The University of Birmingham is carrying out research that will help to ensure that its curriculum is inclusive towards those with LGBTQI* people.

The project will develop a guide for colleagues who want to embed LGBTQ issues in the institution’s academic disciplines; inclusivity previously centred around the social experiences of LGBTQ students, rather than on the content and delivery of teaching.

However, students have reported that interactions in lectures, seminars and laboratories are crucial to their experience. Positive experiences include good staff role models and the use of case studies that acknowledge LGBTQ identities. Nationally, LGBTQ students in higher education experience higher than average rates of drop out, use of student support services, mitigating circumstances, and suicide rates.

The project at the University of Birmingham will explore the experiences of staff and students, through a survey and local-level workshops over two years. Along with a review of course literature, the findings will be compared with experience across the international education sector.

Co-Project Leader Dr Nicola Gale, Lecturer in the Sociology of Health Care, Health Services Management Centre said: ‘For LGBTQ students, coming to university can be a really positive experience socially, with the opportunity to meet new people and, here at Birmingham, join the excellent student LGBTQ Association. However, we would like to ensure that this experience translates in to the actual content of their courses.’

Along with the production of best practice resources and workshops, those involved in the project hope to present their research at the University’s prestigious Teaching and Learning Conference in 2015, as well as publish results in a peer-reviewed journal. Findings from the study will also be shared nationally and internationally among colleagues at other research-intensive universities.