Adjusting for perceived school supports and safety eliminates the transgender/non-transgender school connectedness gap and halves mental health, motivation, and middle school performance gaps¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? After statistical adjustment so transgender students perceived schools as equally safe and supportive as non-transgender students, disparities in school connectedness were eliminated and disparities in mental health, academic motivation, and middle school academic performance were reduced by 50 percent. → Hanson 2019 q2 i? School absences and high school academic performance disparities were reduced by between 25 and 30 percent after adjustment. → Hanson 2019

Evidence¶

Hanson 2019¶

Hanson, T., Zhang, G., Cerna, R., Stern, A., & Austin, G. (2019). Understanding the experiences of LGBTQ students in California. San Francisco, CA: WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED601909

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Regression models (OLS or logistic) estimated on CHKS cross-sectional data, with outcomes modeled as functions of gender identity and controls for school supports and safety; adjusted means were compared with unadjusted means.

"disparities in school connect edness are eliminated ; disparities in mental health, academic motivation, and middle school academic performance are reduced by 50 percent ; and disparities in school absences and high school academic performance are reduced by between 25 and 30 percent."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Belonging — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Teacher support is among the strongest predictors of school belonging — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Disparities are not uniform: some gender- and sexual-minority groups report equal or better school experiences than majority peers (e.g., Black transgender students, Cambodian gay/lesbian students) — related
• Equalizing perceived supports and safety would reduce gay/lesbian/bisexual versus straight disparities in connectedness by 90-100 percent and other disparities by half — related
• Across nearly all race/ethnicity groups, transgender high school students report fewer school supports, lower safety, lower motivation, and lower connectedness than non-transgender peers — related
• Transgender, gay/lesbian, bisexual, and 'something else' students report significantly poorer outcomes than non-transgender and straight peers on all 14 measures — related
• Transgender students report substantially fewer school supports than non-transgender peers, especially caring adult relationships and high expectations — related
• After school-wide positive and restorative discipline training, Black-White and LGBTQ-straight differences in perceived bullying converged at one majority-minority school — related