Standing Up for Diversity: Lesbian Mothers' Suggestions for Teachers

Kappa Delta Pi Record, Summer 2008 by Bower, Laura A

Increased diversity within student populations has led to a deluge of concerns for meeting the needs of all learners (e.g., Banks and McGee-Banks 2004; Darling-Hammond and Bransford 2005). Traditionally, education has defined diversity in terms of students' ethnicity, language, and academic abilities, thus ignoring several important forms of difference (Dilworth and Brown 2001). In today's environment, however, multicultural efforts fall short if they do not also include sexual orientation and family structure within notions of diversity (Kissen 2002; Ray 2005).

Given the limited focus on diverse sexualities and family structures within education, lesbian mothers are a particularly marginalized group in U.S. schools. I wanted to learn more about the nature of interactions between lesbian mothers and their children's schools and teachers. Because this population provides a snapshot of one group of diverse families among many, their experiences may prove instructive for teachers striving to understand how best to serve a variety of minority parents.

Background

Educators' focus on student diversity tends to eclipse awareness of differences among students' family structures and among parents, guardians, and caretakers and even to discount the impact families can have on student learning (Epstein et al. 2002). Teachers' inability or unwillingness to embrace diverse families, however, undermines students' learning, given that schoolsponsored programs designed to help parents support learning at home lead to increased student test scores (Sheldon and Epstein 2005). High parental academic expectations and regular encouragement from parents are associated with high academic achievement among students, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or parental level of education (Catsambis 2001).

Despite the importance of involving families in a child's education and the nearly 10 million U.S. school children with gay and lesbian parents (Pawelski et al. 2006), teachers receive little preparation to work with sexual minority parents (Kissen 2002). As a result, parents express feelings of isolation in their children's schools (Bos et al. 2004). They note a lack of inclusion of nontraditional families within the curriculum, and they report high levels of bullying of their children (Ray and Gregory 2001; Mercier and Harold 2003). Similarly, many teachers are dissatisfied with this reality and are willing to attend trainings related to improving school practices for gay and lesbian parents and their children (Bliss and Harris 1999).

The Study

Merriam's (1998) framework for qualitative research guided this inquiry. Through social networking at gay and lesbian events, I recruited lesbian mothers of schoolaged children to participate in my study. Participants consisted of 12 mothers whose children ranged in age from 10 months to 21 years. Five mothers had biological children; the others had adopted. Eleven participants had partners, and one was a single mother.

I conducted a focus group interview with eight mothers and completed follow-up interviews with seven of these eight. I interviewed four additional women individually. The focus group interview took place at a gay and lesbian center, and individual interviews occurred at each participant's location of choice.

Interviews centered on mothers' best and worst experiences with their children's schools. Participants also reflected on the type of teacher they would want for their children. I analyzed transcripts from each interview to generate lists of desired and detrimental qualities within teachers. I double-checked this analysis with respondents during follow-up interviews.

Results

Participants' interactions with teachers varied from noticeably hostile to overwhelmingly accepting. Comments regarding these interactions ranged from "[the teachers] were not very fond of us" to "the thing I really enjoy about the teachers is that they're so accepting of what the parents' needs are." They identified desired and negative qualities within teachers and offered suggestions.

Desired Qualities within Teachers

Many of the mothers praised their children's teachers, describing them as "truly gifted," "just fantastic," "phenomenal educators," and "the best we could have hoped for." Respondents wanted their children to have teachers with distinct sets of beliefs, practices, and knowledge. The mothers had experienced many of these qualities; others shared a wish list.

Mothers preferred teachers who are open-minded, have progressive political beliefs, and accept diverse sexual orientations. They articulated the importance of teachers having deep knowledge of students and diversity. Further, they appreciated teachers who try new things, think "outside the box," and are energetic.

Respondents wanted teachers to maintain a habit of educating others about diversity, to include all types of diversity, to ask about students' families, to become involved with students' lives, and to provide face time and contact with parents. Participants emphasized the paramount need for teachers to prevent teasing and bullying.