Abstract
Children are influenced by multiple contexts, including their families and schools. Yet research on children with LGBTQ parents has rarely attended to their school experiences. The lack of research on the family-school interface of LGBTQ-parent families is troubling, in that these families are vulnerable to marginalization and stigma in their broader communities, which may extend to the school environment. This chapter reviews research on children with LGBTQ parents, with particular attention to those domains that are most relevant to teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. We address research on the academic achievement, social functioning, and bullying of children with LGBTQ parents. We also discuss research on LGBTQ parents themselves, including their experiences selecting and interacting with their children’s schools. Where relevant, we emphasize race/ethnicity, social class, and other social locations with respect to their role in shaping LGBTQ-parent families. We end with practical recommendations for educators for creating an inclusive environment for these families.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beveridge, S. (2005). Children, families, and schools: Developing partnerships for inclusive education. London, UK: Routledge Falmer.
Bos, H., & Gartrell, N. (2010). Adolescents of the USA National Longitudinal Family Study: Can family characteristics counteract the negative effects of stigmatization? Family Process, 49, 559–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01340.x
Bos, H. M., Gartrell, N. K., Peyser, H., & van Balen, F. (2008). The USA National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS): Homophobia, psychological adjustment, and protective factors. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 12, 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160802278630
Bos, H. M. W., & van Balen, F. (2008). Children in planned lesbian families: Stigmatization, psychological adjustment, and protective factors. Culture, Health, & Sexuality, 10, 221–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691050701601702
Casper, V., & Schultz, S. (1999). Gay parents/straight schools: Building communication and trust. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Cemalcilar, Z. (2010). Schools as socialisation contexts: Understanding the impact of school climate factors on students sense of school belonging. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 59, 243–272. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2009.00389.x
Cody, P. A., Farr, R. H., McRoy, R. G., Ayers-Lopez, S. J., & Ledesma, K. J. (2017). Youth perspectives on being adopted from foster care by lesbian and gay parents: Implications for families and adoption professionals. Adoption Quarterly, 20, 98–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2016.1200702
Croteau, J. M., Talbot, D. M., Lance, T. S., & Evans, N. J. (2002). A qualitative study of the interplay between privilege and oppression. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 24, 239–258. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2002.tb00522.x
Crouch, S., McNair, R., & Waters, E. (2017). Parent perspectives on child health and well-being in same-sex families: Heteronormative conflict and resilience building. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26, 2202–2214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0796-3
Elia, J. P. (2010). Bisexuality and school culture: School as a prime site for bi-intervention. Journal of Bisexuality, 10, 452–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2010.521060
Fairtlough, A. (2008). Growing up with a lesbian or gay parent: Young people’s perspectives. Health & Social Care in the Community, 16, 521–528. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2524.2008.00774.x
Farr, R., Crain, E., Oakley, M., Cashen, K., & Garber, K. (2016). Microaggressions, feelings of difference, and resilience among adopted children with sexual minority parents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 85–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0353-6
Farr, R., Oakley, M., & Ollen, W. (2016). School experiences of young children and their lesbian and gay adoptive parents. Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity, 3, 442–447. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000187
Farr, R., Tasker, F., & Goldberg, A. E. (2017). Theory in highly cited studies of sexual minority parent families: Variations and implications. Journal of Homosexuality, 64, 1143–1179. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1242336
Fedewa, A. L., & Clark, T. P. (2009). Parent practices and home-school partnerships: A differential effect for children with same-sex coupled parents? Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 5, 312–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/15504280903263736
Gartrell, N., Banks, A., Hamilton, J., Reed, N., Bishop, H., & Rodas, C. (1999). The National Lesbian Family Study: 2. Interviews with mothers of toddlers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 69, 362–369. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0080410
Gartrell, N., Banks, A., Reed, N., Hamilton, J., Rodas, C., & Deck, A. (2000). The National Lesbian Family Study: 3. Interviews with mothers of five-year-olds. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70, 542–548. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0087823
Gartrell, N., & Bos, H. (2010). US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological adjustment of 17-year-old adolescents. Pediatrics, 126, 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-3153
Gartrell, N., Bos, H. M., Peyser, H., Deck, A., & Rodas, C. (2012). Adolescents with lesbian mothers describe their own lives. Journal of Homosexuality, 59, 1211–1229. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.720499
Gartrell, N., Deck, A., Rodas, C., Peyser, H., & Banks, A. (2005). The National Lesbian Family Study: 4. Interviews with the 10-year-old children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75, 518–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.75.4.518
Gianino, M., Goldberg, A. E., & Lewis, T. (2009). Family outings: Disclosure practices among adopted youth with gay and lesbian parents. Adoption Quarterly, 12, 205–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926750903313344
