Creating Affirming and Respectful Education (CARE): A study exploring teacher experiences in Western Canada
Thanks for learning more about the CARE Study! Recruitment is now closed.
We want to thank our Advisory Group members for their time, expertise, and leadership. Throughout the project, their guidance was instrumental in ensuring the CARE Study remained grounded in teachers’ needs and experiences.
Our advisory group was comprised of people working in education, sexual health education, public health, nursing, and government in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, and Yukon.
Thank you to:
Andrea Boyce, Sexual Health Educator, Tsqescen te Secwepemc First Nations
Scott Clouthier, Executive Director, Hay River Youth Centre
Jessy Dame, CBRC, Chee Mamuk, BC Centre for Disease Control
Chelsea Flett, Sexual health educator
Scout Gray, SOGI123/ARC Foundation
Carlie McPhee, SUEDE Society
Saleema Noon, Saleema Noon Sexual Health Educators
Heather Vause, SOGI123/ARC Foundation
And to our 11 members who wished to remain anonymous
We couldn’t have done it without you!
Thank you also to our Co-Investigators and study team:
Principal Investigator: Dr. TJ Salway, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Research Coordinator: Sarah Watt, REAFFIRM Collaborative, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Research Specialist: Stéphanie Black, REAFFIRM Collaborative, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Research Assistant: Dylan Murray, REAFFIRM Collaborative, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Co-Investigator: Frédérique Chabot, Executive Director, Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights
Co-Investigator: Dr. Olivier Ferlatte, École de santé publique, Université de Montréal
Co-investigator: Dr. Dionne Gesink, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Co-Investigator: Dr. Harper Keenan, Robert Quartermain Professor of Gender and Sexuality Research in Education, University of British Columbia
Why did we do this study?
We conducted a survey to understand what it is like for teachers in today’s political climate. We wanted to understand how teachers support their students’ needs, and any barriers/facilitators that impact them. We also wanted to explore how teachers respond to support or resistance from parents, community, or others in relation to classroom content or curriculum. This study is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
What did we ask participants about?
- Their teaching background and experience;
- The training, resources, and supports available to them as teachers;
- Their experience with input from their community;
- Strategies that they use to make their classrooms inclusive; and
- Any difficulties or successes they have experienced when teaching challenging topics such as sex education, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Results
We heard from over 1,000 educators! Read our Summary Report to learn about our preliminary study results!
