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The Council for Accreditation of Counselor Education and Related Programs and the American Counseling Association require counseling programs (CPs) to recruit, employ, and retain diverse faculty. Queer sexual orientation and gender identity is considered an aspect of diversity with which counselors must gain competency and against which counselors should not discriminate yet little is known about queer female counselor educators (QFCEs) with intersecting minority identities. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) with both hermeneutic and intersectionality theory frameworks was to explore the experiences and meaning making of QFCEs and to describe the impact of these experiences on QFCE's mental health (MH) and physical health (PH), teaching, and student learning. This research study contained data collected from in-depth semistructured interviews with six openly QFCEs employed in CACREP accredited CPs. Data analysis was consistent with the IPA steps described by Smith, Flowers, and Larkin and resulted in the emergence of four main themes: (a) QFCE's experiences with identity, (b) the personal impact of being a QFCE, (c) the professional impact of being a QFCE, and (d) making sense of the conflict between person, profession, and purpose. The results of this study show the unique experiences of QFCEs and the positive and negative impacts on their PH, MH, teaching, and student learning. The results of this study may inform the strategies used by CPs to recruit, employ, and retain diverse faculty and influence systemic change. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Research points to how queer faculty are critical to queer student success, yet we know less about the faculty themselves and what supports or hinders their flourishing within the academy. Confounding the limitations within the scholarship on queer faculty are two important realities. First is the changing tide in the socio-political climate for LGBTQ people, including their visibility, public support, and rights. Second is the reality that campus climate research for queer faculty, staff, and students is aging, particularly considering the changing national climate for LGBTQ people. Without updates to existing research, those in higher education responsible for supporting the success of queer faculty either do so without empirical evidence to guide their work or with evidence that may be outdated. Additionally, as college campuses seek to foster diverse student bodies, they will need a diverse faculty body to serve the needs of future students. Research indicates that current teens (i.e., potential future collegegoers) identify as LGBTQ at higher rates than ever before. This qualitative study uses queer phenomenology to examine the experiences of nine gay men faculty at Midwestern liberal arts colleges. Data were collected through a personally drawn relationship map from each participant and the transcripts of an in-depth, one-on-one interview. I used an ecological framework to organize and categorize the participants' experiences into micro-, meso-, and macro-systems. Subsequently, I called upon elements of queer theory to interpret those experiences. From the data, I identified four themes that indicate gay men faculty experience feelings of support, belonging, and marginalization: (a) strong collegial relationships provide a source of connection, (b) interactions with students are wide-ranging, (c) sense of belonging is limited in rural Midwestern areas, and (d) participants can feel hyper-visible because of their sexual orientation. Findings reveal that ecological systems are a complex web of people, places, and contexts influencing gay faculty experiences. The stimuli from these varying ecological systems may be supportive of gay faculty men in ways that promote their authenticity, or they may be marginalizing forces rooted in heteronormativity that limit their ability to flourish. This study provides ways that higher education scholars and leaders can independently and collectively work to improve campus climates for their LGBTQ colleagues so that they can flourish and continue to influence student success. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This qualitative study explored how LGBTQ+ ally teachers understand their ally identity in the context of teaching high school social studies. Specifically, it examined how teachers enacted their ally identity in the informal and informal curriculum through the production of classroom spaces, classroom relationships, queer representation in the curriculum, current events, and engagement in other school spaces such as gender and sexuality alliances (GSAs). This study employed a basic qualitative method to explore and understand the ally identity through the lived experiences and perspectives of ten LGBTQ+ ally teachers in North Carolina and Colorado. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and instructional documents, including teacher-created lessons. The conceptual framework used for this study reflects a hermeneutic relationship between the teacher's identity as a civic educator and their identity as an LGBTQ+ ally. It draws from a critical review of literature on teacher civic identity, curriculum gatekeeping, queer youth civic identity, queer representation in social studies, and LGBTQ+ ally teacher identity. The study found that ally teachers presented a fragmented ally identity through three different stances: ally-work, anti-work, and neutral-work. Each stance represented a different response to homophobia and heteronormativity as well as different classroom experiences for queer and non-queer students. Anti-work primarily worked to protect queer youth by silencing and interrupting homophobia through the policing of non-queer youth. Ally-work empowered queer youth by creating opportunities for critical dialogue in the classroom that examined the systemic nature of homophobia. Neutral-work viewed queer youth as an essentialized at-risk youth and did not explicitly acknowledge homophobia as a cause of bullying. This study discusses a fragmented ally identity shaped by identity choreography and sociocultural discourse. It argues that antiracist teaching can offer a model of less fragmented identity and move the performance of identity from anti-work to ally-work. It also argues that a fragmented ally identity results in a fragmented formal social studies curriculum represented by a tokenized queer representation and normalized queer representation. Various multicultural education models including culturally relevant pedagogy and critical multicultural, as well as attending to intersectional identities of queer youth can move ally teachers from anti-work to ally-work in social studies. Finally, a fragmented identity hinders critical classroom dialogue around homophobia and heteronormativity. Democratic deliberation emerges as a promising discussion model to help ally teachers in performing ally-work with students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation features three pieces of scholarship which showcase and demonstrate an ethic of queerness for engineering education research (EER). The concept of an ethic of queerness is introduced and constructed in Chapter 1 using tenets from the philosophy of pragmatism, systems thinking, critical theory, and the personal and collective experiences of queered communities immersed in normative spaces, such as engineering and engineering education. Chapter 2 is a scoping literature review on the state of research on the LGBTQIA+ engineering student experience compared to other relevant fields, revealing that EER is still nascent on the topic. Chapter 3 leverages arts-based qualitative inquiry to explore the opportunities and limitations of mixed-initiative creative interfaces (MICIs) when used as a tool for self care by queer(ed) subjects. Chapter 4 connects Patricia Hill Collins' insider/outsider paradox framework to recent engineering education research through collaborative autoethnographies, illuminating the ways in which normative, oppressive social discourses are embedded within the EER system. Although Chapters 2-4 feature their own unique methodology and topic of inquiry, they are united through a motivation to deconstruct and re-imagine sociotechnical systems throughout engineering and EER through the lens of radical queerness. Chapter 5 summarizes how each of the prior chapters aligns with queerness as an ethic and explores avenues of future work from this dissertation. More specifically, each chapter represents a way of queering engineering education research methodology through the embrace of ambiguity and ephemerality, particularly with regard to the ways in which the author's subjectivity and relationality to the roles of researcher, student, engineer, and engineering education researcher emerged throughout their doctoral education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Research suggests that there are Queer educators in nearly every school in America (Woog, 1995). With the knowledge that there are Queer educators working within schoolhouses across the nation, it is necessary to understand their experiences in order to close gaps in the literature and to identify implications of the understanding of their experiences. In order to do this, seven Queer educators across the state of Kansas were interviewed, and that interview data was used to identify the findings of this dissertation. Considering how the experiences of Queer educators, who teach in K-12 public schools in Kansas, and how those experiences and identities impact their practice and professional interactions were the goals of this study. By employing a narrative inquiry approach to this research, this dissertation creates an avenue for understanding through storytelling, in that the stories that were told by the participants are gathered and (re)told by the researcher in order to highlight the various narrative threads that give meaning to collective, individual, and varying experiences. The use of Queer Standpoint Theory was used to honor the multiple, fluid, and shifting identities associated with Queer Theory while centering on the Queer identity of the educators as it is locked socioculturally and temporally. Data for this study were collected through the use of responsive interviews (H. J. Rubin & Rubin, 2011) and photo elicitation techniques (Croghan et al., 2008). Data were analyzed and coded for themes in order to explore the various narrative threads that were interwoven between the seven participants. Two themes that are impacted by participants' experiences and identities were identified, solidarity and more work. The first theme was that Queer educator identities and experiences foster solidarity through a variety of methods, which made up five distinct categories. Queer educators demonstrate solidarity through empathy and awareness, relationships with students, signs and symbols, standing up for the underdog, and acting as a role model. This represents how and why the Queer educators demonstrate solidarity through their actions. The second theme was that Queer educator identities and experiences create extra work for Queer educators in five different ways (categories). The extra work is created by standing up for the underdog, acting as a role model, doing extra mental calculations, acting as a spokesperson, and dealing with homophobia and intolerance. This represents the various tasks that are given to Queer educators, or that Queer educators choose to take on themselves, which require them to do extra work that is not expected of their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. These findings are described using a creative nonfiction narrative (Gutkind, 2012). The narrative is composed of the words that were used by the participants during interviews that they completed with the researcher. These individual interviewers were compiled, coded, and then arranged in a narrative that describes a fictional scenario where participants joined each other in a special interest group as part of a professional development session. This scenario did not actually occur, but the opportunity to put the participants in conversation with one another allowed for the various narrative threads, contradictions, and segments to be highlighted and demonstrate findings. A variety of models, experiences, approaches, and sociocultural factors are described within this study. This provides an overview of the context in which this study occurred and allows for further contextualization of the participants' lived experiences as they are (re)told and (re)presented. In addition to the findings of this study, limitations, implications, and areas of future research are also described. