Privileging Heteronormativity in Alberta’s Comprehensive Health and Sanctioned Religious Curriculum: A Critical Discourse Analysis

 Although recently the Alberta Government has made many efforts and initiatives to promote support for gender and sexual minority students in schools, ongoing disparities exist between the aspirations for safe and inclusive school environments and the hostile reality of life in schools for this population. This article summarizes the results of a critical analysis of provincial core health literacy curricula along with school-sanctioned religious curricula. The article then highlights probable reasons for the ongoing lack of education and support for gender and sexual diversity in schools and suggests possible contributors to the oppressive environment for these students in rural Southern Alberta.Alors que le gouvernement albertain a récemment déployé beaucoup d’efforts et créé plusieurs initiatives pour appuyer les élèves ayant une orientation ou une identité sexuelle minoritaires dans les écoles, des disparités perdurent entre les aspirations visant des milieux scolaires sécuritaires et inclusifs et la réalité hostile que vit cette population dans les écoles. Cet article résume les résultats d’une analyse critique des programmes d’enseignement sur la santé et des programmes d’études religieuses approuvés par les écoles. Par la suite, l’article souligne les raisons qui pourraient expliquer le manque constant d’éducation et d’appui pour la diversité sexuelle et de genre dans les écoles, et propose des facteurs pouvant contribuer à l’environnement oppressant qui existe pour ces élèves dans le sud de l’Alberta.Mots clés : éducation sexuelle; diversité sexuelle et de genre; religion; éducation à la justice social

Reflection and readiness: Shared benefits of using an Oral Final Evaluation to assess counselor competency

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted educational systems worldwide, shifting everything from pedagogy to learning environments. The emerging needs and complexities presented during this time has challenged long-standing practices, requiring creativity and innovation to adapt in the midst of uncertainty and accelerated change. This has been the reality within graduate counselling programs where coursework and internships were interrupted, and the counselling environment altered. In the face of such changes, the critical assessment and evaluation of pre-service counsellor competence remains a high priority of counsellor educators. This article outlines the practice of adopting an Oral Final Evaluation (OFE) of post-practicum graduate counselling students as a means of addressing the need to accurately assess counsellor competence in the changed landscape of the current pandemic. This article provides a rationale for integrating an OFE and space for reflection on its implementation, along with feedback from participating students, faculty, and site-supervisors

When Truths Collide: Christian Privilege Undermines Freedom of Identity in Canadian Public Schools

The conflict between freedom of religion and freedom of identity and expression in schools remains a controversial topic internationally. As primarily socializing agents, schools reproduce the cultural norms of the communities within which they are embedded. When schools are situated in environments with high levels of religiosity that are non-affirming to gender and sexually diverse youth, the impact is felt within the lived curriculum of individual students. Using narrative inquiry, this study explored this impact and student perceptions of how freedom of religion became a means to justify discrimination and oppression of sexual and gender diverse students and promoted feelings of insecurity and isolation amongst this marginalized group.Key words: Christian privilege; freedom of religion; gender and sexual minority; secondary schools Le conflit entre la liberté de religion et la liberté d'identité et d'expression dans les écoles demeure un sujet de controverse à l'échelle internationale. En tant que principaux agents de socialisation, les écoles reproduisent les normes culturelles des communautés dans lesquelles elles sont intégrées. Lorsque les écoles sont situées dans des environnements à haut niveau de religiosité qui ne sont pas favorables à la diversité sexuelle et de genre des jeunes, l'impact est ressenti dans le curriculum vécu de chaque élève. En utilisant une enquête narrative, cette étude a exploré cet impact et les perceptions des élèves sur la façon dont la liberté de religion est devenue un moyen de justifier la discrimination et l'oppression des élèves sexuellement et sexuellement différents et a favorisé les sentiments d'insécurité et d'isolement parmi ce groupe marginalisé.Mots clés: privilège chrétien ; liberté de religion ; minorité sexuelle et de genre ; écoles secondaires

