Future Teachers' Attitudes toward Gay and Lesbian Parenting.

Autor/inn/en	Shelley-Sireci, Lynn M.; Ciano-Boyce, Claudia; Deramo, Marianne
Titel	Future Teachers' Attitudes toward Gay and Lesbian Parenting.
Quelle	(2001), (14 Seiten)Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Adoption; Age Differences; College Students; Higher Education; Homophobia; Homosexuality; Parents; Preservice Teachers; Social Bias; Student Attitudes + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Collegestudent; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Homosexualität; Eltern; Schülerverhalten
Abstract	Noting current estimates that between 4 and 14 million children have lesbian or gay parents and recent research suggesting that most college students are homophobic, this study examined college students' homophobia and attitudes toward adoption. Participating in the study were 96 heterosexual undergraduate education majors at a state college who completed a questionnaire examining homophobia as well as attitudes toward adoption and tendencies toward socially desirable responding. Participants also read a case study vignette describing either a heterosexual or a homosexual couple interested in adopting and responded to questions about the couple. Findings indicated that the average score of education majors was in the moderate to mild range on the Index of Homophobia, with 77 percent of students classified as non-homophobic and 23 percent classified as low-grade homophobic. Older students were less homophobic than younger. Homophobia did not correlate with number of gay friends or family or to religiosity. Education majors did not differ from 191 non-education majors from the same institution on homophobia, attitudes toward adoption, social desirability, or attitudes toward gay/lesbian parenting. They generally supported adoption and had fairly positive attitudes toward gay/lesbian parenting. On the questions regarding the vignette, subjects rated heterosexual parents as creating the least dangerous home environment. Greater concern was shown when parents in the vignette were gay than when they were heterosexual. Subjects were most likely to recommend placement in the home of a heterosexual couple and least likely with a gay/lesbian couple, even when controlling for homophobic attitudes. The future teachers were unlikely to attribute childhood problems to their parents' sexual orientation. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/KB)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC