Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Publication Title

Leading & Managing: Journal of the Australian

Volume

31

Issue

1

Pages

36-51

Abstract

Over the last few years, there has been a surge in anti-LGBTQIA+ and, specifically, anti-transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming legislation. These laws target the rights of LGBTQIA+ students in K–12 schools, leading to policies censoring gender-inclusive curricula, mandating the outing of students, and restricting transgender students’ access to sports and facilities. The rapid emergence of these bills has outpaced research on how leaders—particularly justice-centred leaders—navigate these hostile policy contexts. Existing research taking a broader lens around leaders’ justice work in schools sheds light on how leaders engage in covert advocacy within complex and constraining contexts. However, understanding how leaders resist and respond to anti-trans policies, in particular, requires urgent exploration. This systematic literature review examines current research on how leaders resist hostile policies and extrapolates how these strategies might apply to leaders’ creative compliance within the current anti-trans context. We discuss the critical need for timely research that explores leaders’ experiences and practices within these hostile climates. With this work, we aim to support leaders’ capacity to navigate and resist anti-trans legislation while upholding their commitment to equity and inclusion.

Rights

© 2025 The Authors. All rights reserved.

"As an open access journal, authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to Leading & Managing."

ORCID

0000-0001-9520-8645 (Richard)

Original Publication Citation

Gribble, A., Simpson, E., & Richard, M. S. (2025). Quiet resistance: Drawing on covert advocacy research to understand school leadership within the current anti-trans context. Leading & Managing: Journal of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, 31(1), 36-51.

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