Overcoming school adversity for LGBT+ students

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) students experience significant adversity at school which is often experienced as a hostile environment. This chapter will provide an overview of the key challenges LGBT+ youth experience, including victimisation based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, as well as institutional marginalisation. It will then consider the impacts of such adversities on LGBT+ students’ academic achievement and psychological wellbeing. Finally, interventions for improving LGBT+ students’ experience at school will be discussed. It will be argued that schools have the potential to play an important role in building community resilience not only for students but for the LGBT+ population more broadly.