Analysis of homophobia in a high school center in Granada

Abstract

Studies show that most young people are tolerant of sexual diversity, although the reality is that educational institutions are not completely inclusive of affective-sexual diversity. The objective of this research has been twofold. On the one hand, the documentation and didactic material of an educational centre in the metropolitan area of Granada were reviewed in order to analyse the approach to affective-sexual diversity and prevention and intervention measures in the face of homophobic school bullying. On the other hand, the beliefs and attitudes of students (N=95) and teachers (N=17) towards gays and lesbians were studied. In the first case, criteria for content analysis were designed. In the second case, the Modern Homophobia Scale and the Modern Homonegativity Scale as measuring instruments were used for the evaluation of positive attitudes of the participants, taking into account sociodemographic characteristics. The results showed a reproduction of sex-gender binarism, finding differences in sex and religious commitment of the students.
However, no differences were found in the teaching staff. The need to study in depth the attitudes of students and teachers, as well as the educational materials and practices in the classroom, was established.