Sometimes It’s Hard to Do the Right Thing”

The Gender-Inclusivity Leadership Spectrum of How PK–12 Administrators Understand Gender Diversity Laws, Policies, and Implementation

Bibliographic Data

ID8224519
AuthorsMollie Mcquillan (0000-0002-2522-3871, University of Wisconsin–Madison, corresponding author), Janel Anderson (0009-0004-1469-5146, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Lydia Gandy-Fastovich (0000-0002-4938-3116, University of Utah)
Year2025
Volume62
Issue1
Pages14-52
Publication date2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-8312 • E-ISSN: 1935-1011
PublisherAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3102/00028312241281731
OpenAlexW4404621148
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited82

PK–12 district-level administrators have been asked to navigate an increasingly complex policy landscape concerning gender-diversity reforms. We apply sensemaking theory to examine administrators’ understanding of legal and policy protections for trans and gender diverse (TGD) students. Using 36 interviews with administrators and policy consultants, we examine whether PK-12 district administrators (a) know about existing legal and policy protections, (b) tie policies to administrative actions, (c) build capacity for structural gender reforms, and (d) proactively learn about gender diversity. We use these categories to delineate among resistant, emergent, and gender-inclusive leadership approaches along the Gender-Inclusivity Leadership Spectrum. Our findings suggest PK–12 leaders would benefit from additional implementation strategies and education concerning gender diversity, even in states with protective legislative mandates for TGD people in schools

Corporate governance · Diversity (politics · Economics · Gender diversity · Gender equality · Legislature · Management · Political science · Public relations · Sensemaking · Sociology · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Public Administration

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