Running head: LEARNING THEORY APPLICATION IN SEXUAL IDENTITY 1

Learning Theory Application for

Student Disengagement Issue in Sexual Identity Content

Kayla A. McKean

James Madison University

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Introduction

Transformational learning theory and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development will be

used to determine appropriate learning interventions for students in the online self-paced Vision

of You sexuality education program. A small, but noticeable sample of students have stopped

participation at 7% of the Vision of You program when sexual identity content is being

presented. Students then do not finish the program which moves on to material covering healthy

relationships, sexually transmitted infections, contraceptives, and future orientation. Research

supports the idea that this drop off could be due to clashes in values with content or fear of

engagement. I apply the self-examination phase of the transformational learning theory and

emotional scaffolding through similar scaffolding techniques used to guide students through

ZPD to learning standard: the student will be able to state their prior understanding and emotion

regarding gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and biological sex.

Instructional Setting

In my current job I am a data specialist on the Personal Responsibility Education

Innovative Strategies (PREIS) grant funded through the Family and Youth Services Bureau,

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Division (FYSB, n.d.). I began my career as a program

specialist, teaching sexuality education courses in middle school and high school before

transitioning into data collection and evaluation. Through a randomized control trial design the

PREIS team is researching the effectiveness of the online sexuality education program, Vision of

You. Our study participants include students in alternative education programs, juvenile

detention centers, and students referred to community services boards. These populations were

chosen due to the lack of sexuality education received in non-traditional school settings. Part of

my role includes monitoring students’ progress in Vision of You and troubleshooting with the
LEARNING THEORY APPLICATION IN SEXUAL IDENTITY CONTENT 3

student or their teacher if their progress has stalled. Where students commonly pause for long

periods of time in the curriculum or drop completely is during an activity in which they are

exploring gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and biological sex (referred

overall as Identity in the Vision of You curriculum). Students should be able to define these

terms before they move on to topics like healthy relationships, STI prevention, methods of

contraception, and future orientation so that they can understand the unique considerations for

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ) (USA today article)

identities in each of those areas. This understanding is essential for LGBTQ youth, but also for

youth who identify with the dominant heteronormative culture. Stopping at this point in the

curriculum means that students have only completed 7% of the program. While the 7% could be

from a variety of issues that the PREIS team would need to explore further, I have decided to

focus this paper on instructional strategies for getting youth through and beyond the Identity unit.

Again, while the 7% stall could be caused by a variety of or multiple factors, I will be focusing

my attention on a problem of disengagement due to the subject matter. I will be working off of

the assumption that students disengage out of fear or disagreement with the subject matter.

The Problem

An increase in representation for LGBTQ people in news, television, and movies since

the 1990’s has helped to change attitudes, especially those of younger individuals (Ayoub, 2018).

For youth who may not have a role model to look up to, seeing themselves represented in media

is very powerful. In 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court’s strike down of all state bans on same-sex

marriage ended a system that left many same-sex couples in uncertainty. Even with the social

and political progress that has been made over the years, barriers still exist to creating an

inclusive education for young people.

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A review of LGBTQ issues in schools (Gegenfurtner & Gebhardt, 2017) found that

opponents to inclusive sexuality education believe that learning about LGBTQ issues would lead

students to engaging in same-sex practices themselves. They also felt that schools were forcing a

particular view on children that contradicted political and religious views of their parents and

that gay or lesbian teachers would change the sexual orientation and gender identity of their

students. Some parents argue that ideology is valued over biology when students are taught about

lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender issues (Truong, 2018). These beliefs disregard research

indicating strong biological roots of sexual orientation.

Students are not learning about sexuality for the first time in our classrooms or through

our online curriculum. The have received message from their families, friends and media their

entire lives. Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory of gender examines the ways that children

develop their ideas around gender roles (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). Children examine the

behaviors of those around them to understand how they themselves are expected to behave and

those behaviors are reinforced by rewards and punishments. Straying from the heteronormative

narrative could mean being ostracized or bullied by peers. It is clear that many factors have

shaped an adolescent’s understanding or view or sexuality identity by the time they are in a high

school sexuality education class. Students have formed values and have emotions related to those

values which could affect their willingness to engage with course material in Vision of You that

contradict them. Research has shown that if a particular learning activity does not coincide with

the student’s interests or beliefs they will unknowingly check out of the learning process as a

form of self-preservation (as cited in Trimble, 2009 by Boekaerts, 2007).

Fear is another consideration for why students may not engage with sexuality education

that includes LGBTQ issues. Youth who identify as part of the LGBTQ community are more
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likely to be victimized in school and punished for behaviors that their cisgender peers are not. A

review of an inclusive curriculum out of California done with youth from the Gay Straight

Alliance showed that previous curricula mentioned LGBTQ identities only when talking about

sexually transmitted infections (Snapp et al., 2015). Peers were more likely than teachers to step

in when derogatory terms were used and inclusion of LGBTQ identities was focused on

tolerance, implying and underlying intolerance.

