Citation

Hegde AV, Averett P, Parker White C, Deese S. Early Child Dev. Care 2014; 184(7): 963-976.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/03004430.2013.845563

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The present study assessed preschool teachers' attitudes towards homosexuality, their comfort levels in working with same sex parents and their children, their action orientation and preparedness to work on this topic. Twenty teachers from public schools and 20 from private child care settings in North Carolina, USA, participated in the study. Two standardised surveys were used to gather data. Overall, teachers seemed to hold a positive attitude towards homosexuality. However, European American teachers were more positive in their attitudes than their African American counterparts. Further, most teachers' comfort in working with gay and lesbian parents and their disposition towards being action oriented were only significant at the attitudinal level. Teachers' comfort and action orientation were not significantly correlated with each other. Additionally, older teachers (in terms of age and years of experience) attributed college preparation to be an important factor in their preparation of this topic. Teachers did not differ significantly on any of the measures related to their work settings. Discussed are the various factors that might have contributed to these findings. The implications of these findings for the field of early childhood education and suggestions for future research are also highlighted.

Language: en