Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) students and online education in Australia

Past Australian studies have shown that Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) youth engage with alternative and online education programs more often than cisgender peers but lack exploration of motivating factors. Whilst TGD students’ experiences of marginalisation in Australian schools has been increasingly studied, little is known about their experiences with Online Learning and/or alternative educational settings. To address this gap in research, the present study explored Australian TGD students’ experiences of online and/or alternative educational settings compared to mainstream face-to-face education. The study employed a trans -informed methodological approach privileging the experiential knowledge of Trans and Gender Diverse TGD students themselves. An online survey hosted on Qualtrics was utilised to collect quantitative and qualitative data from a cohort of 1,671 TGD identifying students aged 14–25 years, recruited through social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram and TGD youth support organisations. Descriptive statistics were generated using SPSS, and a thematic analysis was applied using Leximancer software. TGD students attending alternative schools often moved from a mainstream school due to bullying and poor mental health, whereas those who accessed online education mainly did so through mainstream settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical bullying improved in online settings incidentally; however social support also reduced, and misgendering and deadnaming increased, likely due to the rapid and unplanned move to online learning during the pandemic. Online educational design should incorporate TGD students’ gendering needs and social supports. More research into alternative educational settings and TGD students is needed.