LGBTQ+ Faculty, Queering Health Sciences Classrooms: Student Perspectives

Adv Physiol Educ. 2024 Feb 22. doi: 10.1152/advan.00200.2023. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTQueer students in undergraduate STEM majors are more likely to drop out than their cisgender, heterosexual peers despite having equivalent grades and research exposure. It has been demonstrated that sense of belonging, a very strong predictor of student retention, is low in queer-identified STEM undergraduates. It has further been posited that faculty openness and authenticity can enhance sense of belonging for queer students through the creation of an inclusive classroom culture. The authors of this article, three queer-identified faculty in the health sciences department at Boston University, surveyed students enrolled in their courses to elicit student thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding the effect of faculty 1) sharing their identity openly in the classroom, and 2) actively working to create open, inclusive dialogue and space in their classrooms. Of 86 student participants across multiple classes, the large majority of students, both queer-identified and non-queer-identified, described feeling safe, included, and welcomed in the classroom. They described engaging more in peer-to-peer education and felt that instructor authenticity created a safe and inclusive classroom. A minority of queer-identified students and non-queer-identified students reported feeling unsure of voicing their opinions, for the former related to insecurity about being queer and the latter feeling a li...
Source: Adv Physiol Educ - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: research