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The cross-racial collaborations of Black women and white individuals in the academy are fraught and complex, as their livelihoods are connected to larger socio-political structures and intersecting systems of oppression, namely race and gender (Crenshaw, 1989, 1990). In this study, I engaged in the research alongside three Black women, two white women, and one white genderqueer faculty to uncover their experiences of critical incidents of whiteness in the workplace at Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs). I relied on three critical theoretical frameworks, Intersectionality, Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS), and Critical Human Development Resource Development Theory (CHRD), to comprehensively examine Black women, white women, and white genderqueer reflexivity on their cross-racial collaborations to further explore workplace dynamics in higher education. I employed a critical-constructivist narrative inquiry methodology using three methods: narrative interviews, the critical incident technique (CIT), and timeline drawings. I constructed four themes across the counternarratives of Black women and four themes across the narratives of white women and genderqueer faculty. From the study, I offer considerations for white institutional leaders and faculty to move forward in antiracist and intersectional work in the academy, which includes: (1) Be Bold, Be Humble, (2) Be Intersectionally-Minded: Critical Reflexivity and Action for Change. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This qualitative constructivist grounded theory study used an integrated intersectional lens and Chicana feminist epistemology to examine how nine queer Latina leaders in higher education experienced their racialized and heterogendered positioning within higher education structures, how this shaped the everyday experiences of their work, and how they negotiated their identities to persist and ultimately enact change within their institutional settings. Following the principle of intersectionality theory that the multiple identities of an individual influence the ways they experience and navigate the world (Crenshaw, 1989), and within the context of higher education institutions in this study, the emerging themes included (a) "identity negotiation," (b) "fragmentation," and (c) "heartbreak in leading," and within the context of contesting power within these institutional contexts to enact change, the emerging themes included the (d) "alchemizing of wounds" and (e) "bending," "shifting," "recreating." These emergent theoretical categories of this study illuminated the ways that the queer Latina body, as an archival site--often experiencing fragmentation and struggle--can lend powerful roadmaps of resistance, new ways of being, and healing. These phenomenological realities of navigating multiple power structures from the queer Latina leader standpoint provide rich insight into alternative ways of leading in higher education, especially in the face of institutional resistance within obstinate environments. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to explore the stories and experiences of openly gay Latino males who serve as mid-level administrators in higher education. This study focused on narrative stories of personal and historical context of the participants' intersecting identities that have implications for their daily interactions in an institutional environment. This study is significant in four ways. First, In the United States, gay Latinos have been subject to social oppression, invisibility, and misrepresentation throughout history. This lack of recognition and support stifles gay Latinos the ability to develop a sense of belonging. Narrative inquiry was used to increase awareness of the lived experiences of gay Latinos as administrators in higher education and gives them an opportunity to share their experiences. The key findings from the participants' narratives were the influences of family expectations, support systems, fear of discrimination or homophobia, and lack of representation in higher education. The struggles and achievements from these stories are valuable and can raise visibility for more inclusive leadership practices, mentorship, and equitable policies in higher education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study explored the experiences of Black Queer women working in higher education and how these women navigated the challenges associated with their multiple marginalized identities. This study further highlights the impact of these challenges on these women as marginalized employees, as well as their recommendations for higher education leadership. Black Queer women in higher education are hyperinvisible (Brassel, et al., 2020; Brown, 2021; Jones, 2006; Miles, 2012). Much of the current literature discusses both Black women and Queer women; however, it is uncommon to find studies investigating women whose intersectional identities are also Black and Queer. Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the workplace experiences of ten Black Queer women in higher education. Participants submitted photos, as well. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to code data to understand their lived experiences. Four major themes emerged, with corresponding subordinate themes. Findings show that Black Queer women experience challenges and stress associated with emotional labor, being overworked, isolated, tokenized, and engaging in respectability politics. Recommendations are that higher education leadership use resources to hire and compensate more Black Queer women, facilitate safe spaces to foster belonging, create unique professional development opportunities, and acknowledge Black Queer women's contributions as a way to encourage authentic voices. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The research aims to discover marginalization within Black Greek Letter Fraternities (BGLFs) through the lens of duly initiated members who identify as same-gender-loving. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of masculinity among duly initiated BGLF members who are same-gender-loving (SGL). This qualitative study utilizes a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of five to ten SGL BGLF members; this study will also provide a versatile and detailed account of the perceptions and experiences of masculinity in BLGFs. Moreover, this study will build on the existing pool of research about BGLFs, hegemonic masculinity, homophobia, and anti-homophobic bias present within these societies giving a chance to allow same-gender-loving members of BGLFs' voices to be heard. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation aims to elucidate that current school-based mental health services need a more LGBTQI+ affirmative stance to counter and disrupt the heteronormativity, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia that LGBTQI+ students regularly encounter at school. Many LGBTQI+ students continue to be harassed, bullied, and discriminated against; school-based mental health providers must be knowledgeable about the protective factors and risks that contribute to the safety and mental health of LGBTQI+ students. School psychologists and other school-based mental health providers need to be prepared to support the unique needs of their LGBTQI+ students. The unique challenges that LGBTQI+ students experience directly affect their mental health, their overall well-being, and their school performance. This dissertation utilized an extended literature review approach to explore the unique experiences of LGBTQI+ students in K-12 and why it is imperative that school-based mental health providers adopt an affirmative stance when working with students who identify as LGBTQI+. School-based mental health providers are encouraged to incorporate Minority Stress Theory in their counseling practices by using an LGBTQI+ affirmative stance, supported by psychodynamic and object relations theory as a clinical framework to deliver mental health interventions. Based on this comprehensive literature review, it is recommended that a professional development series be created for school-based mental health providers that focus on LGBTQI+ mental health in middle and high schools. There continue to be significant gaps in knowledge regarding the educational paths of LGBTQI+ students, despite increased research on LGBTQI+ issues. Educational researchers must continue to grow the body of knowledge regarding how to support LQBTQ+ students in school settings. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this study was to identify and explore how curricula in queer studies at Community College of the Bay (CCB) reflect and ignore the lived experiences of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (QTBIPOC) by engaging queer studies students as co-researchers in virtual participatory action research (VPAR). This research utilized the frameworks of Queer of Color Analysis (QOCA) (Ferguson, 2004; McCready, 2013), critical whiteness (Baldwin, 1984; Du Bois, 1903), anti-oppressive education (Kumashiro, 2001), and intersectional theory (Crenshaw, 1989), to examine the experiences of QTBIPOC within queer studies in community college classrooms. The following meta-question guided this research: "How do students describe their experiences in queer courses at CCB?" The data sources included self-reflective VPAR journals by each of the 12 co-researchers, 15 interviewee transcripts, demographic surveys, assignments, and the Final: VPAR Paper and Reflection. A significant finding in this VPAR study was identifying examples of whiteness in queer studies along with ways to disrupt white privilege. Even when race is not explicitly addressed, it is still being reinforced (Kumashiro, 2002). We see this through the interrogation of white privilege and whiteness assessed in our study. For example, Myung-Soon critiqued that the institution of education is still "a white system," he named the need to have fewer white cismale readings in curricula and therefore stated the need for more QTBIPOC authors in the curricula. Caius appreciated how her queer studies courses at CCB went beyond the "queer white perspective." Another vital finding was the explicit requests for more inclusion of QTBIPOC histories and experiences in queer studies showcasing an example of how queer studies can improve. Myung-Soon, Caius, Edilberto, and Gohan provided examples of colonial erasure connected to their racial identity. Our VPAR study assessed the need for engaging in the rediscovery of histories thought to be lost entirely. Lastly, another important finding of this study was the importance of centering intersectional theory in queer studies, and that race cannot be separated from intersectional theory. To surmise, after collecting and analyzing all the data to answer the question posed in the title of this dissertation, "What's race got to do it?" simply put, the answer is everything. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Having same-sex parents is often linked with negative effects to the well-being of children into their adult years. The reported experiences from teenagers with same-sex parents and the stressors they experience are next to nonexistent. For this study, an interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted to understand how teenagers age 13-16 make meaning of their same-sex parents' relationship and the stressors they experience. