We are a one-stop-shop for information on LGBTQ+ school climate indicators and educational initiatives.
In the last decade, we have seen increasing international attention to the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) students in schools. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), for example, recently recognized “that no country can achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 - to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all - if students are discriminated against or experience violence because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.”
In addition to UNESCO, increasing numbers of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multilateral organizations are working on advancing the cause of LGBTQ+ youth and the implications of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE) issues for education. The lack of information, adequate indicators, and capacities to analyze and monitor LGBTQ+ education is a major development challenge for countries and for the international community.
The Global Observatory of LGBTQ+ Education and Advocacy (GO-LEAD) aims to fill this knowledge gap by curating information on school climate indicators, and educational initiatives (both formal and non-formal). The envisioned role of the Observatory is to act as a catalyst and a one-stop-shop for the learning and sharing of information and knowledge to promote policies, strategies, and practices that have been proven to effectively meet the needs of LGBTQ+ youth. The Observatory is an online, open-access platform for stakeholders including decision-makers, knowledge-brokers, specialists, and the general public.
Oren Pizmony-Levy is the Principal Investigator in the Global Observatory of LGBTQ+ Education and Advocacy (GO-LEAD). Pizmony-Levy is an Associate Professor in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. Trained in sociology and comparative international education, his work explores the interplay between global social movements and education, including the case of LGBTQ+ education. Prior to graduate school in the US, Pizmony-Levy served as the research coordinator for the Israeli Gay Youth (IGY) Organizaiton where he led the first-ever national school climate survey in the country.
Joseph Kosciw is the Senior Research Fellow in the Global Observatory of LGBTQ+ Education and Advocacy (GO-LEAD). Kosciw previously founded and directed the Research Institute at GLSEN, a U.S.-based non-profit, whose research helped to build and expand our understanding of SOGIE issues in K-12 education. Since 2001, Kosciw had been the principal investigator and lead author of a biennial survey of LGBTQ+ secondary students in the U.S., the National School Climate Survey. Kosciw has provided technical assistance to NGOs and education leaders on SOGIE issues in education across the globe, and have facilitated national NGO-led research on LGBTQ+ students in over 20 countries. Kosciw was formerly a school counselor and psychoeducational consultant in Philadelphia schools, and has a Ph.D. in community psychology from New York University.