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Assessing the Parental/Guardian Barrier:. The Missing Link in the Prevention of Sexual Minority Harassment and Bullying in Primary and Secondary Education. D. Austin Bingler December 2010. Introduction. What is missing in sexual harassment & minority education today? Personal Experience
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Assessing the Parental/Guardian Barrier: The Missing Link in the Prevention of Sexual Minority Harassment and Bullying in Primary and Secondary Education D. Austin Bingler December 2010
Introduction • What is missing in sexual harassment & minority education today? • Personal Experience • Undergraduate Research • Current Events • Clementi • DADT • Prop8
Research Question • Do parents/guardians create a barrier when educators wish to teach about lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender topics? • What are the reasons parents/guardians might not approve of the instruction of LGBT material to their student? • What kinds of harassment/bullying programs might gain parental approval and support?
Hypotheses • Parents do pose a main barrier to LGBT topical & harassment education. • More often parents/guardians will be against teaching their student LGBT issues on harassment as a lone topic. • More likely will want LGBT to be grouped with other minorities.
Social Learning Theory • Socialcultural Theory (Vygotsky) • Individual + Environment = Behavior • Learning is a process of interaction with the environment • Children will imitate their parents • Differential Association Theory (Sutherland) • Most closely related to criminology, however can be paralleled with behavior of students who bully and harass • D.A.T. is concerned with how deviant behavior is learned rather than how come it occurs
Literature • Schneider, M., & Dimito, A. (2008). Educators' beliefs about raising lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in the schools: The experience in ontario, canada. Journal of LGBT Youth, 5(4), 49-71. • In responding to the needs of LGBT students “parental protests [were cited as] the most frequent barrier”
Literature Cont. • Weiner, C. (2005). Sex Education: Recognizing Anti-Gay Harassment as Sex Discrimination Under Title VII and Title IX. Columbia Human Rights Law Review 37(189), 190-234. • Political environment in discrimination • Huge gap in sexual harassment • Harrassment as discrimination upon a protected group • Would LGBT fall under a protected group?
Literature Cont. • Bontempo, D.E., & D’Augelli, A. R. (2002). Effects of At-School Victimization and Sexual Orientation on Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual Youths’ Health Risk Behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30, 364-374. • Likelihood of LGBT students being victimized
Literature Cont. • Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Diaz, E. M., & Bartkiewicz, M. J. (2010). The 2009 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in our nation’s schools. Retrieved October 1, 2010, from http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTS/file/000/001/1675-5.PDF • Large survey of LGBT youth and their educational experience
Data Collection & Sampling • Sample Population • Parents from two or more school districts • No age, race, gender, or relational restrictions • Triangulation • Survey • Interview • Group Discussion
Limitations • Although highly beneficial to this study, I will be unable to sample the students. Most if not all will be below the age of consent. • I predict that parents/guardians would not be likely to allow their students to participate in a study based in sexuality. • Parents/Guardians too may be limiting in their reluctance to talk about sensitive issues such as sexuality and violence.
Expected Results • I expect that given current events there will be more voluntary participation than if this study were conducted in a different social climate. • I expect to find that parents/guardians are more likely to object to their students being taught about sexuality in a school environment.
Contingency Plan • Although psychological risks are minimal in this study, there is always the possibility of sensitive topics provoking psychological disturbances. It is for this reason that I plan to have school counselors present at all methods of data collection. • Confidentiality is always respected in the instance of sensitive issues. I do not require any identifiers other that gender, age, and relation to the student.
Significance & Contribution • This study is significant because it contributes information on another barrier that educators need to overcome. If bullying and harassment are still rising issues in educational environments today, any information can be useful in developing prevention tactics.