One study with over 8,000 middle school and high school LGBTQ students in the U.S.

found that compared to their heterosexual peers, LGBTQ students experienced greater school

discipline including referrals to school administration, detention, suspension, and expulsion.

They also experienced greater involvement in the justice system as a result of school discipline

(Palmer & Greytak, 2017). School discipline often occurred after having been victimized by

peers or even teachers. Students were instructed to ignore what had happened to them or change

their behavior to avoid the future harassment/bullying.

“LGBTQ youth are over-represented in the juvenile justice system” (Coalition for

Juvenile Justice, n.d.). In juvenile detention centers LGBTQ youth reported being afraid of

conforming to certain stereotypes in case they would be outed to their peers and forced to endure

their bigotry. Similarly to the school system, the juvenile detention centers punished students

after they were victimized in what they considered an attempt to protect them from their peers.

While in the school those punishments looked like blaming the victim for the bullying,

suspension, and detention, in the juvenile detention centers staff used solitary confinement to

keep the student safe from their peers (Valentino, 2011). The youth felt less safe as a result.

Being seen engaging with material on sexual identity within Vision of You could cause students
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who identify as LGBTQ to worry that they will be outed to their peers or the detention staff and

thus face harassment or ridicule.

Identifying the Learning Standard

The performance standards the PREIS team would like for students to meet include: 1)

the student will be able to state their prior understanding and emotion regarding gender identity,

gender expression, sexual orientation, and biological sex. This identified learning standard falls

within the following Virginia Department of Education, Family Life Education Learning

Standards for 9th and 10th grade students (Virginia Department of Education, 2017):

9.3 The student will recognize the development of sexuality as an aspect of the total

personality.

Descriptive Statement: Discussion focuses on the development of one’s sexual identity.

Internal and external conflicts associated with problems of sexual identity are addressed.

10.3 The student will examine values, morals, and ethics essential to the growth and

maintenance of positive human relationships.

Descriptive Statement: The universal values of honesty, trustworthiness, self-control,

responsibility for self and others, and social justice are discussed as well as the

development of moral and ethical systems. The law and meaning of consent for sexual

activity are discussed to increase awareness that consent is required before sexual activity

along with the social, emotional, and relational impact surrounding sexuality and the

virtues of respecting others right to say no.

I identified a clash with current believes and fear as two reasons students in the Vision of

You program may stop at the 7% mark during a focus on sexual identity. These are very real
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emotions for young people and currently there is no space within the curriculum to be able to

express those emotions. The performance standard would allow for students to express their

emotions that have been shaped and crafted for them all their lives which will hopefully help to

make them feel that they have been heard, so that they continue to review content rather than

quitting the program.

Transformational Learning Theory

I believe applying Mezirow’s transformational learning theory to standard (the student

will be able to state their prior understanding and emotion regarding gender identity, gender

expression, sexual orientation, and biological sex) will be effective due to the previously

discussed reasons for students’ disengagement. The ultimate change in behavior that students

would hopefully experience is an acceptance and inclusion of all sexual identities. For one online

curriculum to confront years of fear or disagreement would be unrealistic though. For that reason

the standard of learning for students is that they be able to express their understanding and

emotions regarding the sexual identity terms. I believe it will at least take some major change in

perspective to engage with material they previously disregarded completely and will be a

positive step in changing attitudes toward the LGBTQ community.

Mezirow’s theory of transformational learning has two types of learning: instrumental

and communicative. Communicative learning includes how people communicate their own

feelings, needs, and desires (Insturctionaldesign.org, n.d.) and will be the type I am applying to

the learning standards for Vision of You students. Transformational learning theory describes

learning as a change in perspective for the learner that should result in a change of behavior

(Baumgarnter, 2001). Learners must be able to understand their own feelings and perspectives or

schemes so they can then add to them, learn new ones, redefine their meaning, or change their
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meaning. Zook (2017) suggests that silencing oppressive views regarding LGBTQ identities and

realities only maintains the status quo of a heteronormative school climate. Instead, those

oppressive views should be voiced and then challenged which aligns with the goal of

transformative learning. DePalma (2013) suggests that we should encourage students to think

about what they already know about gender and aim to question and provide more meaning to

those categories rather than simply superimposing discourses of tolerance and equality over

schemes that are incompatible. Currently students in Vision of You lack the opportunity to

express their own view on the subject matter and choose not to continue with their learning.