Goldberg, A. E. (2007). (How) does it make a difference?: Perspectives of adults with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77, 550–562. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.77.4.550
Goldberg, A. E. (2009). Heterosexual, lesbian, and gay preadoptive couples’ preferences about child gender. Sex Roles, 61, 55–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9598-4
Goldberg, A. E. (2010). Lesbian and gay parents and their children: Research on the family life cycle. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Goldberg, A. E. (2014). Lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents’ experiences in preschool environments. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29, 669–681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.07.008
Goldberg, A. E., Allen, K. R., Black, K., Frost, R., & Manley, M. (2018). “There is no perfect school…”: The complexity of school decision-making among lesbian and gay adoptive parents. Journal of Marriage & Family, 80, 684. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12478
Goldberg, A. E., Black, K., Manley, M., & Frost, R. (2017). “We told them that we are both really involved parents”: Sexual minority and heterosexual adoptive parents’ engagement in school communities. Gender & Education, 29(5), 614–631. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2017.1296114
Goldberg, A. E., Black, K., Sweeney, K., & Moyer, A. (2017). Lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents’ perceptions of inclusivity and receptiveness in early childhood education settings. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 31, 141–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2016.1244136
Goldberg, A. E., Frost, R., & Black, K. A. (2017). “There is so much to consider”: School-related decisions and experiences among families who adopt non-infant children. Families in Society, 98, 191–200. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.2017.98.24
Goldberg, A. E., Frost, R. L., Manley, M. H., & Black, K. A. (2018). Meeting other moms: Lesbian adoptive mothers’ relationships with other parents at school and beyond. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 22, 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2016.1278349
Goldberg, A. E., Gartrell, N. K., & Gates, G. J. (2014). Research report on LGB-parent families. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA, The Williams Institute.
Goldberg, A. E., Kinkler, L. A., Richardson, H. B., & Downing, J. B. (2011). On the border: Young adults with LGBQ parents navigate LGBTQ communities. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024576
Goldberg, A. E., Ross, L., Manley, M., & Mohr, J. (2017). Male-partnered sexual minority women: Sexual identity disclosure to health care providers during the perinatal period. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 4, 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000215
Goldberg, A. E., & Smith, J. Z. (2014a). Preschool selection considerations and experiences of school mistreatment among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29, 64–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.09.006
Goldberg, A. E., & Smith, J. Z. (2014b). Perceptions of stigma and self-reported school engagement in lesbian and gay parents with young children. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1(3), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000052
Goldberg, A. E., & Smith, J. Z. (2017). Parent-school relationships and young adopted children’s psychological adjustment in lesbian-, gay-, and heterosexual-parent families. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 40, 174–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.04.001
Goldberg, A. E., Sweeney, K., Black, K., & Moyer, A. (2016). Lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents’ socialization approaches to children’s minority statuses. The Counseling Psychologist, 44, 267–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000015628055
Golombok, S., Perry, B., Burston, A., Murray, C., Mooney-Somers, J., Stevens, M., & Golding, J. (2003). Children with lesbian parents: A community study. Developmental Psychology, 39, 20–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.1.20
Grusec, J. E., & Hastings, P. D. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of socialization: Theory and research. New York, NY: Guilford.
Ioverno, S., Belser, A. B., Baiocco, R., Grossman, A. H., & Russell, S. T. (2016). The protective role of gay-straight alliances for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning students: A prospective analysis. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3, 397–406. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000193
Jeynes, W. H. (2007). The relationship between parental involvement and urban secondary school student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Urban Education, 42, 82–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085906293818
Johnson, S. M., & O’Connor, E. (2002). The gay baby boom: The psychology of gay parenthood. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Kintner-Duffy, V., Vardell, R., Lower, J., & Cassidy, D. (2012). “The changers and the changed”: Preparing early childhood teachers to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 33, 208–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2012.705806
Kosciw, J. G., & Diaz, E. M. (2008). Involved, invisible, ignored: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents and their children in our nation’s K-12 schools. New York, NY: GLSEN. www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2271.html
Lick, D. J., Patterson, C. J., & Schmidt, K. M. (2013). Recalled social experiences and current psychological adjustment among adults reared by gay and lesbian parents. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 9, 230–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2013.781907
Lindsay, J., Perlesz, A., Brown, R., McNair, R., de Vaus, D., & Pitts, M. (2006). Stigma or respect: Lesbian-parented families negotiating school settings. Sociology, 40, 1059–1077. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038506069845
Lubbe, C. (2013). LGBT parents and their children: Non-western research and perspectives. In A. E. Goldberg & K. R. Allen (Eds.), LGBT-parent families: Innovations in research and implications for practice (pp. 209–224). New York, NY: Springer.
