From The Field: Lessons From Saskatchewan,
2026
University of Regina, Canada
From The Field: Lessons From Saskatchewan, J Wallace Skelton, Ashlee Sandiford, Alex Schmidt, Hannah Paul
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
Just before the 2023-2024 school year, Saskatchewan enacted transphobic school policy and then legislation. Four Saskatchewan educators describe the ways this legislation has impacted them, their students and their colleagues, and ways they are engaging in resistance through activism, pedagogy and research.
“No (My Parents Can’T Know I’M Trans)…For Now:" Resisting Anti-Transgender Backlash In Schools Through A Policy Experiment,
2026
Queen's University, Canada
“No (My Parents Can’T Know I’M Trans)…For Now:" Resisting Anti-Transgender Backlash In Schools Through A Policy Experiment, Lee Airton, Mik Turje
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
This From the Field account describes an intervention we and our colleagues offered in the Canadian culture war surrounding transgender children and youth, as clinical and research experts on K-12 education policy and supports for transgender youth and their parents. In 2023, following comprehensive review by K-12 school administrators, lawyers and experts in child welfare, we released No For Now (NFN). NFN responded to the impending passage of laws which directly harm transgender youth by essentially forcing them to be outed to potentially unsupportive parents. We suggest that NFN enacts an experimental kind of policy-based resistance to these laws and …
Pride On The Prairie: Resistance As Pedagogy In Oklahoma,
2026
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus, USA
Pride On The Prairie: Resistance As Pedagogy In Oklahoma, Madelyn D. Evans, Ashley Herndon, Sage A. Mauldin
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
With an increasing number of attacks on two-spirit, transgender, queer, and gender non-conforming (2STQGNC) students, it is critical to critique the intersecting systems of oppression that work in tandem to eradicate anyone who does not conform to ‘regimes of normalcy,’ particularly cisheteronormativity. In Oklahoma, legislative assaults are taking place to erase 2STQGNC identities and limit civil rights and civil liberties within K-12 schools. This report examines various oppressive policies, highlights student-led resistance as a pedagogical tool, discusses the reciprocal relationship between student activism and community support, and concludes with recommendations for K-12 Educators and 2STQGNC Students.
Beyond The Binary: Queer And Trans Activism In Ontario French As Second Language (Fsl) Classrooms,
2026
The University of Ottawa, Canada
Beyond The Binary: Queer And Trans Activism In Ontario French As Second Language (Fsl) Classrooms, Robert Grant, Elm Allister
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
Drawing from data from a larger doctoral study, this “from the field” report showcases the activist and pedagogical practices of two queer and trans/nonbinary French as a second language (FSL) teachers in Ontario, Canada. Through detailed accounts from elementary and secondary FSL classrooms, we demonstrate activism through empowering (using students’ pronouns and bringing in multiple identities in pedagogical resources), disrupting (challenging assumptions about "normal" identities and families), and resisting (parents' and stakeholders' homophobic and transphobic rhetoric). Our experiences reveal that proactive, consistent integration of 2SLGBTQIA+ representation throughout the classroom discourse minimizes student resistance, particularly in elementary settings where children readily …
Pedagogies Of Heart/Break: Nurturing Trans Resistance Through Beloved Witnessing,
2026
Colorado College, USA
Pedagogies Of Heart/Break: Nurturing Trans Resistance Through Beloved Witnessing, Page Valentine Regan
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
This article calls for spiritual activism on behalf of trans young people. Drawing from the narratives and perspectives of a group of trans young adults of Color situated in the Southeastern United States, the author encourages pedagogies of heart/break. Such a pedagogical position requires a service-based orientation to education, rooted in beloved witnessing. Rather than affinity spaces, political action, or cerebral understanding, beloved witnessing may prove to be a more reliable condition for healing and self-actualization, especially in support of a trans of Color future in educational research, practice and places of learning.
