Gender and sexual diversity
Living out diversity at school

Why do we need to make diversity tangible at school? Frank G. Pohl, head of the School for Diversity advisory office for North Rhine-Westphalia, explains how discrimination affects learning and how schools can create more space for diversity.

By Frank G. Pohl

The diversity of German society and the reality of students’ lives may not always be immediately visible on an ordinary day at school. For example, if a student belongs to a Jewish faith community, has two mothers at home, or is intersex, teachers rarely find out about this in subject lessons. And students have the right to choose what they want to share.

Teachers who have diversity in their classrooms in mind can help students to learn better. Regardless of the subjects being taught, it is the educational duty of schools and their teaching staff to reflect social diversity in learning content and tasks. The key to this is an accepting attitude.

According to a study by the German Youth Institute (DJI), a large number of teachers made fun of students who did not behave in a typically female or typically male way (Krell/Oldemeier 2018, p.110 f.). It is understandable how hurtful this is for students. The same applies if teachers do not intervene to challenge derogatory remarks about social groups that are assumed not to be represented in the classroom. The need to experience diversity in school is demonstrated by the reports of students who leave education early. And it is not uncommon for them to finish school with lower grades than expected because school is such a stressful social and academic learning environment for LGBTIQ* young people.

Students are formally protected against discrimination by Germany’s equality act (AGG) and schools legislation. In reality, effective anti-discrimination starts with practical prevention in planning lessons. When a diverse range of people is represented – for example of different origin, gender, sexuality, or social class – that benefits all learners.
  I run the Schule der Vielfalt (School for Diversity) advisory service in North Rhine-Westphalia. School for Diversity is a programme and Germany-wide school network that works for greater acceptance of gender and sexual diversity in education. Just as often as colleagues draw my attention to exclusion they experience or notice in the classroom and at school in general, I receive enquiries from teachers who are interested in making their teaching more inclusive and would like practical support to do this in their educational institutions.

In the book Diversität im Klassenzimmer (Diversity in the Classroom) which I wrote with my colleagues Birgit Palzkill and Heidi Scheffel, we use the example of gender and sexual diversity to describe how teachers can prevent discrimination and sexualized violence and enable everyone to learn and grow fully in their own way, in a School for Diversity. Understandings of gender and sexual identity have long since gone beyond the categories of woman and man or heterosexual and homosexual. Statistically, there are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, intersex, or queer (LGBTIQ*) students in every classroom. Every day at school you can see how difficult it is for these young people to be expected to fit into a clear ideal gender identity. This means that addressing gender and sexual diversity is an important issue for everyone. Teaching must ensure that the personal integrity of all students is absolutely respected.

On its website, School for Diversity offers example lessons and projects (in German) for different subjects, which support teachers in their lesson planning. Facilitation teams offer regular training sessions on gender and diversity. In addition to questions of content and methodology, the success of the lesson depends greatly on how credible the students find the teacher: is what they say consistent with what they represent as a person? Teachers must be clear about their own attitudes and role in the prevailing gender culture and reflect on what effect their own behaviour has on the students. Should a teacher respond to students’ questions about their personal position? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Care must be taken to ensure that both students’ and teachers’ boundaries and a professional distance are maintained. For inclusive education to work in the classroom, marginalized groups need to experience school as a safe space. Schools that participate in the School for Diversity anti-discrimination programme try to show their commitment to this by displaying a sign to all school visitors at the entrance: “Come in – we are OPEN.” The aim of the programme is to institutionalize openness to sexual and gender diversity. Participating schools meet quality standards: they take part in networking meetings, organize awareness-raising activities, and provide in-service training for staff. To be included in the network, schools need to involve not only teachers but also parents and students. Often the initiative for a school to get involved comes from the student council. Schools of Diversity want to create a clear culture of welcome and give taboo topics such as sexuality or gender a visible place in the school culture.

Especially in times when the acceptance of visible diversity is threatened again, even within the European Union, such symbols of solidarity, LGBTQIA*-friendly schools, and schools-based human rights work are vital.