GENDER DISCRIMINATION AMONG SECONDARY STUDENTS IN DOMALANDAN CENTER INTEGRATED SCHOOL RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.Have you ever been discriminated because of your gender? In what way? 2.How did you handle being discriminated? 3.What can you advice those who have been discriminated? 4.How can the school prevent g ender discrimination? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY a. Research design - qualitative phenomenology c. Instruments This study shall employ a demographics questionnaire and interview guide D. Plan for data analysis- After the interview process is done, the researchers shall transcribe and analyze the findings related to the data base of this study. Participants Context and Rationale The passage of Senate Bill No. 2122 also known as An Act Prohibiting Discrimination on the Basis of Ethnicity, Race, Religion or Belief, Social Class, Sex, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression and of Department of Education ( DepEdl ) Order. No. 32, s. 2017 which issued a gender-responsive basic education policy legally obligated schools to provide equal opportunities to and equal treatment of all students in our schools, regardless of gender. The Domalandan Center Integrated School caters to students with varied gender identity and sexual orientation. The learning environment in the school is made inclusive across all genders. It has been observed though that students whose sexual orientation and gender identities are different from the majority become subject to name calling, heckling, source of amusement and in the process are discriminated due to their gender identity and expression. In this study, the researchers aim to increase understanding of bullying of lesbian- and gay-identified students. Given the lack of literature on bullying of lesbian and gay students, the researchers shall explore this phenomenon through the perspectives of key informants who are lesbian and gay themselves. Review of Literature Th e awareness of gender within schools assures that girls are made aware that they are unequal to boys. Every time students are seated or lined up by gender, teachers are affirming that girls and boys should be treated differently. When different behaviors are tolerated for boys than for girls because ‘boys will be boy’ schools are perpetuating the oppression of females. There is some evidence that girls are becoming more academically successful than boys, however examination of the classroom shows that girls and boys continue to be socialized in ways that work against gender equity ( Mulrine , 2001). Add to this how members of the third sex are treated or discriminated in the school. Investigations focused on life experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth suggest that up to 84 per cent report verbal harassment ( Poteat and Espelage , 2005), a quarter report physical harassment ( Elze , 2003; Pilkington and D'Augelli , 2005), and up to 70 per cent experience problems in school due to prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation ( Remafedi , 20077; Saewyc et al. , 2007; Telljohann and Price, 1993). Victimization of lesbian and gay youth has been identified across elementary (Solomon, 2004), high-school ( Bullagay et al. , 2012; Tandoc , 2013; Williams et al. , 2015) and university ( Dacal , 2015) settings. Moreover, lesbian and gay youth often hear derogatory homophobic comments and labels directed towards individuals regardless of their sexual orientation (Cabrera and Fungo , 2015). It has been suggested that homophobic bullying is pervasive, insidious and starts early (Mallon, 2011; Solomon and Russel, 2014).