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the collaborative language system (CLS) of Anderson and Goolishian. The researcher investigated the perceptions of four teenaged participants regarding their relationships with their same-sex parents and how they coped with the stressors they experience as a result of their parents' same-sex relationship. As teenagers living with same-sex parents, these teens shared how they define their parents' same-sex relationship to be and the stressors they experienced as a result of their parents' same-sex relationship. While these teens were able to navigate through their lived social experiences, through positive relationships, and self- acquired coping skills, implications for further research still exist with regard to fostering practices that create an environment for teens with same-sex parents to be able to use open expression and discuss effective ways of coping with their stressors. Future research is recommended to conduct comparison studies that would include the similarities or dissimilarities between the lived experiences of teenagers living with different-sex and same-sex parents and how the different relationships are defined, and the stressors experienced as a result of their parent's relationship. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Many previous studies have focused on the aggressive homophobic discrimination and harassment that LGBTQ students face on college campuses, as well as measures taken to improve their situation. However, few studies have explored the unique forms of sexual and racial discrimination encountered by Black male homosexual and bisexual college students (BMHBCS). Using intersectionality and queer theory as guiding philosophies, this study looks at how BMHBCS--being Black, male, and nonheterosexual--are subject to oppression at multiple levels of identity and in ways that are unique as regards the overall LGBTQ community. To accomplish this goal the study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach utilizing a comprehensive survey to glean firsthand information from BMHBCS as regards their experiences of sexual discrimination and harassment on campus (SDHC) and racial discrimination and harassment on campus (RDHC), as well as well as the support they use to address these experiences. Survey results showed the majority of BMHBCS do experience SDHC and RDHC, that SDHC and RDHC cause their academic performance to suffer, that they tend to seek support off-campus, perceive campus as hostile, conceal their sexual orientation on campus, lack support from family or church, and seek out peer support more than professional support. The study results reveal the need to address SDHC and RDHC in ways that would improve the mental health, social well-being, academic performance, and overall academic experiences of BMHBCS. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Colleges and universities are recognizing the deficient representation of minoritized faculty. In response to the growing number of minoritized students and the desire to provide a more diverse experience to all students in higher education, institutions have created many programs and initiatives to attract and hire a more diverse faculty (Wilson, 2016). Research has provided much evidence on the experiences of many minoritized faculty but has failed to examine the experiences of sexual minority Christian faculty. In this qualitative study, I investigated the lived experiences of sexual minority Christian faculty at Midwestern public institutions. The study sought to answer the following research questions: What are the lived experiences of sexual minority Christian faculty working at Midwestern public institutions of higher education? Does the identity of sexual minority Christian faculty influence their pedagogy, institutional and departmental identity, student engagement and other areas of faculty work? Utilizing interviews and a phenomenological approach, I sought to gather new information on the essence of being a sexual minority Christian faculty member and how the intersectionality of those identities manifests itself in their work. Five faculty members who identified as sexual minority Christian faculty met the criteria of the study and agreed to participate. Based on the findings of this study, the essence of being a sexual minority Christian faculty member at a Midwestern institution is nuanced with experiencing a wide array of institutional acceptance both from inside and outside of their department and college. For most, but not all, being a sexual minority is a more salient identity than their identity as a Christian, but through attributive strategic self-disclosure, they most often present that identity on campus through mention of their spouses or partners without hesitation in everyday conversation. However, they all acknowledge the necessity -- when not in the safe-haven of academia -- to continually evaluate their openness and language during conversations with strangers. Most of the participants sought involvement in a Christian congregation, but all of those who did, had experiences of marginalization and feeling "less than." While most of these experiences were not overt discriminatory actions or disparagements, they still impacted how the participants viewed the church. Those who had ultimately become involved an open and affirming congregation felt accepted and relieved. Involvement in open and affirming congregations was immensely satisfying to those who chose such involvement. The findings of this study have the potential to assist campus administrators in examining the climate of their institution, colleges and departments to identify ways to develop more inclusive and welcoming environments for sexual minority Christian faculty members. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Over the past few decades, a growing number of same-sex parents have joined school communities nationwide as their children reached school age (Byard, Kosciw, & Bartkiewicz, 2013). The already large and growing population of LGBQT parent-headed families necessitates the need for educators to examine the ways anti-LGBQT bias and behavior permeate the schooling experience of children who have same-sex parents. The children of these families can conceivably spend seven to 11 years of their lives in an elementary school setting. If schools in the United States have the responsibility of maintaining equitable classrooms and operating in diverse environments, especially an environment that now has legalized same-sex marriage, then the perceptions of same-sex family's schooling experience should be explored. This phenomenological study considered the lived experience of women who partner with women, and particularly their experiences raising elementary school-aged children. This study sought to examine how the elementary school experience is, or is not, reflective of a supportive school environment, broad curriculum, and allowed for parental participation in the activities of the school. Data was gathered from observation of personal interaction and semi-structured interviews with seven women from suburban and metropolitan areas in the Midwest. As a result, nine common themes emerged from the data analysis. Findings revealed that a parent's impression of the school principal and school staff is fundamentally important to feelings of inclusion. All participants expressed the need for school administrators to examine current systems in place that may be offensive to the non-traditional family unit. Participants maintained that curriculum resources are not inclusive of all types of families. Finally, the findings of this study call for an examination of how personal bias works in tandem with institutional structures to perpetuate inequity across family's experiences with elementary schools. This study concludes with implications and recommendations for schools to reflect on current practice in relation to same-sex parent's experiences in the elementary school setting. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

For couples, the intimate relationship between partners is one of the most influential in adult life. Couples and relationship education (CRE) intends to provide contextual knowledge and to facilitate the growth of relationship skill sets. However, current CRE programming is largely heteronormative, relying primarily on male/female relationship dyads. Little CRE research focuses on the experiences of gay men in later stages of their lives, despite sweeping social and legal changes such as marriage equality nationwide in the United States. This phenomenological investigation sought a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of gay male baby boomers who have participated in adult education programs which focus on the health and maintenance of long-term, romantic partnerships. Participants revealed the need for CRE with gay male baby boomers to be more sensitive to a variety of unique compatibility issues, including the extent to which each partner is out and individual sexual identity development. Participants also experienced most existing CRE material as appropriate for use with same-sex couples. However, their lived experiences emphasized specialized considerations related to historical trauma such as the AIDS crisis, previous heterosexual marriages while closeted, chronic social stigma, and the significance of being a trailblazer for LGBTQ civil rights. Recommendations for research and practice in CRE and adult education are provided. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Researchers have identified numerous benefits to LGBTQ+ individuals who choose to disclose their sexual orientation to others, or more colloquially, 'come out'. In the higher education setting, both students and faculty benefit from having 'out' instructors. Yet, instructors may face negative consequences when disclosing their sexual orientation to students, faculty, and administrators. Accredited counselor education programs are expected to recruit and retain diverse faculty and strive for representation in faculty choices (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs [CACREP], 2016). Despite this complex relationship, little research has explored counselor education faulty members' experiences of coming out in their programs. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009), a qualitative research methodology, will be used to examine how individuals make sense of specific phenomenon, or life experiences. This study was conducted to examine the experiences of gay male faculty members coming out to students in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Over the past 20 years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals have made progress in attaining the same basic civil rights as heterosexual individuals. As in other civil rights movements, the college campus has played an important role. The LGBT community participates in academic and campus life, and numerous colleges are developing and supporting an inclusive, safe, and respectful culture. However, bias and prejudice continue to occur. While researchers have studied the repercussions of prejudice, discrimination, and low evaluation scores for LGBT faculty, little research has been done to explore professional identity and activism in LGBT faculty at traditional 4-year universities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how the narratives of LGBT faculty at traditional 4-year universities inform the experience of professional identity and activism. Using social identity theory and the concept of activism as conceptual frameworks, 13 faculty from college campuses across the United States were interviewed. The data were analyzed using NVivo software and hand coding. Ten themes were identified: coming out, identity, gender fluidity, stigmatization, campus climate, blatant prejudice and discrimination, resources, advocacy, responsibility, and positive experiences. Participants described professional identity as being fused with their sexual and social identity and described activism as an obligation. The results of this study will be shared in the scholarly and professional communities to support civil rights, activism, and advocacy for the LBGT community on campuses. Future research is recommended regarding the struggles of coming/being out in the academic workplace, as well as activism for LGBT issues on college campuses. