Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
Journal of LGBT Youth

For a Special Issue on
Thriving on Campus: Promoting the Inclusion, Academic Development, and Wellbeing of Diverse 2SLGBTQ+ University and College Students

Submission of interest including a 500-word abstract due February 28, 2023

Research on 2SLGBTQ+ university and college students’ experiences has grown considerably in recent decades as more institutions implement policies, practices, and other initiatives to support 2SLGBTQ+ students’ inclusion, academic development, and wellbeing. Although the body of knowledge about the campus climate for 2SLGBTQ+ students is relatively rich, pivotal gaps still exist, including concerning the experiences of specific subgroups of 2SLGBTQ+ students, such as Two Spirit, asexual, and nonbinary students, and others who hold marginalized positionalities; the impacts of 2SLGBTQ+ policies and resources and affirming climates on students’ outcomes; learners’ engagement in experiential learning, co-operative placements off-campus, and other applied post-secondary pathways; diverse students’ strengths, resilience, and resistance; and students’ experiences at different types of institutions (e.g., minority-serving institutions, community colleges). Further, in terms of fostering inclusion, little is known about the goals, design, and impacts of colleges’ and universities’ efforts to promote 2SLGBTQ+ students’ belonging, acceptance, and other positive outcomes, particularly initiatives that address the needs of students with multiple minoritized identities or those who are invisible/excluded in the “LGBT” acronym. Also absent from the literature are perspectives informing change efforts within institutions, or case examples of 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion change processes. Consequently, staff, administrators, faculty, and students have little guidance about how to realize change, especially in contexts where they encounter resistance or limited resources and support.

This special issue aims to address these and other issues to advance understanding of 2SLGBTQ+ campus climate and to support diverse 2SLGBTQ+ students’ inclusion, academic development, and wellbeing within college and university communities. We welcome submissions from researchers, practitioners, and students. We especially welcome and encourage international submissions.

Submission Type

The special issue will include full-length manuscripts and brief reports focusing on innovative practices.

Full-length Manuscripts: We welcome empirical and conceptual papers that align with the theme of 2SLGBTQ+ thriving on campus by promoting inclusion, academic development, and wellbeing among diverse 2SLGBTQ+ university and college students. Empirical papers can report findings from quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method studies, including innovative or less-familiar methodological designs (e.g., autoethnography, arts-based inquiry, case study). For climate studies, we particularly welcome investigations conducted at multiple institutions, intersectionality studies, and those focused on under studied 2SLGBTQ+ subgroups. We especially seek studies that centre 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, equity, and social justice principles and goals. We expect all studies to offer pragmatic implications for supporting diverse 2SLGBTQ+ students and informing institutional policies, programs, and services.

Innovative Practices: These brief reports are an opportunity to share information about campus-based initiatives to foster diverse 2SLGBTQ+ students’ belonging, academic development, and/or wellbeing. Authors can provide context for the initiative (e.g., students’ needs the initiative aims to address) grounded in the literature, how the initiative was developed, and its goals, design, and impact/potential impact, and if relevant, offer any lessons learned or recommendations for institutions interested in implementing the initiative.

Guest Editors

We are a group of interdisciplinary scholars committed to fostering 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, equity, and social justice through our research and writing. Across our work, we use various methods and approaches and embrace diverse epistemologies. Our group represents scholars from Canada and the United States.

Michael R. Woodford (he/him), Professor & Associate Dean: PhD Program, Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University

Michael has been studying 2SLGBTQ+ campus climate since 2008. He co-led the 2013 US-based National Study of LGBTQ Student Success with Dr. Kris Renn, Michigan State University. He and his team recently concluded Thriving On Campus, a mixed-methods study that engaged nearly 3900 2SLGBTQ+ university students from throughout Ontario. They are currently leading a project to mobilize the study’s findings and support participating universities to develop strategies to promote 2SLGBTQ+ students’ inclusion, academic development, and wellbeing. The mobilization project involves over 250 service providers and administrators from universities throughout Ontario.

