scholarly journals Heterosexist Attitudes amongst Students Entering a Bachelor of Social Work Programme in Switzerland: Exploring Continuing Challenges for Social Work Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gredig ◽  
Annabelle Bartelsen-Raemy
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Sexual Prejudice ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Work Programme ◽  
Entering Students ◽  
Work Education

Abstract Social work programmes are expected to enable students to work adequately with sexual minorities. In Switzerland, however, curricular content on sexual minorities is lacking in BSW programmes. Potential sexual prejudice is not explicitly addressed. This study aimed to assess the attitudes towards lesbian women and gay men amongst students entering the BSW programme of a university in Switzerland to establish a basis for discussing curriculum development. Students entering the programme from 2015 through 2018 were surveyed using an online questionnaire. Heterosexist attitudes were captured using the ‘Multidimensional Scale of Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men’. The responding 955 entering students reported positive attitudes towards lesbians and gay men and evidenced low levels of heterosexist views. However, only 4.3 per cent of the respondents consistently disagreed with all items expressing heterosexist views, whilst 43.3 per cent completely agreed with at least one item. The views expressed by male participants expressed significantly higher levels of heterosexism than did those of female participants. The findings evidence uncertainties and a lack of reflection on unquestioned but heteronormative views. This reflects a need to infuse BSW programmes with sexual minority content, to provide opportunities for critical reflection and to address heteronormative and heterosexist views.

Educational Correlates of Antigay Bias: A Survey of Australian Social Work Students

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Jill Chonody ◽  
Nilan Yu
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

The study reported here examined three educational correlates of students’ attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women: coursework prior to attending the university that included information about sexual minorities, coursework at the university that included information about sexual minorities, and identification with one's degree. Undergraduate students enrolled in social work courses in an Australian university were surveyed. Of the three correlates examined, two variables— exposure to education prior to attending the university and identification with degree— were significant, but only in relation to attitudes toward gay men. The relationship with previous education about sexual minorities is remarkable in that it seems counterintuitive: Those who reported more exposure to education about sexual minorities prior to attending the university exhibited greater bias against gay men; however, the effect size was small. Consistent with study hypotheses, greater identification with one's degree was correlated to less antigay bias. Implications for social work education are considered.

Measuring Attitudes Toward LGBT Individuals: Theoretical and Practical Considerations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie C. Steffens ◽  
Sabine Preuß
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Hate Crimes ◽  
Sexual Prejudice ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Attitude Measure ◽  
Attitude Measures ◽  
And Bisexual ◽  
Lgbt Individuals

Over the last decades, in many so-called Western countries, the social, political, and legal standing of lesbians, gay men, and bisexual and trans* individuals (henceforth, LGBT* individuals) has considerably improved, and concurrently, attitudes toward these groups have become more positive. Consequently, people are aware that blatantly prejudiced statements are less socially accepted, and thus, negative attitudes toward LGBT* individuals (also referred to as antigay attitudes, sexual prejudice, or homonegativity) and their rights need to be measured in more subtle ways than previously. At the same time, discrimination and brutal hate crimes toward LGBT* individuals still exist (e.g., Orlando shooting, torture of gay men in Chechnya). Attitudes are one of the best predictors of overt behavior. Thus, examining attitudes toward LGBT* individuals in an adequate way helps to predict discriminatory behavior, to identify underlying processes, and to develop interventions to reduce negative attitudes and thus, ultimately, hate crimes. The concept of attitudes is theoretically postulated to consist of three components (i.e., the cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitude components). Further, explicit and implicit attitude measures are distinguished. Explicit measures directly ask participants to state their opinions regarding the attitude object and are thus transparent, they require awareness, and they are subject to social desirability. In contrast, implicit measures infer attitudes indirectly from observed behavior, typically from reaction times in different computer-assisted tasks; they are therefore less transparent, they do not require awareness, and they are less prone to socially desirable responding. With regard to explicit attitude measures, old-fashioned and modern forms of prejudice have been distinguished. When it comes to measuring LGBT* attitudes, measures should differentiate between attitudes toward different sexual minorities (as well as their rights). So far, research has mostly focused on lesbians and gay men; however, there is increasing interest in attitudes toward bisexual and trans* individuals. Also, attitude measures need to be able to adequately capture attitudes of more or less prejudiced segments of society. To measure attitudes toward sexual minorities adequately, the attitude measure needs to fulfill several methodological criteria (i.e., to be psychometrically sound, which means being reliable and valid). In order to demonstrate the quality of an attitude measure, it is essential to know the relationship between scores on the measure and important variables that are known to be related to LGBT* attitudes. Different measures for LGBT* attitudes exist; which one is used should depend on the (research) purpose.

Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbian Women Among Heterosexual Social Work Faculty

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill M. Chonody ◽  
Michael R. Woodford ◽  
David J. Brennan ◽  
Bernie Newman ◽  
Donna Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Social Work Faculty

scholarly journals The Role of Sexual Prejudice and Aetiology Beliefs on the Italians’ Attitudes towards Adoption by Same-Sex Couples

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Di Battista ◽  
Daniele Paolini ◽  
Monica Pivetti ◽  
Lucia Mongelli
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Sexual Prejudice ◽  
Gay And Lesbian ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Lesbian Couples ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Relationship

Research found that those who believe sexual orientation is inborn have generally positive attitudes towards gay men and lesbians. However, other studies have also found that these beliefs could include negative eugenic ideas. This study aims to investigate the role of people’s beliefs about the aetiology of sexual orientation on attitudes towards adoption for both gay and lesbian couples. We hypothesized that this relationship would be mediated by sexual prejudice. To test the predictions, 256 Italian heterosexual participants were asked to answer to a scale about their beliefs regarding the aetiology of sexual orientation, sexual prejudice, and attitudes towards adoption by same-sex couples. Results confirmed that the relationship between aetiology beliefs and adoption support was fully mediated by sexual prejudice. These investigation results suggest that the belief that sexual orientation is controllable may serve to justify one’s prejudice and, in turn, result in a lower support for same-sex couples’ adoption.

Changing Students’ Attitudes Toward Research: Comparing Traditional With Flipped Classroom Learning Methods

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-33
Author(s):  
Ziblim Abukari ◽  
Nora Padykula ◽  
Jennifer Propp
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Classroom Learning ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

Despite the importance of research to social work education, BSW students often view these courses negatively, demonstrating a lack of interest and increased levels of anxiety. This study assessed BSW students’ attitudes toward research and the impact of two different pedagogical approaches, traditional versus the flipped classroom. Using the Attitudes Toward Research Scale, two cohorts of BSW students (n=87) were surveyed at the completion of their research sequence. Findings from the study suggest that students taught in the flipped classroom reported lower levels of apprehension toward research and reported more positive attitudes and recognition of research usefulness than their traditional classroom counterparts.

scholarly journals Using audio-visual presentation to teach global mindedness in social work education

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-37
Author(s):  
John Moriarty ◽  
Janet Carter-Anand ◽  
Gavin Davidson ◽  
Chaitali Das ◽  
John Pinkerton
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Classroom Setting ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Global Mindedness ◽  
Work Programme ◽  
Work Education

This paper considers the production of an audio-visual presentation of the experience of three students who participated in an exchange with a social work programme in Pune, India. We also describe the use of the video in a classroom setting with a year group of 53 students from a younger cohort. This exercise was intended to stimulate students’ curiosity about the international dimensions of social work and add to their awareness of poverty, social justice, cultural competence and community social work as global issues. Written classroom feedback informs our discussion of the technical as well as the pedagogical benefits and challenges of this approach. We conclude that the audio-visual presentation to some degree helped students connect with diverse cultural contexts, but that a complementary discussion challenging stereotyped viewpoints and unconscious professional imperialism is also crucial.

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