The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #51870

John P. Elia, PhD, Department of Health Education, San Francisco State University, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, (415) 338-7568, jpelia@sfsu.edu

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQQ) youth have been, for the most part, ignored in schools. This invisibility -- and sometimes open hostility towards them -- has had a deleterious impact on the health and wellness of this population in the schools. This poster adumbrates the ways in which these youth have been treated curricularly and extra-curricularly. The main point of this presentation, however, is to show ways in which school personnel can stem the tide of the negative impact that schooling has had on these youth, and begin to foster health and wellness for LGBTQQ youth by putting educational (including principles from critical pedagogy) theories into practice.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the poster session, the participant / conference goer will be able to

• Identify ways in which LGBTQQ youth have been marginalized in the schools;
• Describe how schools have not been, on the whole, responsible in terms of fostering health and wellness of LGBTQQ youth;
• List six ways that health and wellness of this population can be fostered in the schools; and
• Demonstrate an understanding of the educational theories that undergird positive pedagogical methodologies in terms of health promotion for these youth in schools.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.