Tag: Education

Expanding Inclusive Curriculum Towards the LGBTQ+ Community in California Schools: How and Why Should Educators Do This?

~Erin Niemi

As the conversation surrounding inclusivity is discussed within the education sector, there has been consideration to address prominent heteronormativity in schools and uplift LGBTQ+ students. It has been found that students identifying as a part of the LGBTQ+ community are at increased risks to suffer from chronic stress as a result of stigma-related discrimination (Smith-Millmen, et. al, 2019) are twice as likely to miss school due to sadness and hopelessness than their non-LGBTQ+ peers (Choi, et. al 2017), and report high levels of physical, verbal, and sexual abuse on campus compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers (Smith-Millmen, et. al, 2019). In order to confront this safety epidemic, educators have begun to explore the ways LGBTQ+ inclusive education could confront safety issues in schools, as well as begin to confront LGBTQ+ erasure and discrimination by omission in all subjects taught.

LGBTQ+

Benefits of LGBTQ+-Inclusive Education:

Although the passage of The FAIR Education Act, which states that the contributions of “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender” people should be included in curriculum addressing the political and social development of California and the United States was passed and implemented in 2012, fewer than 20% of LGBTQ+ students have reported that they have had positive/neutral representations of LGBTQ+ folks in the classroom (Snapp, et. al, 2015). Additionally, research has shown that LGBTQ+ related issues, topics, and people are underrepresented in the courses such as health and sexuality (Snapp, et. al, 2015), math and science (Snapp, et. al, 2015), and although more included in the fields of English, history, and government, LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum in these areas miss several aspects that would make the curriculum more inclusive.  However, when done correctly and with the intention of inclusion, LGBTQ+-inclusive makes school safer for both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ students, and when this curriculum was implemented, students as a whole heard fewer homophobic slurs, experienced less victimization and bullying, and a reduction of prejudicial attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community (Snapp, et. al, 2015). While LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum lacks literature in a lot of areas (mostly due to its nonexistence), present research studying it has pointed towards its power to affirm student safety and individuality and extend inclusivity.

How Educators Have Implemented This:

While there is no present standard of LGBTQ+ curriculum, educators and teachers have implemented LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum through the inclusion of literature with LGBTQ+ characters/authors, anti-bullying campaigns, and social justice units. By including and making available reading materials and topics towards LGBTQ+ students, as well as including them next to non-LGBTQ+ topics and literature, educators can combat the lack of representation LGBTQ+ students and educators face both inside and out of the classroom. Additionally, by integrating LGBTQ+-inclusive topics and literature in the classroom, teachers can give students a more realistic version of the global population aside from what they have traditionally heard about in school and inside their home. This way, teachers can promote lifelong learning and tolerance while simultaneously acknowledging diversity and fighting back on stigma (Batchelor, et. al, 2018).

Why Is This Important:

As LGBTQ+ students face disproportionate violence, lack of school safety, and a lack of representation in the classroom, it is important that educators consider adding LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum within their current class material in lieu of policy passage in order to help foster school safety, inclusivity, tolerance, and reduce discrimination the LGBTQ+ community faces. By increasing LGBTQ+ inclusive content in schools, students will have a safer and more tolerant learning environment to learn in, as well as will have a better picture of the global population and all of the people within it. By including LGBTQ+-inclusive topics in the classroom, educators can also help combat discrimination by omission as well as discrimination through homophobic, transphobic, and biphobic stereotypes and prejudiced beliefs. By expanding representation, acknowledging the LGBTQ+ community, and advocating for inclusive content that reflects the world as it is, rather than through the heteronormative and cisgender lens, educators and institutions can begin to make the necessary change in order to protect LGBTQ+ youth and create education that discusses prevalent, yet often unmentioned, current issues that impact the global community as a whole.

References:

Batchelor, K. E., Ramos, M., & Neiswander, S. (2017). Opening Doors: Teaching LGBTQ-themed Young Adult Literature for an Inclusive Curriculum. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 91(1), 29–36.

Choi, S. K., Baams, L., & Wilson, B. D. M. (2017). LGBTQ Youth In Public Schools, Differences Across the State. The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/LGBTQ-Youth-CA-Public-Schools-Oct-2017.pdf.

Smith-Millman, M., Harrison, S. E., Pierce, L., & Flaspohler, P. D. (2019). “Ready, willing, and able”: Predictors of school mental health providers’ competency in working with LGBTQ youth. Journal of LGBT Youth, 16(4), 380–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2019.1580659

Snapp, S. D., Burdge, H., Licona, A. C., Moody, R. L., & Russell, S. T. (2015). Students’ Perspectives on LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(2), 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2015.1025614

Snapp, S. D., McGuire, J. K., Sinclair, K. O., Gabrion, K., & Russell, S. T. (2015). LGBTQ-inclusive curricula: why supportive curricula matter. Sex Education, 15(6), 580–596. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2015.1042573

Is virtual international education worth it?

