In June 2021, Luka Wall presented key findings from KPU’s Fall 2020 Student Satisfaction Survey comparing 2SLGBTQIA+ students’ experiences to their straight and cisgender peers’ to KPU’s Pride Advocacy Group, a collection of students and employees that led efforts to improve 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion and well-being across the institution from 2020 to 2025. The findings were stark. 2SLGBTQIA+ students reported higher rates of food insecurity and mental health conditions. They were also less likely to agree that instructors create a climate supportive of student diversity, that they feel part of the KPU community, and that students are treated fairly at KPU regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. The differences between groups were especially pronounced when comparing gender diverse students, inclusive of those who identified as trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, and questioning their gender identity, to cisgender students. These findings suggested that 2SLGBTQIA+ students might not have been receiving the support they needed to thrive at KPU and demonstrated a need for more in-depth research to explore the community’s experiences.

Phase 1: Exploring the Experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ Students at KPU

In response to this presentation, Dr. Tara Lyons began to develop an exploratory qualitative study to explore the reasons why 2SLGBTQIA+ students at KPU were reporting such different levels of satisfaction in their educational environment. The objective of this work, beyond gaining a better understanding of 2SLGBTQIA+ student experiences, was to gather information that could be used to inform recommendations to better support these students at KPU. To help develop and carry out the project, she hired two KPU students that were part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community (Kayla Garvin and Sarah Schwagele) as research assistants. For Dr. Lyons, building a team that included 2SLGBTQIA+ students was intentional and significant, as 2SLGBTQIA+ people are often underrepresented in research, including ones that explore our experiences and aims to create change that impacts our communities. The student research assistants, as members of KPU’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community, brought unique expertise that helped develop the project and interpret its findings in a way that represented the interests, priorities, and experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ KPU students.

The student research assistants worked with Dr. Lyons to develop interview questions and conducted 43 virtual and in-person semi-structured qualitative interviews with 2SLGBTQIA+ students at KPU from February to June 2022. Because we knew that students’ 2SLGBTQIA+ identities could not be understood in isolation from other aspects of their identities and lives, we used purposive and snowball sampling to ensure that participants represented diverse backgrounds in terms of their age, sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, dis/ability, and area of study. In these interviews, students were asked questions that explored their belongingness to the KPU community; experiences in classrooms, accessing services, and with food and housing insecurity; and access to support. At the end of each interview, students were asked whether there were ways that KPU could better support 2SLGBTQIA+ students in classrooms and, more broadly, on campus.

Figure 1. Recruitment poster for phase 1 interviews with KPU 2SLGBTQIA+ students.

After these interviews were conducted, the student research assistants and Dr. Lyons engaged in a collaborative data analysis process, where the team developed themes based on the interview transcripts. During this process, two additional research assistants (Liam Ruel and Camille Bédard), also 2SLGBTQIA+ students attending KPU, joined the research team to support with data analysis and dissemination. From these interviews, we found that many 2SLGBTQIA+ students had experienced discrimination at KPU from their peers, their instructors, and school staff, and did not have access to supportive community on campus. As a result, many were uncomfortable being “out” as 2SLGBTQIA+ at KPU and were reluctant to access services because they anticipated harm or that service providers would be uninformed about 2SLGBTQIA+ identities and experiences. In classrooms, many students found that their course materials lacked 2SLGBTQIA+ representation and were at times incorrect or offensive. We also found that some groups of students, including students who were Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC), international students, and students with disabilities, experienced additional harms that impacted their experiences and comfort on campus. Altogether, these findings suggested that 2SLGBTQIA+ students did not have access to all the support and services that they needed to thrive at KPU.

Because we felt that these findings were significant for administrators, instructors, and school staff at KPU, we wanted to share them widely. From 2022 to 2024, we gave over 20 presentations to teams of service providers, instructors, and administrators that focused on providing actionable recommendations and starting conversations about 2SLGBTQIA+ equity on campus (figure 2). Through these presentations, we were able to build working relationships with KPU employees in departments like Counselling Services, who we supported in updating counselling intake surveys based on student feedback. Student members of the research team were involved throughout this process, co-developing presentations and sharing findings along with Dr. Lyons.

Figure 2. “The Experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ KPU Students: Coming Out, Accessing Services & Coping Strategies.” Title slide of presentation to KPU’s Student Affairs Management Team on December 2, 2022.

