CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This Chapter presents the summary of the research work undertaken, the

conclusions, and the recommendations made as an outgrowth of the study.

Summary of Findings

The primary objective of this study was to identify the experiences of LGBTQIA+

students at San Jose National High School. This study will use phenomenological

qualitative research, which seeks to understand and describe the universal essence of a

phenomenon. With the researchers' previous notions about the phenomenon suspended,

this research approach examines how people actually live their daily lives. In order to

find useful information about LGBTQ students' experiences in the classroom,

community, or at home, this study will be a good fit. Researchers gathered 10

respondents from junior and senior high school students who are part of the LGBTQIA+

community. The study will be conducted at San Jose National High School, located at

Barangay 87 Manlurip, San Jose, Tacloban City, Leyte. The study will include senior and

junior high school grounds.

This study seeks to comprehend the participants' issues and viewpoints from the

participants' perspective based on their experiences. It also answers the general question,

"What are the experiences of LGBTQIA+ students in SJNHS?" The study will

specifically address the following questions. Specifically, the study will be answering the

following questions along with the principal findings of the study that accords with the

objectives:

What are the experiences of LGBTQ students?

the students

 Socializing among LGBTQ+ students

1. What treatments do they receive from family and peers?

 Beliefs and Norms applied towards gender identities of the students

from their family and friends

 Encounters of students coming out of the closet

2. What are the factors that contribute to these students’ experiences?

 How acceptance from family and relationships established with them

correlates to their sense of security

 Personal empowerment among LGBTQ+ students

What are the experiences of LGBTQ students?

Under the theme of ‘The Importance of School Environment, And Stigmas’ it was

revealed that a few LGBTQIA+ student participants are being treated well in their

community, especially within their family, while other participants are not. A participant

said in one of their statements, "I sometimes experience discrimination, especially

because they don’t accept being gay when you should really be a man," P04, which

clarifies that he or she has experience with bullying. Another phenomenon majority of

the participant experience is the interactions with other straight schoolmates, most

claimed that they have encountered trouble with socializing with other people due to their

gender identity, specifically to straight counterparts. This may be due to the fact that the

participant does not know whether or not they will be accepted by these people, as well
as the idea that there are concepts straight people wouldn’t understand regarding

LGBTQ+ matters.

They experience these kinds of things not only inside their abode but in school as

well. The statements from Tables 4.0 and 7.0 serve as proof that LGBTQ+ students do

experience stresses and stigmas whether inside or outside the school campus.

What treatments do they receive from family and peers?

It was discovered that some of the participants (LGBTQIA+ students) frequently

face uncomfortable treatment because of their gender identity. Families frequently make

links between their gender identity and long-held religious beliefs, saying that being

LGBTQ+ is wrong and goes against the Almighty's word. They mostly hear these

comments from their families, but with time they come to embrace the participants' real

identities. The majority of participants have great companions who treat them well

without judgment or discrimination because of the strong relationship they have with

them, other participants also experience positive treatment, such as having family and

friends accept their identity as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. It implies that

gaining acceptance is made simpler when the participants have close, solid relationships

with their family or friends, with friends in this situation being more likely to accept

them.

What are the factors that contribute to these students’ experiences?

Families often do not accept the true identity of a few of the participants but still

have the tendency to come to a point of acceptance of the participant’s gender identity

and preferences. This may be due to the idea that they only needed time to fully

understand the whole thing. The most significant information in this text is that the
Philippines is a religious nation and that the generational divide between parents and

children affects how older people see LGBTQ+ kids. This generational divide is a

significant barrier for LGBTQ+ students and their parents or other family members since

it makes acceptance among LGBTQ+ children and students more challenging to attain.

Family elders insist that LGBTQ+ students behave in accordance with gender standards

according to their biological identities, claiming that being LGBTQ+ or being a part of it

is an insult to the Almighty. The majority of LGBTQ+ students and kids with religious

families or elders will certainly encounter these sorts of circumstances, which can

contribute to their experiences as LGBTQ+ children.

As mentioned in the previous section, relationships are also one of the factors

revealed that dictate their encounters with receiving acceptance from friends and family.

the stronger the relationship between the participant and their family, friends, or peers,

the easier it is for them to gain acceptance and support from them.

Conclusions

There are several things This study on the experiences of LGBTQ+ students have

revealed and provided an expression of their opinions and the number of encounters these

students have undergone, outside and inside the campus, and has served as a voice to this

underserved population. As mentioned in the first chapter. The aim of the study was to

investigate and identify the LGBTQ+ students’ experiences, and treatments received from

family, friends, and peers, as well as to identify factors contributing to these students’

experiences. The results of the study confirmed some phenomena considered universal to

these marginalized groups such as the experience of few stresses, and discrimination from

family, friends, and peers, which confirms the Minority stress theory by Melissa Meyers,
where Sexual Minority Youths (SMY) it posits that sexual minorities face unique and

hostile stressors (e.g., homophobic victimization) related to their sexual minority identity;

consequently, these stressors have negative effects on their health (Meyer, 2003; cited by

V. Paul Poteat t. al, 2014). The overall findings of the study provided themes that contain

various phenomena experienced by LGBTQ+ students, which led to researchers have

come to an agreement purely based on the available data, that most experiences of the

LGBTQ+ students participants have gone through negative experiences and occurrences

mostly from their families, and rarely from their friends. Necessary action is

recommended regarding the prevailing stigmas still experienced by LGBTQ+ students.

On the contrary, a silver lining is still visible in these marginalized groups of youths

(LGBTQ+ students), behind all those conflicts, there are still people who accept and

support these LGBTQ+ youths, which also implies that acceptance and inclusivity are

rising slowly over time.

Recommendations

In light of the whole study, suggestions have emerged coming from the

researchers, based on the findings as well as from the general and sub-questions of the

study to the summary and conclusion. The recommendations are as follows:

 Some of the LGBTQ+ students experiencing bullying and discrimination while

inside the school premises, hence the results of this study indicate that the school

can play a vital part in developing policies. Recommended policies that can be

implemented within the school are anti-bullying and anti-discrimination that

address harassment and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ+ students.

recommended as it is considered one of the strategies to avoid LGBTQ+ students

from encountering negative situations and stresses with other straight

schoolmates. A GSA is an extracurricular club that has a faculty advisor and is

made up of gay and straight students. Its stated goal is to make the school

environment better for all students and to specifically address issues that are

related to Sexual Minority Youths. (Burton, C. M., Marshal, M. P., & Chisolm,

D. J., 2014)

 It is recommended that the school educate student members by providing

resources and information about the community (LGBTQ+ community) as a

method to help LGBTQIA students.

 A welcoming setting for LGBTQ+ students can help them feel like they have a

safe space, thus teachers need to make focused efforts to improve care

experiences for LGBTQ+ children both inside and outside of school.

 Further study is beneficial in understanding the family's ideas and practices when

traditional religious values diverge from those of the modern world. Their

acceptance of their gender is significantly impacted by the generational gap

between the parent and the child. It is recommended that future research to further

dive deep into the relationship and effects of religious assertions towards

LGBTQ+ matters.