The Every Teacher Project Toolkit

RISE: Respect, Inclusion, Safety, Equity

(Conducted in partnership with The Manitoba Teachers’ Society, with the participation of working group members from ATA, BCTF, ETFO, OSSTF, and STF, and funded by SSHRC Connections Grant with cash and in-kind contributions from teacher organizations and Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.)

The Every Teacher Project Recommendations Toolkit is the culmination of an unprecedented national research effort to advance knowledge on LGBTQ-inclusive education. The Every Teacher Project / projet Chaque prof was a SSHRC-funded national survey of Canadian teachers’ perceptions and experiences of LGBTQ-inclusive education conducted in 2012/2013. The research team partnered with Manitoba Teachers’ Society throughout the project, and it was endorsed by virtually all teacher organizations in the publicly funded school systems of Canada. Thanks to their support, the project far exceeded its original goals of 750 teachers, ending with 3400 participants and 24 focus groups, making it the largest study of its kind to date worldwide. Analysis of the findings resulted in recommendations for every level of the school system.

The Every Teacher Project was then awarded a second SSHRC grant to fund the Every Teacher Knowledge Mobilization Project, in order to launch the Final Report and develop this “knowledge mobilization toolkit” to support the process of implementing the project recommendations. The researchers met with teacher organizations in Ottawa to strike a working group of organizational delegates from across Canada. Again, virtually every teacher organization supported the project in cash and in personnel time.

This Toolkit is being developed for use by teachers, teacher organizations, and other individuals and organizations concerned with inclusive education in working for implementation of the Every Teacher Project recommendations at different levels of the school system. The Toolkit is not intended to be a curriculum resource or GSA manual, but rather to help advocate for LGBTQ inclusion within the school system.

Structure

The main body of the Toolkit is divided into sections, one for each level of the school system:

• Teacher organizations
• Government (provincial/territorial Ministries/Departments of Education)
• School districts/divisions
• School leaders
• Faculties of Education and B.Ed. programs
• All school system employers
• Religiously affiliated schools/districts & organizations

Each section of the Toolkit includes a contact form to help determine key stakeholders and officials within each area, an audit form to help assess which recommendations are already in place and which are in process or in need of advocacy, and a brief explanation of each recommendation that explains the rationale and provides research support for each recommendation.

The Toolkit also includes a glossary of terms and several appendices for individuals who are new to LGBTQ-inclusive education, or who work in a context where it is still a new concept, that could function as a “Where Do I Start?” guide; a “Where Can I Turn?” guide for educators who are experiencing a hostile climate in their workplaces based on their actual or perceived LGBTQ identity or because they have advocated for or practiced LGBTQ-inclusive education; a guide entitled "How do I support trans* students?"; and a Workshop Facilitator's Guide that can be used to conduct workshops or training on how to use the Toolkit. (We have developed a basic PowerPoint that you are free to download and adapt for your use: Every Teacher Project Recommendations Toolkit Workshop PowerPoint.)

There are also four additional sections focusing on working to provide LGBTQ-inclusive education in particular contexts: Advice for Indigenous Contexts; Advice for Religious Contexts; Advice for Rural, Remote, and Northern Contexts; and Advice for Early-Years Educators.

We also include an extensive "Supporting Resources" appendix that provides information and lists available resources, including materials referred to earlier in the Toolkit, and in some cases, the documents themselves. For example, we include examples of model policies and legislation, links to online resources, and information on how to acquire other resources.

TOOLKIT AVAILABLE HERE:

Download the Workshop PowerPoint here: Every Teacher Project Recommendations Toolkit Workshop PowerPoint.