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Teachers bring parts of themselves, among them, gender, age, and race into the classroom. In addition to the routine stress of teaching, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have the added stress of managing the expression of their sexual orientation in the classroom. This study explores the ways in which my own identity as a lesbian influenced my beliefs about teaching, my "pre-active" curricular-instructional decision-making, and my "interactive" curricular-instructional decision-making (Jackson, 1966). A self-study methodology is used to explore these relationships. Data sources include journaling, lesson plan artifacts, student work samples, photographs of my classroom, an observation and critical conversation from a critical friend. An autobiographical sketch and statement of beliefs about teaching and learning also informs the study. Janna Jackson's (2007) stages of coming out, along with Elliot Eisner's (1985) explicit, implicit, and null curriculum provide the analytical frame. The results show that as I went through Janna Jackson's (2007) phases of coming out, my beliefs about teaching and learning through the tools, resources, and classroom environment change to reflect that stage. For instance, once I was out in my classroom, there was more LGBT decor in my class. The findings also indicate my lesbian identity affects the explicit and null more than the implicit curricular-instructional decision-making during the "pre-active" stage of teaching. My lesbian identity affected the implicit and null curriculum more than the explicit curricular-instructional decision-making during the "interactive" stage of teaching. Overall, these findings suggest my lesbian identity and teacher identity are deeply entangled. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The Latino male experience in higher education often assumes a heteronormative masculinity framework without critically considering the experiences of gay Latino men as they negotiate heteronormative and heterosexist spaces within the institutional environment. Internalized masculinity constructs that begin within the familial space, and are shaped by cultural tradition and gender norms, are not complicated in the extant literature to consider the ways masculinity is internalized uniquely in the lives of gay Latino men. This dissertation examines the internalized masculinity constructs of six first-generation Mexican American gay undergraduate men to understand the ways that their internalized masculinity expectations shaped their college experiences. Over the course of two calendar years, participants engaged in a series of in-depth reflective interviews and were asked to consider their upbringings, family lives, social influences, and campus environments to understand the ways they have come to understand and embody masculinity within the campus environment. Utilizing Gloria Anzaldua's "mestiza" consciousness and border theory as the method of theoretical consideration and analysis, the study interrogates the six participant experiences to uncover how they navigated masculinity expectations within the campus setting and how they reconciled their gay identity within heteronormative campus spaces. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The present study sets out to understand the interlocking experiences of undocumented status and queer identities as immigrant young adults pursue higher education degrees in the United States. A framework for future research is presented, which 1) is based on a queer understanding of the construction of legality, 2) posits that a multiply marginalized experience facilitates the development of a particular set of skills, or facultades, that transcend the planes on which they are experienced, and 3) defines sites of queerity, or sites of possibility where gender-nonconformity meets non-heterosexuality meets illegality, as sites of resistance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The advent of the "Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies" (Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2016), the "American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics" (2014), and a more comprehensive emphasis on multiculturalism and social justice (Haskins & Singh, 2015; Ratts, 2009, 2011; Ratts & Pedersen, 2014; Smith & Okech, 2016) within the counseling profession highlight a movement towards examining practices and social identities grounded in a formative understanding of intersectionality. The institutionalization of intersectionality emerges from a longstanding history of feminist scholars (Collins & Bilge, 2016; Hancock, 2016) critiquing misconstrued gaps and revolutionizing the meaning of multiple social identities and social justice movements (Anzaldua, 1987; Collins, 1986, 1990, 2004; Crenshaw, 1989, 1991; hooks, 1981, 1984, 1989; Lorde, 1984; Moraga & Anzaldua, 1983). Although intersectionality has richened the possibilities of social justice praxis, its theoretical connection has been largely absent in the context of empirical investigations. This current study utilized an intersectionality paradigm and methodological strategies of interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009; Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2014) to examine the lived intersectional experiences of privilege and oppression of Queer Men of Color in Counselor Education and Supervision doctoral programs. Three participants were interviewed across nine interviews approximately consisting of 90 minutes in length. Findings indicated six superordinate themes emerging from the data analysis: (a) Multiple Dimensions of Privilege; (b) Multiple Dimensions of Oppression; (c) Context/System; (d) Complexities of Intersections; (e) Critical Incidents/Conflict; and (f) Congruity/Change for the Future. The discussion considers the themes emanating from the participants in light of previous forms of implementation utilizing intersectional approaches. Implications broadly for the counseling profession, the social context of counselor education and doctoral education, and the praxis of pedagogy are explored. Future directions for research and limitations of the study are also explicated. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of gender and sexual orientation on students' perceptions of campus safety and carrying concealed handguns. A comparative research study was used to evaluate the statistical differences on the perceptions of fear of crime and campus carry by gender and sexual orientation. For this study, a total of 275 surveys were completed and used for analysis from students at a medium-sized public university in a rural northeast Texas setting. A review of prior literature found that the current study represents the first study conducted at a singular campus since the State of Texas legalized concealed handguns on college and university campuses, examining students' perceptions of campus safety and concealed handgun carry that focused on gender and sexual orientation. There were significant differences between genders in regards to students' feeling safe after dark on campus and there were significant differences between students' perceptions of feeling safe on their campus based on their sexual orientation. In addition, there were noticeable differences between non-LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) students and LGBTQ students as a result of the Texas state legislature now allowing concealed handgun carry and the likelihood of the students to carry a concealed handgun on campus now that concealed handguns are legal to bring on campus. Violence on college campuses, regardless of the presence of a concealed handgun, is a concern to all those who are connected to the higher education community. This present study contributes to the existing literature by providing a view of what students perceive in regard to campus safety, as it specifically relates to the gender and sexual orientation differences on the legalization of the presence of concealed handguns on campus. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Adjustment to college has been demonstrated to be a multifaceted process with several developmental challenges for young adults entering higher education. As colleges and universities in the United States increase in racial and ethnocultural diversity and as LGBTQ students become more visible on campus, it has become crucial to cater support services and interventions to their specific needs. This study used archival data to examine the relationships between gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, risk and resilience factors, and college adjustment in a sample of treatment-seeking students at four-year institutions nationwide. The data were analyzed using three three-way multivariate analyses of variances (MANCOVAs). The results indicated that cisgender men have poorer adjustment than cisgender women and that heterosexual persons have poorer social and personal-emotional adjustment than gay, lesbian, and bisexual students. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer/questioning students also displayed higher risk factors than their heterosexual peers. Finally, these differences in adjustment between demographics were mediated when risk and resilience factors were added. The findings of this study may inform theories of adjustment, college administration practices, and clinical practice. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The three articles in this dissertation explore in-service educator learning through participatory approaches, with an aim toward equity in education. Combining sociocultural theories of learning as increasing participation within social and cultural practices (Gutierrez, & Rogoff, 2003), and the political commitments of participatory action research (Strand et al., 2003), I hope to contribute to discussions on approaches to teacher education which center equity and justice. The articles in this dissertation demonstrate that participatory approaches can support educators at different levels throughout the system- within a single school and with leaders across states. Participatory approaches to inquiry, with the intentional use of mediational tools, can support shifts in educators' "research use" (Weiss, 1979), "equity literacy" (Gorski & Swalwell, 2015), and "practice-linked identities" (Nasir & Hand, 2008). While national political discourse focuses on standardization, it is crucial to consider how education research can support educator learning, agency, and action. Participatory approaches to teaching and learning can shift the focus to collaboration, inquiry, and community: ingredients to work toward social change. In the first article, "Going on a Statewide Listening Tour: Involving Education Leaders in the Process of Research to Enhance the Practical Value of Qualitative Research," my colleagues and I illustrate how researchers can design for practitioners' research use by involving education leaders in the process of conducting qualitative research. We found that science leaders became more engaged with research findings from their own collaborative research projects than from other sources, and that engaging in participatory research enhanced the practical value of the research. In the second article, "From Fiction to Action: Queer Reading for Educator Equity Literacy," I explore how educators utilized a queer reading lens to discuss young adult (YA) novels; data from a discussion about the popular YA novel "Every Day" by David Levithan showed how they engaged in a process of becoming literate to the structures and systems that maintain inequity. And in the third article, "Educator as Ally: Developing Identity Resources Through Collaborative Inquiry," I share illustrative cases which demonstrate how educators began to shift their actions as their identities expanded, through allying with students and colleagues. