| Popis: |
This qualitative study exams the role of the high school counselor or social worker supporting adolescents who questioned their sexual identity or identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. There was no statement of hypotheses for this research. The researcher intended to let themes emerge from the data. Ten participants 18- 21, who attended The Ohio State University, were interviewed about their experiences with the high school counselor or social worker. These participants attended high schools in Texas, California, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio in rural, suburban, and urban settings. The interview process was conducted on the campus of The Ohio State University. Interviews were approximately sixty minutes in length. A grounded theory analysis was conducted on the data collected from the interviews. It was found that homophobic and heterosexist attitudes, prevailing in the schools, hindered receiving support from the counselor or social worker. The emerging discoveries from this analysis revealed that on a micro intervention level, participants wanted their counselors to be non-judgmental with attention to confidentially, which were strategies not often emphasized by researchers. Because of the fear of identity exposure discussed in this study, another discovery emerged as to the importance placed on counselors and social workers using tools such as GLBT stickers and posters to signify that they were approachable about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues. Again, this was a recommendation not often mentioned in the literature. On a macro level, the research analysis revealed that the prevailing homophobic and heterosexist attitudes were found at all levels of the school system including administrators, teachers and even counselors and social workers, these participants wanted to see more diversity initiatives that included GLBT issues. This was another area not often mentioned in the literature. Another discovery was that, of the ten participants, only one had a social worker available at their school. The majority of participants only had access to a guidance counselor. While the American School Counseling Association emphasizes the importance of developmental issues, including building adolescent social competency, the research indicated that questioning or self-identified GLBT adolescents are having their developmental issues ignored in … |
