Jamie talks with Lauren Alston, PhD candidate and former provincial GSA coordinator, about Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA's) and how they benefit school communities as a whole, contribute to student leadership skills, and how teachers can support GSA's in their own school communities.

Resources:

• altView Foundation
• Fyrefly in Schools Program
• Alberta GSA Network
• Alberta GSA Network Facebook Page
• Alberta Education Act
• Fetner, T., & Elafros, A. (2015). The GSA difference: LGBTQ and ally experiences in high schools with and without gay-straight alliances. Social Sciences, 4(3), 563–581. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci4030563
• Li, G., Wu, A. D., Marshall, S. K., Watson, R. J., Adjei, J. K., Park, M., & Saewyc, E. M.
• (2019). Investigating site-level longitudinal effects of population health interventions: Gay- Straight Alliances and school safety. 7(December 2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100350
• Marx, R. A., & Kettrey, H. H. (2016). Gay-straight alliances are associated with lower levels of school-based victimization of LGBTQ+ youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(7), 1269–1282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016- 0501-7
• Poteat, V. P., Godfrey, E. B., Brion-Meisels, G., & Calzo, J. P. (2020). Development of youth advocacy and sociopolitical efficacy as dimensions of critical consciousness within gender- sexuality alliances. Developmental Psychology, 56(6), 1207–1219. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000927
• Poteat, V. P., Rivers, I., & Vecho, O. (2020). Membership experiences in gender-sexuality alliances (gsas) predict increased hope and attenuate the effects of victimization. Journal of School Psychology, 79, 16–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2020.02.001
• St. John, A., Travers, R., Munro, L., Liboro, R., Schneider, M., & Greig, C. L. (2014). The success of gay-straight alliances in Waterloo region, Ontario: A confluence of political and social factors. Journal of LGBT Youth, 11(2), 150–170.
• https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2014.878564
• Toomey, R. B., Ryan, C., Diaz, R. M., & Russell, S. T. (2011). High school gay-straight
• alliances (gsas) and young adult well-being: An examination of gsa presence, participation, and perceived effectiveness. Applied Developmental Science, 15(4), 175–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2011.607378
• Email Lauren Alston