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) collegiate athletes have historically faced discrimination and homophobia. Since 2011, LGBTQ student-athletes report affirming experiences after coming out as a new generation of accepting students enter college. Despite this progress, many LGBTQ athletes remain in the closet, due in part to the lack of enforcement of policy and best practice recommendations set forth by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for inclusion of LGBTQ student-athletes. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to understand how former student-athletes describe LGBTQ athlete inclusion on NCAA sport teams in comparison to NCAA best practice and policy recommendations, and how inclusion develops informally in the absence of formally adopted inclusion policies. Implementation of the policy and best practice recommendations varied. Inclusive teammates were differentiated from non-inclusive teammates based on their upbringing and religious beliefs, comfort level, and level of exposure to LGBTQ individuals. Participants described supportive teammates, equitable treatment, and LGBTQ and straight ally leaders as contributors to the development of inclusion. Inclusion developed in spite of the presence of homonegative language. This research contributes to scholarship and practice an understanding of how inclusion develops on the sport team level. An understanding of how inclusion develops on NCAA sport teams can contribute to more proactive inclusion initiatives. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the influence of collegiate experiences of non-heterosexual African American males (AAMs) on their retention and persistence. Eight non-heterosexual AAMs participated in interviews where they described their college experiences and their perceived impact on their retention and persistence. The men all identified as African American, were gay or bisexual, and ranged from a 2nd year freshman to a doctoral student. It was found that interactions with peers, faculty, and staff positively influenced the retention and persistence of non-heterosexual AAMs. The men also identified barriers and challenges in their collegiate experience that they felt influenced their retention and persistence. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

In the world of Division I intercollegiate athletics, much remains to be understood about self-identified lesbian student-athletes' experiences, educational practices, and conditions that promote their development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the academic and sport experiences of self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes in the United States. In addition, the study aimed to understand how strategies used by lesbian Division I student-athletes helped establish or increase the level of comfortability and inclusivity within both environments. The research questions that guided this study were as follows: (1) How do self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes experience their higher education academic environment? (2) How do self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes experience their sport environment? and (3) How do strategies used by self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes help establish or increase the level of comfortability and inclusivity within academic and sport environments? The underlying theoretical perspectives used in this study were interpretivism and phenomenology due to the study's nature of understanding how participants experienced their academic and sport environments as lesbian Division I student-athletes. Data were gathered through semi-structured phenomenological interviews and document analysis then analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis in order to most accurately capture the essence of the participants' academic and sport experiences. Three themes emerged from data analysis: (1) Self-Acceptance: Background of Support; (2) Visibility of the LGBTQ Community; and (3) Sense of Belonging. These themes encapsulated the full range of experiences in academic (i.e., interactions with faculty members, support staff, students, and experiences in the classroom and on campus) and sport (i.e., interactions with teammates, coaches, administrators, and experiences during team and athletic-related events) environments as well as strategies used to establish or increase the level of comfortability and inclusivity within both environments. The experiences of the participants provided implications for practice so as to further establish and sustain environments of acceptance and respect so inclusion is the norm, not the exception. These recommendations for resource development in Division I collegiate academic and sport environments continues the aim to make higher education a growingly accepting and respectful space for lesbian student-athletes to thrive academically and athletically. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Leadership experiences of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual (LGB) school superintendents of Color were explored in this dissertation. All LGB superintendents in recent research were White; this finding, along with literature on LGB identity, race and ethnicity, discrimination, and educational leadership, provided context for two research questions about how LGB superintendents of Color experience being leaders and being stigmatized. Critical race and queer theories provided the theoretical framework for the study. Semi-structured, in-person interviews, observations, and demographic data were compiled in a phenomenological approach to examine leadership experiences of the superintendents. Five current and former superintendents and assistant superintendents were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling from the U.S. Northeast and Pacific Coast regions. Participants included one African American gay male, one Asian American bisexual female, one Asian American gay male, and two Latinx gay males. Following thematic analysis, primary findings about the leadership experiences included the following themes: leadership, sexual identity, ethnic identity, stigmatization, and support. In the theme of leadership, while experiencing some discrimination, superintendents did not operate in a climate of fear; and, in the theme of ethnic identity, ethnic or racial identity maintained a greater influence on leadership than sexual identity. Participants provided a contrast to constraints of heteronormative expectations while delivering out queer leadership. Due to resilience from race and ethnicity and protection provided by location, the superintendents effectively managed issues of LGB identity in school leadership. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Heteronormative public schools have created barriers to lesbian educational leaders. This qualitative study examined: How do lesbian educational leaders navigate their professional and private lives? How has their sexual identity affected their career trajectories? Additional questions guiding this study follow: How do gender policies and politics affect their personal and professional relationships? How has institutionalized heterosexism and homophobia in their school district affected their performance as educational leaders? How has being a lesbian affected their career trajectory? In-depth interviews with lesbian educational leaders in both rural and suburban school districts in Virginia were conducted to explore these questions. Findings suggest being a lesbian is a part of the whole person; believing that in order to be an effective educational leader, authentic leadership is important; the importance of being a role model for students, especially those dealing with questions concerning their sexual identity; and participants' sexuality had some impact on their career trajectory. This study adds to the current research by providing insight into lesbian educational leader's experiences. With the political climate changes in Virginia and throughout the United States, acceptance of lesbians will increase. Currently, there are still prejudice and bias against lesbians in Virginia public schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This qualitative study focused on finding the strategies that Latino gay/queer students used to help them navigate the intersection of their marginalized identities during college. The counter stories of 15 participants offered profound, intimate experiences that provided answers to how Latino gay/queer students managed their intersectionality on campus. Latino gay/queer students faced different types of marginalization that included microaggressions and stereotypes, homophobia and heteronormativity, not feeling Latinx enough, and some campus spaces being "too White." Key findings indicated that co-curricular activities empowered Latino gay/queer students to manage these challenges by finding "comunidad", self-policing, creating counter-spaces, engaging in activism, and using microaffirmations. Another key finding highlighted how Latino gay/queer students became more self-aware of their intersectional identities through involvement in co-curricular activities. The counter stories of participants in this study allowed for a deeper understanding of how co-curricular activities supported and empowered Latino gay/queer students. These counter stories were analyzed through the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality, the reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity, and disidentification. Their collective counter stories challenge the dominant narrative and inform higher education institutions about the impact of co-curricular activities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Currently, a gap exists in the research on gay and lesbian students in community colleges. In this qualitative study, I examine experiences of gay and lesbian students in a rural, Midwestern community college. The literature review consists of a review of gay and lesbian student emergence in higher education, coming out, the relationship between sexuality and rurality, and a brief overview of two of the first sexual identity models. This qualitative design incorporates primarily phenomenological and narrative research. Data collection includes narratives from the interviews with nine community college student participants. Data from the participant narratives is organized under four major themes: participant demographics, coming out, campus experiences, and suggestions for campus administrators. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

