Andrews, Jac J. W.Luceno, Andrew2019-09-092019-09-092019-09-05Luceno, A. (2019). Creating and Sustaining Safe and Inclusive Spaces for LGBTQ Youth: An Exploratory Investigation of the Role of Educational Professionals (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/110895Recent evidence shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth regularly face hostile school environments. Those hostile environments contribute to making LGBTQ youth increasingly vulnerable to a number of emotional, behavioural, and social problems. Educators can play a critical role in buffering LGBTQ youth from potential victimization. As such, the present study explored the following questions: 1) What are the roles of educators (i.e., teachers, school administrators) with respect to promoting and creating safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ youth; 2) what unique contributions can educators make in nurturing those spaces; and, 3) what barriers do educators face in creating safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ youth? This study used a convergent parallel design mixed-methods approach. Fifty-six educators in Alberta completed an online survey; among those educators, 17 of them self-selected to participate in a semi-structured interview. Descriptive statistics were gathered from survey results; the interview data was analyzed using thematic analysis in order to generate themes relevant to the research questions. Those themes were: 1) Lack of awareness; 2) the use of inclusive language; 3) the role of inclusive curriculum in support of LGBTQ youth; 4) the role of educators as allies; 5) situational factors as barriers to supporting LGBTQ youth; and 6) supporting LGBTQ youth through GSAs. Overall, the results from the present study have future research implications and practical utility for educators and policy-makers.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.LGBTQgaylesbianbisexualtransgendertranssexualqueerquestioningeducatorsteacherssupportadvocacyEducationEducation--Social SciencesEducation--Teacher Trainingmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/36967