Mettre fin à l’hétéronormativité institutionnelle : le rôle des conseillers en milieu scolaire dans la promotion de la diversité de genre et de sexe chez les étudiants

Many gender and sexually diverse students continue to view their schools as a hostile and oppressive environment. The focus in research has shifted more recently from individualizing this problem to understanding the complex systemic and institutional contributors to the ongoing marginalization of this population. As an integral part of the school system, school counsellors are uniquely positioned to offer important individual- and group-level supports to these students. Using narrative interviewing, this qualitative study provides an opportunity to visit the lived experiences of 6 current gender and sexually diverse high school students and their encounters with heteronormativity at school. Their stories offer insights into factors contributing to their distress and demonstrate stress-ameliorating factors that could be used to guide school counsellors who advocate for the safety and inclusion of students with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.    Bon nombre d’étudiants et d’étudiantes issus de la diversité de genre et de sexe continuent de percevoir leurs écoles comme des milieux hostiles et oppressifs. La recherche a changé de cap récemment, passant d’une approche centrée sur l’individualisation du problème à une meilleure compréhension des complexes éléments systémiques et institutionnels qui contribuent à la marginalisation de cette population. Faisant intégralement partie du système scolaire, les conseillers et conseillères en milieu scolaire occupent une position stratégique leur permettant d’offrir à ces étudiantes et étudiants des soutiens individuels et collectifs. Fondée sur des entrevues narratives, cette étude qualitative permet d’aborder les expériences vécues de 6 étudiants et étudiantes du secondaire actuellement issus de la diversité de genre et de sexe et leurs contacts avec l’hétéronormativité en milieu scolaire. Leurs narrations offrent un aperçu des facteurs qui contribuent à leur détresse et démontrent des facteurs susceptibles de réduire leurs niveaux de stress et auxquels on pourrait recourir pour guider les conseillers et conseillères en milieu scolaire qui réclament plus de sécurité et d’inclusion à l’égard des étudiantes et étudiants ayant diverses orientations et identités sexuelles

Controversial Credits: Secondary Students’ Education on Heteronormativity

In January of 2016, the Alberta Government launched new Guidelines for Best Practices: Creating Learning Environments That Respect Diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities, and Gender Expressions (Alberta Education, 2016). This document was in response to the growing awareness of the ongoing oppression, marginalization, and discrimination affecting gender and sexually diverse children, youth, families, and faculty in schools across the province. These guidelines were met with a series of reactions, with much backlash and controversy erupting in Southern Alberta, which exemplified the ongoing homophobic and transphobic sentiments commonplace to many of the residents in this area. This study explores the experiences of secondary students in public secular schools related to the topic of gender and sexual diversity and the impact of the heteronormative discourse operating within their schools and community on their developing attitudes, identities, and emotional and mental well-being. I employed a multi-method qualitative research framework involving 1) critical discourse analysis of the documents from three courses where topics pertaining to gender and sexuality are most likely to occur; and 2) multiple in-depth semi-structured interviews with 6 secondary students. The central questions driving this study were: Are high school students’ perceptions of heteronormativity shaped by religious and secular aspects of the high school curriculum? If so, how? What practical insights can be applied to school policies and practices to inform more safe and inclusive school environments? To answer these questions, I drew upon critical theory and social justice scholars to explore how the forces of heteronormativity and privilege, particularly Christian privilege, are produced and reproduced in schools and how these forces maintain an ongoing oppressive and hostile school environment for gender and sexual minority students. The chief finding of this study is that, despite the efforts made through the recent release of the Guidelines for Best Practice (Alberta Education, 2016), gender and sexual minority youth are not experiencing a safe and inclusive school environment, with ongoing oppression experienced in multiple school spaces. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of participant-infused insights and wisdom for educators and educational leaders interested in creating more safe and inclusive learning environments