Rural School Counselors Supporting Queer Students In The Southeastern United States,
2026
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
Rural School Counselors Supporting Queer Students In The Southeastern United States, Harley Devon Locklear, Damaris Bates
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
This article aims to explore the storied experiences of school counselors who actively, overtly and covertly resist the oppression of queer students within rural schools throughout the Southeastern United States. Narrative Inquiry was the research methodology utilized to collect, interpret, and reconstruct these stories, culminating in the synthesization of six overarching themes capturing the factors contributing to and limiting the advocacy efforts of rural school counselors: View of Role, Counselor Self-Efficacy, Stakeholder Push-back, Services Offered, Advocacy Efforts, and Training and University Support. Implications for school counselors, counselor education program, and school administers are also discussed in relation to improving …
Engines For Activism: Gsa Advisors Sparking Student Activism For Lgbtq+ Equity,
2026
University of Colorado Boulder, USA
Engines For Activism: Gsa Advisors Sparking Student Activism For Lgbtq+ Equity, Elizabeth J. Meyer, Rebecca Grace Kaplan, Erin Kurtz
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
This article reports on a study on educators supporting student activism for LGBTQ+ equity in schools. The research questions we address are: What impacts do activist-educators have on the activities of the students in their GSA (Genders & Sexualities Alliance)? In what ways do activist-educators support student activism for LGBTQ+ equity? Based on in-depth interviews with seven educators in Colorado, we use grounded theory to present a conceptual model called “Engines for Activism” (EFA). We share data that explain how student and educator interactions within the space of a student club led by an educator-activist can drive advocacy and activism …
Knowledgemaking As Resistance For Queer Youth,
2026
Cleveland State University, USA
Knowledgemaking As Resistance For Queer Youth, Katie Clonan-Roy, Shereen Naser, Daylun Armstrong, Mars Bonilla-Gilgenbach, Thomas Haynes, Rae Jackson, Liz Goncy, Kimberly Anne Fuller
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
In an era of increasing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, queer youth continue to resist oppressive systems through knowledge-making and collective action. In this paper, we explore the transformative nature of liberatory knowledge making for sexual and gender diverse (SGD) youth, which can foster youth’s capacity for resistance work against systems that would otherwise harm them. The paper focuses on a program called Youth Research for Social Change (YRSC) program, where youth and adult co-conspirators engaged in participatory action research to challenge dominant narratives, develop critical consciousness, and foster a sense of community. We explore key tenets of liberatory knowledgemaking—community and solidarity, criticality, …
“You Can’T Ban That!”: Lgbtq+ Youth Of Color Speak Back To Book Bans In Utah,
2026
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, USA
“You Can’T Ban That!”: Lgbtq+ Youth Of Color Speak Back To Book Bans In Utah, Sonny Partola, Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
This article explores how LGBTQ+ youth of color (LGBTQ+ YOC) in Utah perceive anti-LGBTQ+ book bans amid a hostile sociopolitical climate. Drawing from a critical ethnographic study at a public high school, and guided by Queer of Color Critique, we examine how censorship, heteronormativity, and White Christian nationalism shape book bans. Youth participants described such bans as mechanisms of erasure and harm that restrict access to affirming literature and reinforce marginalization, while also revealing contradictions in schools’ promotion of literacy alongside censorship. Despite these harms, participants resisted erasure—asserting visibility, belonging, and intellectual freedom. This study contributes to scholarship on censorship …
Editors’ Introduction: Loud, Proud, Rooted, And Resisting – Activism And Advocacy In Tough Times,
2026
Queen's University - Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Editors’ Introduction: Loud, Proud, Rooted, And Resisting – Activism And Advocacy In Tough Times, Lee Airton, Elizabeth J. Meyer
Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
After a (brief) period of time in which movements for equity and justice in K-12 schools had been winning and had seen sustained building for gender and sexual diversity (GSD) justice efforts in schools, calls for queer and trans erasure are not only back but are being instantiated in laws and policies on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and in other contexts around the world. These efforts, however, come far too late as students are demanding livable queer and trans lives in the schools where they are legally required to spend most of their days, supported by queer and …
Contesting Protection: Digital Moral Discourses On Child Marriage In Bangladesh,
2026
Florida Atlantic University
Contesting Protection: Digital Moral Discourses On Child Marriage In Bangladesh, Mashaekh Hassan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines how child marriage is represented and morally negotiated on the official Facebook page of UNICEF Bangladesh. Drawing on transnational and Third World feminist critiques of development, it uses feminist content and discourse analysis to analyze twenty-five campaign posts and 2,677 comments (May–July 2025) to trace patterns of representation and moral reasoning. The analysis identifies three dominant representational patterns: child marriage as a rural girls’ issue, rural girls as constrained and victimized, and education as a universal solution, collectively producing a homogenized image of vulnerable girlhood. Two clusters of moral discourse emerge: pro–child marriage (privileging religious morality, critiquing …
Transforming Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights For Adolescent Girls In West And Central Africa,
2026
Population Council
Transforming Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights For Adolescent Girls In West And Central Africa, Mame Soukeye Mbaye, Sarah Engebretsen, Maty Dia, Karen Austrian
Adolescents and Young People
This brief summarizes the evidence on adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in West and Central Africa (WCA), particularly evidence from the GIRL Center’s priority countries. It explores social norms and structural barriers to adolescent girls’ SRHR, pregnancy, harmful practices, unmet need for contraception, service gaps, SRHR in conflict settings, and legal and policy barriers. The brief informs strategies and promising entry points that have the potential to transform SRHR outcomes for girls in the region.