We also made efforts to make our findings accessible to the broader KPU community, discussing our work at several KPU-wide events, including the 2022-23 Arts Speaker Series (figure 3) and 2024 Research Showcase. Student members of the research team additionally presented our work at two local research conferences: Connecting Minds in 2023 and Empowering Minds in 2024. The research team also led a workshop in 2024 for KPU and the broader community that engaged instructors, staff, and community members in discussions around how key project findings from the project could inform their work with 2SLGBTQIA+ students.

Figure 3. “The Experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ KPU Students: Gaps & Recommendations” poster for KPU’s 2022-23 Arts Speaker Series.

One of the most prominent outcomes of this work was its impact on 2SLGBTQIA+ student community at KPU. After finding that many of those we interviewed felt isolated on campus and wanted more opportunities to connect with their peers, student members of the research team founded the Pride Society, a 2SLGBTQIA+ student club, and opened the Pride Centre, a social space and resource centre for KPU 2SLGBTQIA+ students. Beyond connection, the Pride Society and Pride Centre have offered access to resources and information that 2SLGBTQIA+ students may face barriers accessing elsewhere, including menstrual products; safer sex and drug use supplies and resources; and a small library with books and informational pamphlets on 2SLGBTQIA+ health, experiences, and history. Having access to these supports has had significant impacts on 2SLGBTQIA+ students’ experiences at KPU, providing greater access to 2SLGBTQIA+-friendly resources and social connection on campus. In an informal survey of Pride Society members’ experiences, one student shared (2023):

I had no friends in high school, and for a little while I was worried it would be the same in uni. But when I met people in the Pride Society, the immediate sense of belonging I felt was a huge relief. I’ve never felt like I fit in somewhere more than I do when I’m with other people there. I’m glad I have people I can rely on.

The Pride Society and Pride Centre have helped share information about awards and grants, work and volunteer opportunities, events, services, and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ students. They have also been a way to reach more students about opportunities to provide feedback that informs equity initiatives on campus, including an assessment of KPU’s washroom facilities for trans and non-binary inclusion in 2024.

The Pride Centre (figure 4) was initially staffed and managed by a team of 2SLGBTQIA+ student volunteers, who dedicated hundreds of hours to keeping the space open on a limited budget. A goal of this research, beyond making these resources available, was advocating for 2SLGBTQIA+ students to receive compensation for their labour running these spaces and to make the program more sustainable. In late 2023, after continued advocacy informed by the research results, KPU established the funded Pride Peer Leaders program, a peer-to-peer student support program that hired the 2SLGBTQIA+ students volunteering in the Pride Centre as Student Assistants.

Figure 4. Pride Center space at KPU Surrey Campus.

This research project was crucial in helping us identify key themes around 2SLGBTQIA+ student experiences and contributed to meaningful change at KPU. However, we recognized that it was limited in scope and that continued exploration could contribute to our understanding of 2SLGBTQIA+ student experiences, informing further advocacy. Building on the foundation of this exploratory project, the research team designed a second study with a broadened scope.

Phase 2’s Expansion of Methods and Sites: Students Leading the Way

To continue exploring 2SLGBTQIA+ student experiences, we designed a mixed-methods study that included a comprehensive online survey and focus groups. In this study, we expanded beyond KPU to include participants from six additional teaching-focused institutions in the Lower Mainland: the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), Capilano University, Douglas College, Langara College, University of Fraser Valley (UFV), and Vancouver Community College (VCC). The research questions and design were co-developed by the research team, now joined by Luka Wall and supported by two student research assistants (x and y) as others moved on to pursue their post-graduate studies. Two broad research questions were developed by the team to guide the development of the survey and focus groups:

1. What are the intersectional experiences of 2SLGTQIA+ post-secondary students?
2. What unique challenges and benefits do 2SLGBTQIA+ post-secondary students experience at teaching-focused institutions?

