its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education. Nevertheless, the express inclusion of gender non-conforming and sexual minority students is omitted from UN communications. Drawing on interview and focus group data with recent secondary graduates who identify as LGBTQ+ (n = 20), we investigate their experiences, in terms of equity and inclusivity and lack thereof, in schools during the first years of the SDG-era in Spain (the data collection type respected participants’ personal preferences). Three SDGs, complementary to SDG4, were used as a framework for data analysis: SDG3 Good Health and Well-being, SDG5 Gender Equality, and SDG10 Reduced Inequalities, with SDG4 interconnectedly at the center of the overarching analyses. Participants reported preventable aggressions that affected their mental health and wellbeing in schools, receiving little LGBTQ+-related content in classes other than one-off mentions, and reflected on gender inequalities in their treatment from both peers and teachers. The authors discuss the need for local and national development education action plans and policies to address the exclusion and marginalization of LGBTQ+ students in Spanish high schools and elsewhere.