Psychology

“There is no perfect school”: The complexity of school decision-making among lesbian and gay adoptive parents

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Parents influence their children's educational experiences in part via school selection. This process is particularly complex for families with multiple minority, potentially stigmatized, statuses. This qualitative study examines middle-class lesbian and gay (LG) adoptive parents' school decision-making. Parents' economic resources provided the foundation for how parents weighed child/family identities (children's race, LG-parent family structure, child's special needs) and school-related concerns (e.g., academic rigor). For White gay male-headed families in affluent urban communities, financial resources muted racial and sexual orientation consciousness in favor of competitive academic environments. Lesbian mothers of modest economic means prioritized racial diversity more centrally. Racial diversity overrode gay-friendliness as a consideration in lesbian-mother families; gay-friendliness was prioritized over racial diversity among families in conservative communities; and special needs overrode all other child and family identity considerations. For LG adoptive parent families, school decision-making has the potential for greater tensions amidst multiple intersecting identities and fewer economic resources.

Publication Title

Journal of Marriage and Family

Publication Date

2018

Volume

80

Issue

3

First Page

684

Last Page

703

ISSN

0022-2445

DOI

10.1111/jomf.12478

Keywords

adoption, LGBTQ, marginalized, multiracial, parent involvement, school

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