George C. Roberts Award Recipients,
2026
Valparaiso University
George C. Roberts Award Recipients
Midwest Social Sciences Journal
No abstract provided.
How Gender Impacts Mock Jurors’ Receptiveness To Aggravating And Mitigating Evidence In Capital Trials,
2026
Bellarmine University
How Gender Impacts Mock Jurors’ Receptiveness To Aggravating And Mitigating Evidence In Capital Trials, Jolie E. Parker
Undergraduate Theses
This study examines how gender influences mock jurors’ receptiveness to aggravating and mitigating evidence in capital trials. Drawing on prior research that highlights the critical role of mitigation in reducing death sentences and persistent gender differences in death penalty attitudes, this study addresses a gap in the literature by analyzing how gender shapes responses to specific types of evidence rather than general support for capital punishment. Using a quantitative survey of 209 participants, the research analyzes Likert-scale responses measuring how various aggravating and mitigating factors impact sentencing preferences. Results indicate a weak but consistent relationship between gender and receptivity to …
Gender And Emotional Expression In The Courtroom: Mock Juror Perceptions Of Attorney Effectiveness,
2026
Bellarmine University
Gender And Emotional Expression In The Courtroom: Mock Juror Perceptions Of Attorney Effectiveness, Emma Cantrell
Undergraduate Theses
This quantitative study examines how gender and emotional expression influence mock jurors' perceptions of an attorney's courtroom effectiveness. Using mock jurors, this study extends previous research suggesting that assertiveness and emotional displays are evaluated differently by gender. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of four closing statements in a mock burglary trial. The videos were of either a male or a female attorney delivering a passive or an aggressive argument. Participants then evaluated the attorney’s effectiveness across four categories: competence, persuasiveness, ability to instill confidence, and emotionality. Male participants generally rated female attorneys as less effective than female participants …
Editor-In-Chief's Note,
2026
Indiana University Northwest
Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao
Midwest Social Sciences Journal
No abstract provided.
Reviewers And Referees,
2026
Valparaiso University
The Unsovereign Citizen: The Reconfiguration Of Rights And Belonging In Fascist Italy,
2026
Indiana University
The Unsovereign Citizen: The Reconfiguration Of Rights And Belonging In Fascist Italy, Roberta Pergher
Midwest Social Sciences Journal
Modern political thought tends to associate citizenship with democracy, equality, and political participation. This article demonstrates that citizenship can be profoundly important also for authoritarian rule. In Fascist Italy, citizenship remained central to political life, not as a vehicle of democratic participation, to be sure, but as a category through which the regime redefined belonging, hierarchy, and sovereignty. Drawing on citizenship legislation, imperial ordinances, racial laws, police reports, and ministerial commentary between 1912 and 1943, this article shows how the dictatorship hollowed out liberal citizenship within the peninsula, stratified it across imperial territories, consolidated it across diasporic populations, and ultimately …
Author Biographical Notes,
2026
Valparaiso University
Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors,
2026
Valparaiso University
Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors
Midwest Social Sciences Journal
No abstract provided.
