{"id":{"repo_id":"ucf","oai_identifier":"oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-1677"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ucf/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-1677","repository":{"repo_id":"ucf","name":"Central Florida","base_url":"https://stars.library.ucf.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"A Grounded Theory Study of the Experiences of Gender and Sexually Diverse High School Students: Balancing School Ethos","abstract":"Anti-bullying campaigns and legislation are on the rise, and school districts are fighting in favor of and against various forms of support for gay and sexually diverse (GSD) students, creating very distinct experienced ethoses in their prospective schools. At times, these ethoses stand in direct opposition of the aspirational ethoses of those same schools. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to understand how schools interact with the educational policies in place to create a balanced ethos. This study uses Charmaz*s (2014) constructivist approach to grounded theory methods to answer the following questions: How, if at all, does the aspirational ethos balance with the experienced ethos in high schools for GSD students, and, how, if at all, are schools creating positive high school ethoses for GSD students? Two themes emerged from this study. The first theme, don*t ask, don*t tell, showed that GSD students are often expected to be silent about themselves and their issues. The second theme, policy is just a beginning, revealed that inclusive policy alone is not enough, administration must interact with these policies and GSD students. The findings of this study indicate that for schools to provide a balanced aspirational and experienced ethos for GSD students, these students must be included in the policies, actions, and interactions of the high school. Schools create a positive ethos for GSD students when the balance is achieved. This study has practical and theoretical implications for anti-oppressive educational practices and discourse regarding GSD students.","abstract_html":"Anti-bullying campaigns and legislation are on the rise, and school districts are fighting in favor of and against various forms of support for gay and sexually diverse (GSD) students, creating very distinct experienced ethoses in their prospective schools. At times, these ethoses stand in direct opposition of the aspirational ethoses of those same schools. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to understand how schools interact with the educational policies in place to create a balanced ethos. This study uses Charmaz*s (2014) constructivist approach to grounded theory methods to answer the following questions: How, if at all, does the aspirational ethos balance with the experienced ethos in high schools for GSD students, and, how, if at all, are schools creating positive high school ethoses for GSD students? Two themes emerged from this study. The first theme, don*t ask, don*t tell, showed that GSD students are often expected to be silent about themselves and their issues. The second theme, policy is just a beginning, revealed that inclusive policy alone is not enough, administration must interact with these policies and GSD students. The findings of this study indicate that for schools to provide a balanced aspirational and experienced ethos for GSD students, these students must be included in the policies, actions, and interactions of the high school. Schools create a positive ethos for GSD students when the balance is achieved. This study has practical and theoretical implications for anti-oppressive educational practices and discourse regarding GSD students.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Huff, Frankie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Olan, Elsie"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:09:09Z","subjects":["High school; school ethos; gender and sexually diverse; anti oppression; visibility; lgbt","Education","Dissertations, Academic -- Education and Human Performance; Education and Human Performance -- Dissertations, Academic"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["CFE0005809"],"render_values":[{"text":"CFE0005809","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/678","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Olan, Elsie"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Huff, Frankie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["High school; school ethos; gender and sexually diverse; anti oppression; visibility; lgbt","Education","Dissertations, Academic -- Education and Human Performance; Education and Human Performance -- Dissertations, Academic"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["CFE0005809"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/678"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["<p>If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at <a href=\"mailto:STARS@ucf.edu\">STARS@ucf.edu</a></p>","Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)","College of Education and Human Performance","Education and Human Performance"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Anti-bullying campaigns and legislation are on the rise, and school districts are fighting in favor of and against various forms of support for gay and sexually diverse (GSD) students, creating very distinct experienced ethoses in their prospective schools. At times, these ethoses stand in direct opposition of the aspirational ethoses of those same schools. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to understand how schools interact with the educational policies in place to create a balanced ethos. This study uses Charmaz*s (2014) constructivist approach to grounded theory methods to answer the following questions: How, if at all, does the aspirational ethos balance with the experienced ethos in high schools for GSD students, and, how, if at all, are schools creating positive high school ethoses for GSD students? Two themes emerged from this study. The first theme, don*t ask, don*t tell, showed that GSD students are often expected to be silent about themselves and their issues. The second theme, policy is just a beginning, revealed that inclusive policy alone is not enough, administration must interact with these policies and GSD students. The findings of this study indicate that for schools to provide a balanced aspirational and experienced ethos for GSD students, these students must be included in the policies, actions, and interactions of the high school. Schools create a positive ethos for GSD students when the balance is achieved. This study has practical and theoretical implications for anti-oppressive educational practices and discourse regarding GSD students."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Grounded Theory Study of the Experiences of Gender and Sexually Diverse High School Students: Balancing School Ethos"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Olan, Elsie"],"dc:creator":["Huff, Frankie"],"dc:description":["<p>If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at <a href=\"mailto:STARS@ucf.edu\">STARS@ucf.edu</a></p>","Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)","College of Education and Human Performance","Education and Human Performance"],"dc:description.abstract":["Anti-bullying campaigns and legislation are on the rise, and school districts are fighting in favor of and against various forms of support for gay and sexually diverse (GSD) students, creating very distinct experienced ethoses in their prospective schools. At times, these ethoses stand in direct opposition of the aspirational ethoses of those same schools. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to understand how schools interact with the educational policies in place to create a balanced ethos. This study uses Charmaz*s (2014) constructivist approach to grounded theory methods to answer the following questions: How, if at all, does the aspirational ethos balance with the experienced ethos in high schools for GSD students, and, how, if at all, are schools creating positive high school ethoses for GSD students? Two themes emerged from this study. The first theme, don*t ask, don*t tell, showed that GSD students are often expected to be silent about themselves and their issues. The second theme, policy is just a beginning, revealed that inclusive policy alone is not enough, administration must interact with these policies and GSD students. The findings of this study indicate that for schools to provide a balanced aspirational and experienced ethos for GSD students, these students must be included in the policies, actions, and interactions of the high school. Schools create a positive ethos for GSD students when the balance is achieved. 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