As described by Moore (2005) Mezirow identified 10 phases of transformative learning

that start off with a disorienting dilemma that cannot be resolved through previous means of

problem solving. The learner then engages in self-examination and will likely experience

unpleasant emotions which leads them to assess their assumptions. Eventually the learner will

come to recognize that others have been through a similar process and they will start to consider

options for forming new meaning, knowledge, skills and relationships. The process is complete

when the learner incorporates the new learning into their life. Students in the Vision of You

program experience a disorienting dilemma when they are presented with learning activities

around sexual identity that are incompatible with their own beliefs or comfort levels. Later in the

course they are able to examine new ways of engagement with their LGBTQ peers, but an

important phase is missing for them in the transformational learning process. I believe learners

are missing an intentional learning strategy to help them through the self-examination phase

which effects their ability to engage with further content.

Transformational learning could be used to address the learning standards through

dialogue that allows the learner to speak first through their own understanding and then work
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through challenges to that view. In order to be effective in engaging participants, dialogue needs

to include trust, confidentiality, acceptance, and respect (Brown, Sorenson, and Hildebrand,

2012). Vision of You is unique in its self-paced learning that requires little interaction with a

classroom facilitator, so a natural dialogue among teacher and peers would not be possible,

though this may actually be beneficial in that it will allow students to speak freely without the

fear of their peers’ reaction or disciplinary action from a teacher or staff. I believe these

standards of dialogue could still be achieved through an online format by allowing students to

answer free response questions, taking a values quiz, or completing a branching scenario activity

that would simulate a dialogue. A dialogue simulation could include an interactive exercise that

actually imitates a real conversation with a person through a branching scenario without

damaging relations and at the same time showing the learner consequences of their interactions

(Posukhova, 2018). Each of these strategies would give the learner space to identify their own

beliefs before being challenged with an opposing view. In a study done with adolescents who

participated in sexuality education through a virtual learning environment, students reported

feeling less embarrassed to engage with material and felt comfortable in their anonymity online

(McGinn & Arnedillo-Sanchez, 2015). An online format for simulated dialogue could still

include those essential pieces of confidentiality and respect.

Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory emphasizes social and cultural interactions in

the learning process (McLeod, 2019). Learners develop knowledge together with their peers. A

fundamental part of sociocultural learning theory is the Zone of Proximal Development. The

zone of proximal development is defined as, “The range of tasks a child can perform with the

help and guidance of others, but not yet independently” (Hurst, 2018). While I believe a
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constructivist approach to learning could benefit learners, I believe the previously outlined

description of a simulated dialogue would be effective for younger learners who are working

with a high level of fear or disagreement to the sexual identity content. I think engaging in social

learning will benefit Vision of You participants, but for the standards I am defining in this paper

I believe they are still in the early phases of learning and require the emotional support before

moving on to learning through social interaction.

Trimble (2009) suggests that Vygotsky’s ZPD can be used to provide emotional

scaffolding for students learning about sexual identity until they are able to take ownership of

their emotional reaction to material. They further explain that first the student needs to develop

trust and there needs to be space for emotion before they are expected to respect boundaries and

maintain their own emotions. These emotional scaffolding techniques align well with the

transformational learning strategies described earlier and I think make the transformative

approach more realistic for young people who have experience in emotional control.

Limitations

Transformational learning theory is more commonly used in strategies with adult

learners. Baumgartner (2001) reminds the educator to consider what right they have in putting

learners through the transformational learning process which will include difficult emotions to

process. I believe in this situation working with students in understanding sexual identities and

LGBTQ experiences, the intent is not to disorient the learner with a dilemma, some are

experiencing this on their own and strategies need to be used to help them through the process so

they can continue with the learning in the curriculum. I think the scaffolding their experience

through the curriculum will help alleviate some concern of these strategies causing too much

emotional turmoil for young people.

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Another consideration for why the chosen learning theory strategies may not be

appropriate is that they do rely heavily on social interactions. As stated earlier Vision of You

does not include interactions with peers or facilitators. While I do believe a simulated social

interaction could be positive for learners, especially in keeping them feeling safe, it is important

to note that this strays from the theoretical framework slightly.

Finally, while Vision of You is in an evaluation process no changes can be made to the

course content. This means that we would not be able to determine if the applied strategies were

effective in reaching the learning standard until a later time when we could implement the

strategy and evaluate again.

Conclusion

Transformational learning theory can be used to encourage students to engage with and

understand their own feelings, values, and beliefs around a topic that they may have strong

conflict with. The learning objective is first to get students through course material by giving

them the space to express their emotions, but the overarching goal would be a change in how

they view and interact with the LGBTQ community. I believe the focus on the early phases of

transformational learning theory along with careful emotional scaffolding that tappers off will

support young learners through a difficult learning experience that is, in the end, transformative.

While we have not seen significant drop offs of participants in Vision of You, it is still

important to recognize where students may be struggling and why. More research will be needed

to determine the exact cause of student disengagement, but prior classroom teaching experience

and research tell me that a clash with content on an emotional level could be a problem worth

thinking through strategies for.

 LEARNING THEORY APPLICATION IN SEXUAL IDENTITY CONTENT 12

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