For this study, I explored how Washington State University's Composition Program might further equip faculty to address the relationships of language, knowledge, and power--specifically as connected to whiteness, normativity, and colonization--within a composition class. Much scholarship within rhetoric and composition addresses these relationships in a theoretical sense (Alexander & Rhodes, 2011; Smitherman, 2015; Villanueva, 1997, 2004). Some additional scholarship discusses how individual scholars apply these theories to their classrooms (Alexander & Rhodes, 2014; Driskill, 2015; Gubele, 2015; Perryman-Clark, 2015). However, almost no scholarship discusses how to further equip teachers to address issues of language and power at the programmatic level. This programmatic piece is crucial, as otherwise individual teachers committed to this work are potentially left to address language, knowledge, and power on their own, a task that places the largely contingent workforce of first-year composition teachers in a precarious position. This project builds on the current theoretical and pedagogical scholarship to address the preparation and professional development of composition teachers program-wide. Because there is a clear need to address the relationships between language, knowledge, and power at a programmatic level, I utilized a participatory action research methodology that allowed me to work collaboratively with experienced composition teachers at WSU. Together, we 1) studied the ways our program might further equip teachers to teach the relationships among language, knowledge, and power; and 2) took action steps toward improving this preparation at the programmatic level so all teachers may engage in this work. We therefore asked the following action research question: How can the WSU Composition Program further equip all teachers in the program to teach the relationships among language, knowledge, and power? As we examined these relationships, we were also cognizant of how writing itself can reinforce racist, colonial, and normative practices (Alexander & Rhodes, 2011; Kynard, 2015; Villanueva, 1997, 2004)--even as composition teachers attempt to enact liberatory, critical pedagogies in the classroom. Because I chose to examine--and hopefully help disrupt--composition's complicity in dominant discourse, I intentionally turned to critical race theory, decolonial scholarship, and queer theory as the theoretical framework that guided this project. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to understand the narratives of gay male individuals who identify as Christian. Although some researchers have focused on conducting studies on religious topics and others on various aspects of the LGBTQ community, there remains a paucity of research that has examined the intersection of these elements for the field of counseling and their implications. Of the limited studies conducted in this combined area, most studies are conceptual in nature or based in quantitative research approaches. The rationale for this study was to capture the narratives of gay males who are Christian and discover themes through the analysis of semi-structured interviews. Therefore, the researcher sought to answer, "What are the narratives of gay males who have a Christian religious identity?". The participants were eight adult males who self-identified as gay, male, and Christian. A narrative analysis was conducted in order to gain, understand, and analyze salient narratives from participants. From this understanding gained through the participants' narratives, better programming, support, and educational opportunities all related to the professional field of counseling can be generated for gay Christian males. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

LGBTQ representations in media and novels, especially in young adult (YA) literature, have become more recurrent and reliable in recent years. While little research exists on youth and transgender stories, existing LGBTQ texts predominantly deal with men, chiefly White gay men (Cart & Jenkins, 2006; Garcia, 2013). To address this imbalanced representation of the LGBTQ community, this study explored how perceptions and attitudes of online readers and youth participants toward LGBTQ themes can lead to greater awareness, discussion, and reflection. The study also explored the transformative potential of online graphic novels as a medium for democratic education and for teaching high school students how to live together despite differences and diverse backgrounds. To this end, I focus on three main theoretical frames and influences: 1) the reciprocity of reading and the possibilities of critical thinking; 2) sociological imagination and an "as if" world that literature makes possible to indirectly experience the other side of stories; and 3) ideological becoming and transformative learning. This study was conducted in two stages. First, I used critical multicultural analysis for analyzing the webtoon "Welcome to Room 305." Second, a narrative inquiry case study approach was used to analyze a sample of reader comments, focus group data, and participant observations to address attitudes, beliefs, and development in "becoming" through reading. From these analyses, three key themes emerged: 1) silenced voices--the voices of insiders; 2) seeing other ways of being and behaving--the voices of outsiders and 3) the participants' sense of community. The findings of the study also indicated that there exist potential benefits to online graphic novels with challenging issues, not only from building emotional connections with characters and other readers but also from the facilitation of democratic discourse among readers. The study further reinforces the unique characteristic of online graphic novels that allowed readers from distant places to connect and share their thoughts and feelings by building a community-like atmosphere. This research, then, offers implications for practice, engaging reluctant teachers with LGBTQ issues as well as three areas for future research. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the unique sexual and religious identity development of sexual minorities who attend evangelical Christian institutions of higher education. Although research exists on sexual identity development and religious identity development, scant research exists as to how these developmental areas interact in sexual minorities who attend evangelical institutions of higher education. The research questions that were answered in this study included the following: How do sexual minority students at evangelical Christian institutions of higher education develop a sexual identity and make choices about sexual expression? How do sexual minority students at evangelical Christian institutions of higher education develop a religious identity? How do these two developmental areas interact in this population? Four individuals who identified as sexual minorities were interviewed for this study. Interviews were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis to understand the lived experiences of the participants. The data analysis led to the following emergent themes: "evangelical beliefs/narratives about homosexuality," "new understanding of faith," "current faith development," "the closet," "coded language," "community," "romantic relationships," "current meaning of sexual identity," "intersectional identities," "evangelical college culture," "vigilance," "advocacy," and "academic/artistic expression." These themes highlighted how inextricably linked are sexual and religious identity development in this population. Also highlighted were how the individuals resolved their identity conflict with great difficulty but also as empowered changed agents. Clinical and educational applications of the research were also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

In secondary schools in the United States, youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or queer (LGBTQ) encounter unwelcoming and unsafe, if not outright hostile, climates, experiences which lead to negative outcomes, both personal and academic. However, school-based supports such as supportive adults, GSA clubs, and LGBT-inclusive curricula have been associated with lower levels of victimization and higher levels of academic attainment. Yet, there is limited empirical research on LGBT-inclusive curriculum and its concomitant pedagogy, particularly studies that examine time periods beyond a single lesson or unit, feature more than a single text, explore a range of sexual and gender identities along with intersectionality, and take a situated approach on criticality. In this study I strive to speak to these gaps. During the 2016-2017 academic year, I conducted a literacy ethnography at Harrison High School, an urban comprehensive public high school with a diverse student population in a Midwestern city. I drew on a range of theoretical perspectives that foregrounded sociocultural dynamics to understand literacy and activism as situated phenomena shaped by power relations. Utilizing an ethnographic logic-of-inquiry, I primarily constructed data through being a participant observer in the English language arts courses of one adult teacher Ms. Abby and the GSA (Genders and Sexualities Alliance) club she advised. Data included fieldnotes, audio and video recorded classroom lessons and GSA meetings, documents (such as curricular texts and youth writing), and interviews with youth, adult teachers, and adult administrators. Drawing from this broader ethnography, I focus on youth's queer-focused activism in a sophomore humanities course that combined English language arts and social studies. In the course, youth enacted queer-focused activism as they took up roles as pedagogues in queer-inclusive literacy events. While commonly in educational literacy scholarship adults are assumed exclusively to hold this role, in the sophomore humanities classroom youth did so too. Their activism was inherently pedagogical in that they focused on teaching people alternative literacy practices, including ways of reading, writing, knowing, interacting, and being. In their pedagogy, they blended literacy practices that were school-sanctioned and practices beyond, such as conflict. In doing so, they exhibited literacy dexterity and innovation. Moreover, they held people accountable for their use and learning of literacy practices. Throughout their activist pedagogy, youth navigated epistemic tensions and vulnerabilities, both of which related to their (in)visibility as particular identities. This study provides insight into the complex relationship between the presence of LGBT-inclusive curricula and the school climate. It also suggests ways that adults who teach literacy might reshape their own pedagogical practices by approaching youth literacy knowledges and practices as resources for transforming cisheteronormative schools. Such practices include approaching knowledge as situated, dialogic, and humanizing; valuing conflict and heterogeneity as learning resources; and collaboratively holding people accountable for literacy learning based on the impact of their use of reading and writing. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Stereotype discrimination affects female athletes' athletic experiences. Studies have been conducted of former collegiate female athletes' perceptions of the lesbian stereotype found that they were discriminated against because of their sport participation. These limit the recalling of thoughts and experience from the female athletes' playing days. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine how stereotype discrimination affects current collegiate female athletes' athletic experiences. A qualitative case study was used for this research because it will aid in the understanding of this complex social phenomenon. Participants consisted of female student-athletes, their coaches, and the athletic directors at a rural, Midwestern, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics institution who volunteered to take part in the study. Results showed that female athletes were greatly affected by the stereotype discrimination of their male counterparts being better athletes and by the lesbian label. The anger and defensiveness caused a negative affect in their athletic participation, as well as their mental well being from having to internalize the discrimination. These athletes were affected in many ways, but their performance and mental health are two main areas of concern. Recommendations for future research in stereotype discrimination and collegiate athletics is needed to help end this discrimination of female athletes and promote a more positive collegiate playing experience for them. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

