Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Shelley Victor

Committee Member

Elizabeth Roberts

Committee Member

Maryellen Maher

Keywords

Diversity/ Multicultural Education/Anti Gay Bias/Homophobia/Sexual Orientation

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the effects of diversity training on graduate students’ beliefs about affirmative clinical practice with and attitudes toward gays and lesbians. The convenience sample of 24 students, who were enrolled in an online master’s level speech-language and communication disorders program, included 23 females and 1 male. Most of the students were between the ages of 25 to 29, 23 were heterosexual, and 1 was bisexual.

A between- and within-subjects pre- and postsurvey control design was used to assess the effectiveness of the diversity training that was provided. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group and were asked to complete and submit pre and postsurveys anonymously. The presurvey included (a) a demographic questionnaire; (b) the Gay Affirmative Practice (GAP) Scale, which was created by C. Crisp (2006); and (c) the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men: Short Form (ATLG-S) Scale, which was created by G. M. Herek (1988). The postsurvey included the same scales but not the demographic questionnaire. The independent variable in the study was the group to which students were assigned (i.e., the experimental group that received diversity training or the control group that received placebo training). The dependent variables were participants’ total scores from the GAP Scale and the ATLG-S Scale.

A repeated-measures factorial MANOVA indicated results were not statistically significant (p < .05); however, it was noteworthy that the difference in the between subjects effect of condition on the Attitudes Towards Gay Men: Short Form, a subscale of the ATLG-S Scale, was marginally significant (p < .10). Comparison of the average mean scores on all outcome measures for the experimental group and the control group, before and after training, indicated a marginal trend of improvement for the experimental group as compared to the control group.

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