Dissertation Proposal Announcement Ph.D. in Education Program: A Pollicino “Intergenerational Sensemaking: Trans Youth and Adults Explore Legibility, Identity, and Belonging in Cisnormative PK-12 School Environments”

Despite clear signs of increased acceptance of trans identity in recent decades there is strong backlash impactingPK-12school communities in the US. Cisnormative ideologies act as a system of exclusionary beliefs that shape culture and impede understanding of gender diversity. The pervasiveness of cisnormativity in schools contributes to the illegibility of trans identities. Legibility is a mechanism that can grant or deny understandings needed for identity development and social inclusion. Limited opportunities for trans youth to develop in healthy environments where they are legible to teachers and peers pose significant challenges to belonging. Lack of intergenerational interaction that could provide needed connection and role models exacerbate the negative effects of cisnormative schools. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to explore how interaction between trans youth and adults contributes to collaborative sense making about their cisnormative PK-12 schooling experiences and its effect on their identity development and sense of belonging. Qualitative methods will enable me to collect in-depth information with 12participants (6 trans youth and 6 trans adults) using a multimodal approach guided by a critical trans studies (CTS) framework. Bringing the complex experiences of gender diverse youth and adults together will provide insight into potential benefits and challenges involved with intergenerational interaction.The findings from this study will contribute new understandings about gender diverse people’s experiences while centering trans epistemologies and uplifting intergenerational counter narratives.