Colonial systems, values and worldviews create inequity
LGBTQ+ ākonga
What challenges have you faced as a rainbow student?
Ākonga 1:
Just like comments or like hearing things as you walk past the hall, or being conscious of what you're wearing due to what others might think.
Ākonga 2:
In topics like sex education I once got told that, “oh don't listen to this, it's not about you because you're gay”. So stuff like that happens, which kind of sucks.
Ākonga 3:
Sometimes I feel that teachers are very deliberately like “ladies”, you know. And, you know, “settle down girls” and stuff like that. And like I know it's hard for them to make that change but it does feel like they're not taking our needs into consideration.
Ākonga 4:
Definitely having to educate teachers has been difficult. A lot of teachers are open to it but also they don't do research in their own time, which would probably be useful.
What has the school done to make it easier for rainbow students?
Ākonga 4:
My school took announcing my transition into their own hands, like, with the permission of me. So then I was able to not go to school that day and then have a teacher go around and tell everybody like, “It's Keifer, and he uses he/him pronouns now”, which I appreciated.
Ākonga 3:
Being able to change your like name and pronouns on the school system, that's quite important and quite helpful.
Ākonga 5:
Just feeling like we can actually trust the staff with these problems that we have and that they're going to take us seriously has been a tremendous change.
What more could the school do to make it easier for rainbow students?
Ākonga 6:
I think Pride week would be a good thing. But I think just normalising all that stuff, like not making it a big deal, but not completely brushing it under the rug or anything.
Ākonga 3:
I don't know, I don't want teachers to do like this and that and just have it be like purely for performance sake. I think if there was just more of them actually caring about us and caring about how we feel, and recognising us as, like you know, as deserving of respect as you know straight people, then that would be nice.
Ākonga 4:
One thing we're talking about at the moment with our teachers, because we're educating them, is the phrase ‘visible allyship’. So ways that they can sort of present themselves as an ally.
Why is it important for schools to be more rainbow inclusive?
Ākonga 3:
It makes us, you know, feel safe, feel accepted, especially when home's a place that a lot of us don't have that kind of, like, love and acceptance. Mental health is like a very big thing for a lot of rainbow people, so that does help in that respect.
Ākonga 7:
I think schools should be more rainbow inclusive because we are in society. We're not asking for a lot.
Ākonga 5:
Kids spend so much of their life at school and for rainbow kids they need… If they're spending that much time in a place where they don't feel supported and they don't feel safe, that's terrible for their health.
Ākonga 1:
Well I think from personal experience, homophobia does have a massive impact on learning. Like if I hear a comment I will probably lose that lesson, like I won't be able to do work for an hour, which actually has quite a big impact on, I think, students like in relation to grades.
What would the dream school look like for rainbow students?
Ākonga 6:
A school where anything is accepted, like bathrooms for everyone. No like, sexuality is weird, and everything's just accepted.
Ākonga 7:
A place where you have access to, you know, the bare necessities that a student would need. So access to toilets; being able to wear the uniform that would best represent how you feel in yourself.
Ākonga 4:
Not having students use slurs and stuff because that is a big thing at our school. Yeah, having, sharing pronouns be normalised and easier for people. And also a better process for ensuring that students aren't outed at home.
Ākonga 5:
Uses representative language and is passionate about creating a safe environment for all of their students.
Ākonga 1:
I think the dream school will just be everyone's chill. They just respect you no matter what, no matter where you come from, and you're just there, you can learn. You're given the same opportunities as everyone else.
Listen to the voices of rainbow rangatahi at secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Insights from rainbow ākonga describe how often teachers lack insight or understanding about what they need or the challenges they are facing. Outdated values based on cisheteronormative cultural norms are evident in education. Increased hate crimes against LGBTQ+ demonstrate how far we have to go to rid ourselves of our colonial inheritance.
There aren't enough resources and support specifically for takatāpui (people who are Māori and LGBTQ+) in compulsory education (CORE Education Ltd., 2021). Throughout this kaupapa, the LGBTQ+ community repeatedly request better curriculum content and teaching resources to improve the understanding of all ākonga about LGBTQ+ history, leaders and perspectives.
Many LGBTQ+ ākonga shared that they are often confronted by assumptions, questions, stereotyping, and othering based on the idea that their “identities are a phase, a choice, or not valid and that everyone fits neatly within the gender binary” (Fraser, 2019, p.13).
When considering inequity for LGBTQ+ ākonga, the following themes emerged from the findings of this report:
Discrimination
- Bullying, physical violence and hate crimes are significant issues for rainbow youth, especially Māori and trans ākonga.
- Harassment, microaggressions and lack of safety at school increase inequity for LGBTQ+ ākonga.
- Teachers can help to prevent this.
Funding and resources
- Lack of LGBTQ+ kaupapa in curriculum content and delivery; irrelevant learning resources.
- Rainbow mentors and support staff roles for schools would make a huge difference.
- Safe spaces are important, including appropriate toilet options.
- Counselling, support groups, rainbow-affirming teachers and support staff are not consistently available to ākonga across the country.
Colonialism
- Cisheteronormativity and outdated ideas about queer behaviour still influence our education system. This harms takatāpui especially.
Deficit-focus and stereotyping
- Common misunderstandings about gender diversity and misconceptions about the needs of rainbow ākonga, and the prejudice that fuels this, cause harm.
Outdated attitudes
- School leadership and staff contribute to the cycles of misinformation, prejudice and exclusion.
- Teachers, principals, and boards of trustees need updated training and resources to better understand, promote and support inclusive, gender-affirming school experiences.
Which of the following have you been told off for or prevented from doing at your current school?
Ka hiahiatia pea ēnei
You may also be interested in
- Navigating two tides
Pacific rainbow experiences have never been properly studied, leading to gaps in support services. Researchers are now unpacking decades of data to paint a bigger picture. - Growing up takatāpui: Whānau journeys
Support and information for takatāpui rangatahi (youth) and whānau (family) who are struggling to talk to each other. Read in conjunction with the print and film resource: Takatāpui: Part of the whānau. - Here’s exactly what students are required to learn in sex ed
An article describing the current Aotearoa Relationship and Sexuality Guidelines, in response to media and political pressure to remove them from schools.
Hei whakaaro ake
Food for thought
- What specific experiences, people or events came to mind when watching these videos, or exploring these narratives?
- How can we create a culture of equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ ākonga, regardless of personal or religious views?
- How can you step up as an ally to LGBTQ+ people in education?
- What changes need to be made to make LGBTQ+ experiences in education more comfortable or safe now? Next year? In the future?