Lee Airton, PhD (they/them), Assistant Professor, Gender and Sexuality Studies in Education, Faculty of Education, Queen’s University

Lee’s research explores how Ontario K-12 education and university-based teacher education are responding to gender identity and gender expression protections in human rights legislation via policy, curriculum, and pedagogy. In 2012, Lee founded They Is My Pronoun, the first Q+A-based blog about gender-neutral pronoun usage and user support. In 2021, they and their team launched gegi.ca, the first bilingual self-advocacy resource for K-12 students experiencing gender expression and gender identity discrimination at school. Lee’s first book, Gender: Your Guide offers practical steps for welcoming gender diversity in everyday life and has been adopted as a key professional development text in teacher education programs, school districts, and public sector and private sector organizations. With Dr. Susan Woolley, they recently edited Teaching About Gender Diversity: Teacher-Tested Lesson Plans for K-12 Classrooms.

Simon Coulombe, PhD (he/him), Associate Professor & Research Chair in Mental Health, Self-Management, and Work, Industrial Relations Department, Université Laval

Simon's work lies at the intersection between several fields of psychology (community, positive, environmental and organizational psychology). His research aims to explore social factors that should be leveraged to promote the positive well-being and development of people, particularly those from marginalized groups, including 2SLGBTQ+ students. Simon was a co-investigator with the Ontario-wide Thriving On Campus.

Antonio Duran, PhD (he/him/él), Assistant Professor, Higher & Postsecondary Education, Arizona State University

Informed by his identities as a cisgender queer Latino man, Antonio’s research involves understanding how historical and contemporary legacies of oppression influence college student development, experiences, and success. In particular, he is passionate about uplifting the perspectives of queer and trans communities of color, as well as theories and frameworks grounded in these experiences. He does so mindful of the diversity that exists within queer and trans groups, together with an attention to how different institutional environments (e.g., minority-serving institutions) address the needs of these populations.

Corey W. Johnson, PhD (he/him/his), Karla Henderson Distinguished Professor of Social Justice, Department of Park, Recreation and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University

Corey’s theorizing and qualitative inquiry focuses its attention on the power relations between dominant (white, male, heterosexual, etc.) and non-dominant populations in the cultural contexts of leisure. He has received substantial financial support in his efforts to create safer environments for 2SLGBTQ+ youth in camps, secondary schools, universities, detention centers and other institutional settings. He was selected as one of the top ten educators (P-16) in Georgia working for equality by the Georgia LGBT Pride Committee and received the University of Georgia’s President’s MLK Jr. Achieving the Dream award and the University of Waterloo Equity Award.

Tin Vo, PhD (he/they), Postdoctoral Researcher, Anti-Racism, Equity, and Social Accountability, Unity Health Toronto and University of Toronto

Tin’s interdisciplinary, equity-focused research centres on social climate and exclusion as determinants of health for marginalized populations. Using a critical lens, his research explores the experiences of diverse 2SLGBTQ+ people (e.g., transgender/gender nonconforming, racialized, and/or disabled) to enhance their belonging and wellbeing in various contexts, including 2SLGBTQ+ leisure spaces and higher education institutions. He is a research fellow with the Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ Research Hub and a member of the International Partnerships for Queer Youth Resilience.

Word Limits

Full-length Manuscripts: The journal accepts manuscripts up to 6000 words, however for the special issue we ask authors to limit manuscripts to 5000 words inclusive of references, tables, and figures.

Innovative Practices: Brief reports can be up to 2000 words inclusive of references, tables, and figures. No more than six references should be included and Headings should be used.

Submission and Review Process 

Individuals with questions are encouraged to contact the lead guest editor: Michael Woodford ([email protected]).

All submissions will undergo masked peer review and must follow the journal’s submission guidelines. They must contain no identifying information for the author(s), including citations of their work, or any affiliated institution.

• Submission of Interest including a 500-word abstract: February 28, 2023. The submission of interest can be submitted here.
  • Full-length Manuscripts: Provide information about the background (e.g., description of the problem), research questions, methods and participants (if applicable), main results/anticipated results for empirical papers, or central arguments/propositions for conceptual papers, and a summary of the implications for supporting diverse 2SLGBTQ+ students and informing institutional policies, programs, and services.
  • Innovative Practices–Brief Reports: Provide an overview of why and how the initiative was developed, its context, goals, design, and impact/potential impact, and if relevant, lessons learned/recommendations you intend to offer.
• Authors notified of intent to include contribution in the special issue: March 7, 2023
• Manuscripts (Draft 1): May 15, 2023
• Peer review feedback to authors: June 30, 2023
• Revised Submissions (Draft 2): August 30, 2023
• Peer review feedback to authors: September 30, 2023
• Final revisions: October 15, 2023
• Final logistics, proofs: December 1, 2023
• Online publication: February 2024

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article