The survey instrument was developed by all members of the research team, informed by the findings of the initial interviews with KPU students and team members’ experiences as 2SLGBTQIA+ students or employees at KPU. The final survey captured data on a wide range of topics and included an extensive demographics section to enable intersectional analyses. In closed-ended questions about their school experiences, students were asked about their outness; access to and barriers to accessing institutional services; and perceptions of campus climate, including their comfort expressing their identity, sense of community on campus, perceived support from instructors and decision-makers, witnessed or experienced bullying and harassment, and willingness to report such incidents. Additional questions on campus climate were posed to specific subgroups, including students with disabilities; international students; Indigenous students; and BIPOC students, to explore ways that intersecting identities influenced their post-secondary experience. We also included questions that explored student experiences outside of school, including questions about pride, perceptions of their city of residence, housing, finances, transportation, health care experiences and access, and substance use. Open-ended questions were included to expand upon these topics and ask students for recommendations to improve 2SLGBTQIA+ students’ educational experiences at their school. Between December 2023 and May 2024, the survey was completed by a total of 335 students, recruited primarily through word-of-mouth and postering on campuses of the participating schools (figure 5). Instructors at BCIT, Langara College, UFV, and VCC joined the study as co-investigators to support recruitment efforts and, later, dissemination of the findings within their schools.

Descriptive statistics were generated from the closed-ended survey responses, including frequencies for each question. Where we had sufficient participation to do so without compromising participant anonymity, we prepared reports that summarized responses by institution of study that were shared with their respective institutions. Inferential statistics have been conducted to support writing or presentations that draw on the survey data, as needed and appropriate.

Figure 5. Recruitment poster for phase 2 survey with KPU 2SLGBTQIA+ students

To expand upon the survey data and explore student experiences in greater depth, we also invited survey participants to join focus groups if they expressed interest during the survey. Focus group topics were decided based on the interests of research team members and co-investigators, and included groups of students attending a specific institution, including BCIT, KPU, Langara College, and VCC; as well as the experiences of students in trades programs, students with disabilities, international students, students who used drugs, and students experiencing financial or housing insecurity. The questions asked in each focus group varied based on the topic and were written collaboratively among the research team based on our initial interviews with KPU students, preliminary survey data, previous literature, and research team members’ experiences. Two additional research assistants (Kai Barcellos Luna and Destiny Lang), both 2SLGBTQIA+ students attending KPU, joined the research team during this time to help design and conduct focus groups and support the dissemination of the project findings. A total of 59 participants, divided into 21 focus groups, were facilitated by student members of the research team. These focus groups were conducted online and in person, each lasting around an hour in length.

Data from these focus groups and open-ended survey responses were analyzed collaboratively among the research team, who independently conducted line-by-line thematic coding, then discussed and refined themes in regular team meetings. Initially, we analyzed data across all focus groups and open-ended survey responses. Subsequent coding has taken place on subsections of the data to support writing or presentations that focus on specific focus experiences or survey questions.

The findings from Phase 2 of the project echoed many of the themes that had emerged in our initial interviews with students at KPU during phase 1. Most students had witnessed or experienced anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate from instructors or peers at school, and many had additionally experienced racism, ableism, and xenophobia. 2SLGBTQIA+ representation was often felt to be missing from course content, even when relevant to the topic of study, and 2SLGBTQIA+ experiences, when included, were at times misrepresented. Moreover, most students were uncomfortable seeking support at school, feeling that it would be ineffective or result in retaliation. Where most students were “out” as 2SLGBTQIA+ to at least some people outside of school, many were uncomfortable with others at school knowing about their identities. Often, this discomfort was because they feared homophobic or transphobic reactions, and we found that many who had come out to instructors, school staff, or peers felt that they were not supportive. While there was a demonstrated need for and desire to access school services, few students had tried to do so, with many fearing the staff would not know how to work with people from their background.

We also found that, when students were able to connect with supportive instructors, school staff, or peers, these relationships greatly impacted their experiences on campus. Positive relationships with instructors and staff and positive representation of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities and experiences on campus made students feel safer and helped some gain more confidence in expressing or exploring their 2SLGBTQIA+ identities. Being connected to a community of other 2SLGBTQIA+ students was also hugely significant, with many focus group participants speaking at length about the importance of peer support and shared experience in helping them navigate schools that could otherwise feel unaccepting or unsafe. We did find, however, that most students felt disconnected from their peers, with most schools lacking communities, events, or spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ students. Some students, including BIPOC students, international students, and students with disabilities, also faced additional barriers in classrooms and when trying to access services or community, including compounding discriminations, inaccessibility, and lack of representation. Although schools that participated in this study differed, to an extent, in offered programs and services, our findings were relatively consistent across institutions.