As the education system turns its attention to climate, bullying, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) issues in the classroom, there is a focus on developing our student population abilities to be more accepting and tolerant of diversity. This study explored how ten students, aged 16-17, interacted with virtual literacy events on www.fanfiction.net, and how that contributed to their refinements in understandings, perspectives, actions and tolerance of diversity, particularly as it related to LGBT teens and bullying, as demonstrated in original writing as well as in commentaries and responses to other writers. As these teenagers wrote about LGBT topics in their published writing, interacted with other participants through their reviews/online messaging, and read other fan fiction stories focused on LGBT bullying storylines, it allowed participants to have ongoing and emerging understandings of LGBT issues in an anonymous, virtual space. This study explored how the participants navigated the www.fanfiction.net site, within a virtual fan fiction community devoted to the television program "Glee," which features LGBT bullying plots. The study participants wrote original stories and published them on the site, followed other fan fiction authors, and actively read/reviewed stories on these topics. The norms of this virtual community discourages negative commentary, while favoring interactions that encourage writers, creating an affinity space that participants described as welcoming and supportive as they explored LGBT topics that might be perceived as offensive in the real world. With case studies on the three most prolific writers, this research demonstrates the diverse backgrounds, interests, and writing styles of fan fiction participants, even with writing focused on the same television show, and allows the reader to delve into what the experience of interacting on the site is like from the writer's perspective. In analyzing all participant data, I found that literacy transactions on the fan fiction website allowed for participants' ongoing and emerging understandings of LGBT issues, the anonymity of the website created a safe space which allowed for exploration of LGBT topics, and the positive acceptance of LGBT storylines during interactions on www.fanfiction.net gave opportunities to further explore LGBT issues/themes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation examines the information practices of individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+). It responds to two significant problems in current Library and Information Science (LIS) studies examining these populations. First, there exist a paucity of research studying how these individuals act toward and interact with information related to their LGBTQ+ identities. Second, extant research focuses on almost exclusively on gay and lesbian sexualities, imposing a liminal, psychological model of identity development on these actions and interactions. This imposition results in a myopic view of the unique issues, concerns, barriers, and achievements of individuals with LGBTQ+ identities, often imposed by those outside these identities. To address these problems, this dissertation adopts a constructionist methodology, which envisions individuals as theorists within their own information worlds. A qualitative research design consisting of inductive and deductive data collection and analysis supports this methodology. Findings are triangulated by comparison between two data sources -- semi-structured interviews with 30 individuals identifying as LGBTQ+ between the ages of 18 and 38, and web scraping of Question-Best Answer pairs from the LGBT thread of Yahoo! Answers. Both data sources capture participant accounts of how their information practices are shaped by sociocultural context and individual agency, as well as how online technologies, namely social media sites and search engines, afford and constrain these information practices. Key findings advance an information practices approach, which purports the importance of sociocultural context in shaping how individuals act toward and interact with information. Employing this approach uncovers a litany of practices important to individuals with LGBTQ+ identities beyond needs, seeking, and use. Instead, practices encompass the gamut of human experience, whether such experience is produced by intersubjective understanding, or garnered by an individual's responses to such understanding. Nor can information be considered as formal, recorded sources, passively consumed. Rather, participants' preferred information sources are often unsanctioned, embodied, and emotional. Participants want to know what it is like to adopt an identity, fraught with visibility and questions of what constitutes authentic practice. They value information to address this need derived from their own embodied knowledge as well as from those with similar knowledge. Further, many participants need to address these desires and values within information landscapes that visibly disrupt or deny the legitimacy of their existences. Thus, envisioning a resource, such as a book as instrumental to one's LGBTQ+ identity development only holds if supported by an individual's sociocultural context. For these reasons, this research introduces a new lens via its conceptual framework from which to interrogate the assumptions of past research and integrate a sociocultural perspective to both information and how individuals, seek, share, use, avoid, mistrust, etcetera, information. In terms of online technologies, research findings denote the importance of search engines and social media sites to participants when engaging in information practices related to their LGBTQ+ identities. Key affordances of online technologies include connecting participants to similar others, allowing participants to engage in embodied practices, accessing sources that do not go through formal channels of peer production, and facilitating participants' control of what they share about their LGBTQ+ identities and to whom. Key constraints of online technologies include lacking moderation-based features, making visible strategies that erase or stigmatize LGBTQ+ identities, packaging LGBTQ+ identities into monolithic metanarratives, enforcing norms related to authenticity, and collapsing participants' contexts. Whether these technologies represent an affordance or constraint is influenced by how a participant roots them within their own meanings and notions of relevancy. Therefore, online technologies do not provide deterministically good or bad outcomes for individuals with LGBTQ+ identities, but rather these outcomes are shaped by individual experience, sociocultural context, and the material properties of the technologies themselves. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Despite growing literature about LGBTQ populations and prominence of transgender people within popular media, the lives of college students who identify as non-binary/transgender have received little attention, nor in-depth study into their complex lives. This study addressed this lack of literature by inquiring into the ways in which non-binary transgender collegians enacted resistance in response to binary genderism on college campuses and the affective impact it had on them as individuals. I conducted narrative and arts-based inquiry with nine non-binary transgender-identified college students (both undergraduate and graduate level). Through two in-depth interviews focused on their stories and experiences, followed by a photo elicitation and a combined debriefing interview, I investigated the "constellations of feelings" and emotions evoked from resistant behaviors that participants employed. Eight of the nine participants participated in the full set of three interviews and shared photos from their respective campuses and corresponding stories related to the photos. One participant participated in two in-depth interviews. Participants attended different institutions, with different institutional types, and also represented different regions of the United States. Using poststructural and critical theories, primarily affect theory, I synthesized common emotional dispositions (affects) tethered to the process of resistance. Although they shared distinct stories, prevalent affects came through their discourse, behaviors, and feelings that they shared, although these affects differed in relation to the context, objects, people, and their own identities. Affects that I specifically analyzed were unhappiness, anger, ambivalence, despair, and love. This study carries implications for higher education. Namely, I explore affect theory's utility for studying marginalized populations within higher education, love as a means to promote productive resistance, strategies for individuals engaged in resistance and activism, and implications for inclusion of non-binary transgender students on college campuses. I end with a question that I asked participants, and I share one of their responses, which I feel is representative of the direction in which transgender inclusion should consider as the number of transgender people within higher education continues to grow. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

While research makes clear that individuals' gender, racial, and sexual identities and their intersections impact experiences of and responses to sexual and gender-based violence, the literature on college sexual assault prevention programs reflects an overwhelming absence of this type of identity-based program content. This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study explored the experience of sexual assault prevention program trainers for college campuses conceptualizing their program content related to gender, racial, and sexual identity. Through the theoretical framework of Socialization Theory (Hart, 1991), focused attention was given to understanding how trainers' professional and organizational socialization impact this phenomenon. This study's findings make visible the significance of sexual assault prevention program content that focuses on the intersections of sexism, racism, and queerphobia and the challenges and rewards trainers experience in conceptualizing this program content's inclusion and/or exclusion. This study found that while it might appear on the surface that trainers are making simplistic, binary decisions about the inclusion or exclusion of identity-based content, that trainers actually grapple with the complexity of this content and seek nuanced ways to address marginalized and privileged student experiences. This study concludes with contributions to theory and research, and provides implications for practice. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Even though America has seen an increase in the level of acceptance for people who identify as LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming, certain aspects within society continue to hinder their rights, especially within public education. Specifically, there are insufficiencies regarding content of and attitudes toward including LGBTQ issues in teaching and leadership training programs. Add to that, the deficits in most Family Life Education (FLE) programs in elementary schools as they lack adequate coverage of developmentally appropriate teaching and learning about gender and sexuality. Taken together, it remains questionable whether the needs of LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming children can truly be met. