Project #1. “What I Wish My Teachers Knew:” Experiences of Trans and Nonbinary (TNB) Children in Schools

This project aims to expand the understanding of the lived experiences and needs of TNB young children in schools, grounded in their own voices, using a mixed methods design. To this end this project will seek to address the following questions: 1) What practices/interventions do TNB children report help them feel safe and supported in schools? 2) What practices/events do TNB children report make them feel unsafe, unwelcome or otherwise unhappy in these environments? 3) What practices/interventions do TNB children recommend to enhance the overall wellbeing of TNB children in schools?

Project #2. Community-based participatory research towards transing educational spaces

How does a trans and social justice centered educational space-intentionally co-constructed by trans educators, trans students, trans professional researchers, and families-touched-by transness- impact outcomes for trans middle school students?

Project #3. How Do Children Identifying Beyond the Gender Binary and Their Parents Understand Gender?

This study aims to investigate how children who identify beyond the gender binary understand their gender and gender-related experiences. To do this, children ages 3-8 who do not identify as always and completely being just a boy or a girl and their accompanying parent are being interviewed. The study seeks to address the following research questions:

• How do children who identify outside of the gender binary understand their gender and gender-related experiences?

• How do primary caregivers of these children understand their child’s gender and gender-related experiences?

Guided by these research questions, the study aims to treat these children as a distinct population deserving of study and capture in their own words their perceptions of their gender identity and experiences. In this process, parents are also being interviewed to supplement this information.