By Roman Yavich, MPA

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive disruption to the entire education system. As with any crisis, this difficult and tragic situation has also brought an opportunity for change. In international education this change is the acceleration of the trend toward virtual programs.

virtual international education

 

source: unomaha.edu

 

Is Virtual Study Abroad an Oxymoron?

Virtual study abroad sounds like an oxymoron. Most students and faculty scuff at the idea. After all, the whole point of study abroad is to get out of the country to experience another culture and see the world! But is it? It’s true that most students sign up to study abroad to go to an exotic foreign destination. It’s an Instagram-able, credit-barring adventure of a lifetime. But most students come back from a study abroad program, especially a structured, faculty-led program, having gained something more profound and impactful than what they could capture with their phones. A new perspective, even epiphany, about their privilege, consumption patterns, social, economic, and environmental impact, prior naivete about foreign policy, along with enlightened views about cultural relativism and a myriad of additional insight, is what makes study abroad truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  And if this is the point of study abroad, then good news, it can be achieved through virtual programming.

Epiphanies during faculty-led study abroad most often occur as a result of interaction with locals who share their perspective and culture. These conversations can have almost the same impact over a zoom call. While a screen will never compare to travel, a virtual reality viewer at least starts to bridge the gap. A virtual internship can be just as valuable as an in-person internship abroad, and, in fact, might better prepare a student for their future career, which will likely involve remote work. No, I don’t think virtual study abroad will or should replace in-person travel programs, but I do believe that if the objective is to internationalize the curriculum and students’ views, virtual programs can be effective.

Advantages of Virtual Study Abroad

Virtual international education also has unique advantages to travel-based faculty-led programs that should not be overlooked. First and foremost, it is more affordable, meaning it is more accessible to a broader segment of the student population. Only a small fraction of students currently study abroad, and this group is far from representative of the diversity of the student population. Without the cost of travel, accommodation, restaurants, and adventure activities, virtual study abroad costs a fraction of the cost of a travel program. Increasing access, participation, and diversity in study abroad has been repeatedly cited by research as a top concern for colleges and universities. The international education community should promote these programs not only as an alternative when travel is not possible, as is the case now, but as an alternative when travel is possible. 

Virtual programs are also environmentally friendly compared to the carbon intensive travel programs. A single long-haul flight is as harmful to our climate as a year’s worth of driving. This is why Learn from Travel offsets its entire carbon footprint. Virtual programs also eliminate the carbon of hotel accommodation, eating in restaurants, and other activities. They also prevent the possibility of littering, which is a particularly big concern for programs that involve ecotourism activities.

Virtual programs are much easier logistically, without the need for planning travel, complicated activity scheduling, and limiting the program to an intensive week-long or two-week-long itinerary, in the case of a faculty-led study abroad. The activities can be spread out over the course of the semester and students can engage with people and places geographically far apart, something that is not possible when traveling.

Virtual Faculty Led Study Abroad Example

After conducting some market research on the topic of virtual study abroad over the last several months, my team came to realize that many faculty simply can’t imagine what a virtual faculty-led program could look like. At best they think of international zoom calls, and, yes, that is a part of it, but it’s just the beginning. Take for example a faculty-led program in Oaxaca on the topic of migration and remittances:

Students can join a local guide using her cell phone to walk through an Oaxacan market, meet different merchants, learn about the produce, and buy groceries for making mole. Later in the day the students can make the mole sauce together with a chef in Oaxaca to enjoy with their families at home that night.

Using Zoom they can meet the director of a local migration support nonprofit to hear about the complexity of the issue for Mexican authorities and the efforts to help the desperate families, from all over the world, seeking safety and security. As a class, the students can participate in a service learning project to support the migration center with data entry and analysis, database updates, and social media posts. Going further, students can intern with a variety of nonprofit, public and private organizations that make up the ecosystem of migrant support services. They can engage in a multi-week virtual internship, coming together weekly to share insights.

Students can also work with their Oaxacan peers to conduct research on migration on both sides of the border, receiving lectures from faculty in the US and in Oaxaca. Using a $15 VR viewer, they can even experience Monte Alban, one of the most important archeological sites in the Valley of Oaxaca, in an immersive 3D virtual space composed of 360° photos and videos layered with additional text and links to online content. Beyond being a fun and engaging experience, the virtual reality visit can help students place the topic of migration and settlement in the historical context.

Conclusion

So is virtual international education worth it? I’m biased, but yes. It is absolutely worth it if the alternative is a lack of international content in a course curriculum. Despite a recent rise in nationalism, the world is becoming more interdependent and interconnected by the day. The pandemic will not change that. Preparing students for work and life in this world is vitally important for higher Ed institutions and the opportunity for integrating virtual international education should not be missed.

To learn more about virtual study abroad modules and programs, please visit Learn from Travel.

Roman Yavich is the founder of Learn from Travel, a social enterprise international educational provider specializing in custom faculty-led and virtual study abroad programs for higher ed.