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the policy discourse concerning teaching and learning gender and sexuality issues during early childhood at an elementary school in Virginia. Another purpose was to understand how educators perceive developmentally appropriate timing and content for these topics as well. A combination of critical policy analysis and critical advocacy research was utilized to compare and analyze the written policy discourse as presented within Virginia's FLE policy to educators' (teachers, counselors, principals) interpretation and enactment of these written discourses in their classrooms and schools. Findings revealed specific ways the written, spoken, and enacted discourses diverged and coalesced and how these similarities and differences inform future policy and practice. A critical analysis of the written discourses (and silences) suggest Virginia's FLE curriculum and instruction maintains heteronormative undertones, while the spoken and enacted discourses indicates concern for expanding elementary students' understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming children and non-normative family structures. Implications of findings include suggestions for future research and changes in policy and practice that aim to create more inclusive classrooms and schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this collective case study was to discover the decision-making processes used by senior student affairs officers when making wicked decisions related to the retention of specialized, at-risk student populations. Wicked decisions are complex, resistant to resolutions, lead to other problems, and are essentially unique. In this study, decisions related to retention of Black males; students with mental health issues; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer student retention fall within the wicked problem category and were the focus of this study. These decisions are usually the responsibility of divisions of student affairs in higher education settings and the senior student affairs officer. Hence, the senior student affairs officer is tasked with making responsible and effective decisions that foster the success of all students. This dissertation focused on the decision-making processes, practices, and procedures student affairs officers use to support the retention of select special populations served in higher education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Despite recent scholarly interest in college students' spirituality and spiritual development, as well as research indicating that students are interested in spirituality and have a strong desire to integrate spirituality into their lives, few researchers have addressed the spiritual experiences of gay and lesbian college students. Utilizing a phenomenological qualitative approach, I explored the spiritual experiences of nine gay and lesbian college students at two religiously affiliated universities in the southwest region of the United States. The ages of the participants ranged from 19 to 23, with a mean of 21. There were five female, three male, and one gender queer participants. Seven participants identified as white, while the other two participants identified as Hispanic. I identified three major themes related to their lived experience of spirituality: (1) spiritual quest characterized by struggle and pain, (2) finding reconciliation and acceptance, and (3) the importance of support from the university, student groups, friends, and family. Implications for practice included the importance of establishing an official recognized student organization to support gay and lesbian students, creating spaces for personal reflection, meditation, prayer, and solitude as well as safe spaces, the need for educational and outreach programs for faculty, staff, and students, and an evaluation of institutional policies the might negatively impact gay and lesbian students. Suggestions for future research are discussed including the exploration of the impact that faculty members have on students' spiritual growth. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study explores the opinions of 42 California superintendents on the LGBT-inclusive instructional provisions and the implementation needs of the FAIR Education Act with school district enrollment size as a considering factor. Few studies have explored the provisions of the FAIR Education Act inclusive of the instructional approaches to integrating LGBT content in K-12 curricula. None have explored superintendents' opinions on the matter. Results indicated that superintendents of small school district enrollments (less than 1000) were more likely to have the opinion that LGBT-inclusive instruction and the implementation of the FAIR Education Act are unnecessary. The findings also reveal that superintendents of small school districts are more likely than superintendents from middle to large school districts to hold the opinion that LGBT bullying does not occur in schools. This study lays beginning groundwork for further research on the implementation of the FAIR Education Act and LGBT-inclusive instruction in small, medium and large school districts in California. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Using grounded theory methodology to analyze in-depth interviews, participant-taken photographs, and written reflections, this dissertation examines the hometown environments and university experiences of twenty-five gay Latino-identifying college students enrolled at predominantly white institutions in two separate US locations. This study finds that the participants' hometowns influence their ability to explore, develop, and make meaning of the intersection of their sexual and ethnic identities prior to their transition to college and inform the motivations and expectations they have of the college experience. Upon arrival at the university, the participants find themselves in an unwelcoming campus climate and encounter situations that serve as barriers to fulfilling their original expectations of the college experience, including (1) the risk of discrimination and marginalization, (2) the limited ability to disclose sexual orientation, and (3) threats toward participants' self-acceptance and self-worth. In seeking sexuality resource centers and Latino student organizations, the participants realize that the focus of these campus resources lies solely on one aspect of their identities--either sexuality or ethnicity--and that their services and programming do not take into consideration the compounding effects of their identities as gay Latino men. Given that previous work on identity and place has been primarily situated in ecology, environmental psychology, and geography, the findings of this dissertation extend our current understanding of hometown locations as sites of identity development and as social contexts that may be useful in helping us understand what types of challenges gay Latino college students may face in their current environments. Further, the qualitative examination of gay Latino experiences at predominantly white institutions and the benefits of campus resources for marginalized student populations is an important contribution to the literature given the dearth of research that currently exists in these two areas. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The experiences of international students along the lines of race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and nationality are virtually unknown. This study utilizes experience-centered narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of Black gay international students, and how they are racialized and sexualized in American higher education. Using a Queer and Intersectional framework, this study highlighted power structures and processes that continue to marginalize Black gay international students in the U.S. and in their home countries. Their narratives reflected significant moments or events that were important to them and how they understand their identities and realities. This study provides a strong foundation to continue the exploration of the lives of LGBTQ international students. The findings of the study offer the foundation for establishing several conclusions. It is important to note that these findings are specific and could be different if it were four other Black gay international students or varied if they attended other institutions. The findings showed that Black gay international students perform and experience their race and sexuality as connected, even in cases when they experience some dissonance due to negative experiences. The findings of the study included 1) construction of personal counter-spaces produced by resistive performances by participants 2) the problematizing race 3) tensions created by sexuality and 4) the positions within liminal national spaces. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) college students are among the most vulnerable to suicidal ideation and behaviors when compared to both heterosexual college students and other, generally older, members of the LGB community (Oswalt & Wyatt, 2011). Joiner's (2005) interpersonal psychological theory of suicide seems to be a possible framework for conceptualizing suicidal ideation and behaviors for LGB college students. Joiner (2005) posited that perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness are associated with suicidal ideation and that acquired capability is related to suicidal behaviors. With respect to thwarted belongingness, researchers have posited that LGB college students have four primary interpersonal connections, which are to their family, peers, academic institution, and sexual orientation community (Haas et al., 2011). In the present study, I examined whether or not LGB and heterosexual college students differed with respect to their reported levels of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness (i.e., family, peer, academic institution, and sexual orientation community), acquired capability, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviors. I also examined whether or not sexual orientation (i.e., LGB or heterosexual) moderated the relationships between: (a) perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation, (b) the spheres of belongingness (i.e., family, peer, academic institution, and sexual orientation community) and suicidal ideation, and (c) acquired capability and suicidal behaviors. I collected online survey data from 268 undergraduate students (i.e., 100 LGB and 168 heterosexual) and analyzed the data using MANCOVA and invariance testing via a path model. The results suggested that LGB college students may experience higher levels of discrimination as compared to heterosexual participants. Additionally, the results suggested that LGB and heterosexual college students significantly differed with respect to their reported levels of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness (i.e., family, peer, academic institution, and sexual orientation community), suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviors. Specifically, LGB participants exhibited higher levels of perceived burdensomeness, sexual orientation community belongingness, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviors as compared to heterosexual participants. LGB participants exhibited lower levels of family belongingness, peer belongingness, and academic institution belongingness as compared to heterosexual participants. Additionally, the results indicated that the positive relationship between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation was statistically significant for both LGB and heterosexual college students. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the relationship between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation for LGB and heterosexual college students. The results also suggested that sexual orientation moderated the relationships between: (a) family belongingness and suicidal ideation and (b) peer belongingness and suicidal ideation. Specifically, the significant negative relationships between (a) family belongingness and suicidal ideation and (b) peer belongingness and suicidal ideation for LGB participants were not present for their heterosexual peers. The results of the present study have the potential to aid in the development of LGB-specific therapeutic interventions, outreach efforts, educational and advocacy programs, and institutional trainings and policies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]