Scotland has recently become the first country in the world to make LGBT education a mandatory part of the school curriculum. “All school staff will be given a basic awareness e-learning course on LGBT inclusive education and a toolkit of LGBT inclusive education teaching resources,” according to The Scotsman. “A dedicated website will also be launched with resources for information to support young people.”
What will the kids learn? “Subjects across age groups will now include LGBT identities, issues and history, focused on promoting equality, reducing bullying and improving the educational experiences of LGBT children and young people.” Hopefully the move will make gay kids feel more accepted and will educate straight kids to become more educated, respectful adults.
The case for LGBT education
Nearly half of LGBT pupils report being bullied at school. Jordan Daly, Time for Inclusive Education co-founder, said: “I experienced bullying and prejudice at school for being gay, and it had a detrimental impact on my confidence and wellbeing for some time. This new website, and the supporting resources, which have been co-developed with teachers across Scotland, will support teachers to take a proactive, educational approach to tackling prejudice. Most importantly, this work will empower young people and provide them with an opportunity I didn’t have at school – to feel valued, confident, and proud of who they are.”
Scotland aims to be proactive in order to prevent discrimination against LGBT people by educating people about LGBT history and issues from childhood. Councillor Stephen McCabe, Children and Young People spokesperson for local authority umbrella body Cosla, said: “Improving inclusion in our schools is a priority for local government. We welcome the materials published today, which will assist schools, teachers and education staff to drive this important agenda forward, ensuring all children and young people receive the support they need.”
Response
Many parents are on board, too. National Parent Forum of Scotland chair Margaret Wilson said: “We welcome the roll-out of LGBT inclusive education across the school curriculum. With other stakeholders, we have developed an information resource on LGBT-inclusive education for parents and carers to help them to support their children and ensure they have a positive educational experience, using an approach underpinned by children’s rights, kindness and respect.”
The EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union, welcomed the news. A spokesperson said: “The EIS very much looks forward to the launch at the Scottish Learning Festival of a dedicated website to support teachers in the delivery of the LGBT-inclusive component of equality-focused education.
“In addition to a series of free e-learning professional learning modules, the website contains a suite of exciting new high quality resources which are also free of charge and that have been thoughtfully created to help develop young people’s understanding of LGBT experiences, histories and issues.
“The new website reflects a strongly intersectional approach to learning and teaching about LGBT equality…This approach led by TIE is a valuable blueprint for the development of further resources to support learning and teaching around the other equality strands.”
A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: “LGBT inclusive education is essential if we are to ensure that all pupils and staff are able to reach their full potential, and can help schools in Scotland meet the legal duty to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people from protected groups.
“We are pleased to have been able to support this work and hope that it will go a long way towards making sure that the needs of LGBT staff and pupils are considered in a whole school approach.”
Scotland decriminalized homosexuality 13 years after England and Wales. Children’s minister Clare Haughey is excited Scotland is leading the way with LGBT education: “I am proud to say that Scotland is leading the way as the first country in the world to embed LGBT inclusive education right across the curriculum,” she said. “By doing so, we can help young people to reach their full potential and flourish in a diverse and inclusive society,” she said. “The launch of this ground-breaking suite of resources for schools takes us another step forward in ensuring that our curriculum is as diverse as the young people who learn in our schools.”
