Abstract
Bisexual and pansexual students’ self-reported wellbeing and perceptions of school culture are influenced by the knowledge and dispositions of school caring professionals; however, synthesised research on this topic remains limited. This scoping review (ScR) consolidates empirical literature exploring the knowledge and dispositions of school caring professionals towards bisexual and pansexual (also known as plurisexual) students. This scoping review employed the Joanna Briggs Institute manual for evidence synthesis and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Seven databases were used, with literature searched on 4 July 2025. Included articles were assessed against predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. The studies were empirical, peer-reviewed, published in English, full-text available online, with no geographical or time limitations, and responding to the research question. Collected data were meta-synthesised using a modified and dynamic three-level socio-ecological model, with thematic analysis within the three levels. Seven articles were included in the final meta-synthesis, with four being qualitative in nature, one cross-sectional, one multi-case study and one using a mixed-methods design, across five counties, published from 2014 to 2023. Findings, in the main, categorise school caring professionals’ knowledge and dispositions inform structural, interpersonal and individual barriers to optimal learning environments for bisexual and pansexual students. Findings highlight persistent bisexual/pansexual erasure by school caring professionals, underscoring the need for enhanced education and policy reform. The results also underscore the need for further research exploring the benefits of school caring professionals engaging in bisexual/pansexual-affirming training, including longitudinal research to evaluate the efficacy of bisexual/pansexual-affirming policies and professional development programmes.
Context and implications
Rationale for this study: Despite international human rights obligations mandating inclusive education, bisexual and pansexual students experience systemic exclusion, reflecting persistent gaps in school caring professionals’ knowledge and dispositions.
Why the new findings matter: The findings matter as they reveal how school caring professionals’ knowledge and dispositions directly shape bisexual and pansexual students’ safety, inclusion, wellbeing and educational engagement.
Implications for educational researchers and policy makers: Review findings highlight important implications for school caring professionals, policy makers and researchers across structural, interpersonal and individual domains within schools. Limited educator knowledge, heteronormative/monosexist assumptions and exclusionary school cultures contributed to students’ experiences of invisibility, invalidation, bullying and reduced school belonging. School caring professionals play a central role in shaping affirming or exclusionary educational environments through their pedagogical practices, relational interactions and responses to sexual diversity. These findings emphasise the need for comprehensive and reflexive professional learning, plurisexual-inclusive curricula and whole-school approaches, while highlighting opportunities for research examining effective strategies for fostering inclusion and belonging for bisexual and pansexual students.