In the original version of the demographics section of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), children completing the survey were asked the question: “Are you a boy or a girl?”
By 2016, it had become quite clear that this gender question needed to be reconsidered. Legislation had changed to recognize a wider gender identity as included in human rights codes, and school board policies across Canada had been updated to provide thoughtful and inclusive accommodations for transgender and gender non-conforming children and staff. Awareness, classroom resources, and teaching practices have continued to change to respond to a broadened understanding of gender identity, with the aim of creating safe, inclusive spaces in which all children can focus on their learning.
Our team at the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) updated the MDI gender question in an effort to be on the leading edge of research about child and adolescent social and emotional well-being, and in response to the feedback our team received from educators across the country. But most importantly, this question was updated to ensure that the MDI stands by its founding principles of enabling children to share about their own lives and experiences, from their own perspectives and in their own voices. This update truly honors children’s voices and their identities.
Our team is proud of the work and effort that contributed to this change and send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who was a part of this process. Whether you mentioned your concerns to a HELP staff member while implementing the survey or shared your experiences more formally as part of this review process, please know that your feedback was greatly appreciated. Below are some Frequently Asked Questions about the change to the gender question. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions that are not answered in these materials.
Changes in provincial human rights legislation and directives from Ministries of Education to include gender identity in local school board diversity policies led our team at HELP to update the gender question to be more inclusive. School staff in partnering schools also asked for a question that is more aligned with their work to ensure safe, inclusive spaces in which all children feel accepted and able to focus on their learning, whatever their gender identity.
Instead of asking “Are you a boy or a girl?”, in the 2017-2018 school year children were able to describe themselves through choices that included: “boy,” “girl” or “in another way.” Following a review of the responses, this question was further refined in the 2018-2019 school year. Children are now asked “How do you describe your gender?” The possible answers are “boy,” “girl,” or “in another way. If a student selects “in another way,” a text box appears in which they can describe their gender in their own words.
Once our team at HELP had decided to review the gender question, we conducted a research project that included: a literature review, consultations with experts and practitioners, and a series of workshops and meetings with HELP MDI staff and researchers. An open-text box gender question was also piloted with children in the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board in Nova Scotia. Based on the information gathered from the research project and the open-text box gender question, our team developed an initial version of the gender question in 2017-2018. Following a review of the responses from 2017-2018, the question was further refined for the 2018-2019 school year. This question may continue to evolve.
The foundation of the MDI is to invite children to tell us about their lives and their own experiences, inside and outside of school, in their own voices. Gender is an important aspect of identity.
The gender identity question, previously the first question asked on the MDI, is now moved to the bottom of the first page within the demographics section as suggested by the literature (The GenIUS Group, 2014) and expert opinion. Further, the MDI data are entirely confidential. Children’s teachers and principals do not have access to individual children’s survey answers, and all personal identifiers are removed.
Yes, like all of the questions on the MDI, answering this question is completely voluntary. Children can decline to answer any question they wish and can withdraw from the MDI at any time.
For many tools and resources for an inclusive education system in BC and Alberta see: https://www.sogieducation.org/
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