Quick Chat: Media Coverage of Homophobia in Schools

In recent years, new laws and policies have been put in place across Canada to diminish homophobia in schools. Students have been given the go-ahead to form gay-straight alliances (GSAs), and there has been more of a general recognition of every students’ right to a safe space in which to learn.

But what about the teachers? Some say that for many LGBTQ teachers who work in the separate school system, incidences of discrimination are on the rise.

Tonya Callaghan has set out to find out whether there is, in fact, a growing trend…or whether the environment for talking about discrimination has become more favourable.

The Assistant Professor in the Werklund School of Education has begun a research project that considers media reports of discriminatory practices in separate schools.

Working with a team of undergraduate and graduate students, she’s looking at media in four countries—the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada—to see what has changed over the past 15 years.

In this quick chat, Callaghan discusses the research project, which she and her team will share at Congress later this month.

Audio:

• Quick Chat (7:18)