The findings from Phase 2 have been shared widely, within and beyond the institutions who participated in the project. Similarly to Phase 1, we presented our findings and student recommendations to teams of staff and administrators within KPU, including Counselling Services, Student Services, and Student Rights and Responsibilities. We were also able to share some aspects of this work with the broader KPU community, presenting an overview of our findings at the 2024 Arts Speaker Series (video 1) and findings around BIPOC 2SLGBTQIA+ student experiences at KPU’s 2025 Anti-Racism Symposium. A recording from our Arts Speaker Series Presentation that discusses select findings from the survey and focus groups is available here:  https://youtu.be/74_5a_RGBho?si=Jc99Lv0a_g1J41Nb.

Video 1. “I feel like I am the only gay person at my school”: The experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ Post-Secondary Students.” 2024 Arts Speaker Series presentation.Beyond KPU, we also had opportunities to present findings at partnering institutions in 2025, including one of BCIT’s Technical Seminars, Langara College’s Applied Research Day, and VCC’s Teaching, Learning, and Research Symposium. Following these presentations, we have had opportunities to connect with service providers and administrators at KPU, BCIT, and Langara College for further discussions that have focused on developing resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ students and helping build opportunities for student connection on campus.

Student and alumni leadership and knowledge translation

We are continuing to share findings from Phase 2 with each student research team member leading work related to different aspects of the data. Students have presented findings at four conferences, with additional presentations forthcoming, and have been invited to give guest lectures informed by their work to EACS and ARTS classes at KPU. Some of their ongoing projects are outlined below, along with slides from recent conference presentations:

Camille Bédard became a research team member in 2023, during Phase 1 of the study. He is interested in the experiences of queer and trans students who use substances, and has been working with dedicated survey and focus group data from Phase 2 of the project to explore the topic. He found that participants who reported using alcohol, cannabis, or other drugs used substances to socialize and have fun, but also to manage stress around school, work, or interpersonal conflicts. Participants who used substances faced stigma-related barriers to discussing their experiences with others, which kept them from accessing resources and support. Data from the focus groups revealed complex relationships between substance use and 2SLGBTQ+ identity, detailing how substances are used to cope with being closeted and the role of community in providing access to care and harm reduction.

Destiny Lang has been a member of the research team since 2024, when they were awarded a KPU Student Research Innovation Grant (SRIG) to explore food and housing (in)security among 2SLGBTQIA+ post-secondary students. They designed focus groups on housing and financial insecurity after finding that most of the students who participated in the Phase 2 survey were worried about their finances, unable to handle a major unexpected expense, and experiencing food insecurity. In these focus groups, they found that housing precarity and having to work long hours to afford tuition and basic living expenses impacted students’ capacity to engage with school. Destiny presented the findings of their project at KPU’s Connecting Minds conference in 2025 and in a guest lecture to ARTS 1100 students at KPU.

Kai Barcellos Luna joined the research team in 2024 through KPU’s SRIG and has been drawing on phase 2’s closed- and open-ended survey and focus group responses to explore the influence of instructor support on trans students’ academic well-being. They found that trans students felt more comfortable expressing their 2SLGBTQIA+ identity in classes when they felt their instructors were supportive. Supportive instructors, for most students, were ones who included positive 2SLGBTQIA+ representation in their courses, stood up to transphobia in the classroom, and otherwise expressed support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. In 2025, Kai presented a poster of their work at the Moving Trans History Forward conference and presented their findings at KPU’s Connecting Minds conference.

Liam Ruel joined the research team in 2022 and has focused on data exploring the experiences of students with disabilities and students’ experiences of discrimination in schools, the latter of which was presented at the Inaugural Conference on Critical Social Justice in Psychology. At the 2025 BC Studies conference, he presented on 2SLGBTQIA+ international students’ experiences, finding that many students experienced discrimination on campus and faced identity-based barriers to connecting with both 2SLGBTQIA+ and international student communities at school.

Conclusion

This research emerged from an absence of evidence about the experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ post-secondary students at KPU and at other teaching focused institutions in the Lower Mainland. The study design adapted and evolved over time and the findings have been used to improve the well-being of queer and trans students at KPU and other institutions. One of this project’s strengths is the involvement of 2SLGBTQIA+ students at each stage of the research process. Allowing students to lead data analysis and knowledge translation in areas that are important to them has provided invaluable research opportunities, and has strengthened the research approach in general.