MacCallum, F., & Golombok, S. (2004). Children raised in fatherless families from infancy: A follow-up of children of lesbian and single heterosexual mothers at early adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 45, 1407–1419. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00324.x
McDermott, E. (2011). The world some have won: Sexuality, class and inequality. Sexualities, 14, 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460710390566
Mercier, L. R., & Harold, R. D. (2003). At the interface: Lesbian-parent families and their children’s schools. Children & Schools, 25, 35–47. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/25.1.35
Moore, M. R., & Stambolis-Ruhstorfer, M. (2013). LGBT sexuality and families at the start of the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Sociology, 39, 491–507. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071312-145643
National PTA. (2018). LGBTQ children and families. Retrieved from https://www.pta.org/home/run-your-pta/Diversity-Inclusion-Toolkit/supporting-multicultural-membership-growth/Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-and-Queer-Questioning-LGBTQ-Children-and-Families
Nixon, C. A. (2011). Working-class lesbian parents’ emotional engagement with their children’s education: Intersections of class and sexuality. Sexualities, 141, 78–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460710390564
Pallotta-Chiarolli, M. (2012). Border sexualities, border families in schools. Langham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Potter, D. (2012). Same-sex parent families and children’s academic achievement. Journal of Marriage & Family, 74, 556–571. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00966.x
Power, J., Brown, R., Schofield, M., Pitts, M., McNair, R., Perlesz, A., & Bickerdike, A. (2014). Social connectedness among LGBT parents living in metropolitan and regional and rural areas of Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Community Psychology, 42, 869–889. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21658
Rivers, I., Poteat, V. P., & Noret, N. (2008). Victimization, social support, and psychosocial functioning in same-sex and opposite-sex couples in the United States. Developmental Psychology, 44, 127–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.127
Rosenfeld, M. J. (2010). Nontraditional families and childhood progress through school. Demography, 47, 755–775. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0112
Russell, S., & Horne, S. (Eds.). (2017). Sexual orientation, gender identity, and schooling: The nexus of research practice and policy. New York, NY: Oxford.
Toomey, R. B., Ryan, C., Diaz, R. M., & Russell, S. T. (2011). High school gay-straight alliances (GSAs) and young adult well-being: An examination of GSA presence, participation, and perceived effectiveness. Applied Developmental Science, 15, 175–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2011.607378
van Eeden-Moorefield, B., Few-Demo, A. L., Benson, K., Bible, J., & Lummer, S. (2018). A content analysis of LGBT research in top family journals 2000–2015. Journal of Family Issues, 39, 1374–1395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X17710284
Vanfraussen, K., Ponjaert-Kristoffersen, I., & Brewaeys, A. (2002). What does it mean for youngsters to grow up in a lesbian family created by means of donor insemination? Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 20, 237–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/0264683021000033165
Vyncke, J., Julien, D., Jouvin, E., & Jodoin, E. (2014). Systemic heterosexism and adjustment among adolescents raised by lesbian mothers. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 46, 375–386. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034663
Wainright, J. L., & Patterson, C. J. (2008). Peer relations among adolescents with female same-sex parents. Developmental Psychology, 44, 117–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.117
Wainright, J., Russell, S., & Patterson, C. (2004). Psychosocial adjustment, school outcomes, and romantic relationships of adolescents with same-sex parents. Child Development, 75, 1886–1898. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00823.x
Welsh, M. G. (2011). Growing up in a same-sex parented family: The adolescent voice of experience. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 7, 49–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2010.537241
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Goldberg, A.E., Byard, E. (2020). LGBTQ-Parent Families and Schools. In: Goldberg, A.E., Allen, K.R. (eds) LGBTQ-Parent Families. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35610-1_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35610-1_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-35609-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-35610-1
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)