Attitudes toward LGB peers and students’ citizenship competences: peer education for a double purpose?

Abstract

Peer education regarding respect for LGB individuals can be understood as citizenship education with a specific content. Students who participate in an intervention to increase respect for sexual and gender minorities may also increase their general citizenship competences. Also, participation in such an intervention may strengthen students’ awareness of the relationship between reflections on citizenship and attitudes toward LGB people. A peer educator intervention on sexual and gender minorities was implemented in pre-vocational secondary education by peer educators and 13 to 17 years old students. We examined the impact on attitudes toward LGB peers with a one-group pretest post-test design, and also used this method to examine reflections on acting as a democratic citizen. We found one significant (positive) correlation between a positive judgment of LGB peers and reflection on acting in a socially responsible manner, which was one of the three democratic citizenship reflection scales we used. No effects were found on either attitudes toward LGB peers or reflection on acting as a democratic citizen. Peer education that is more integrated into the daily social practice of students may increase impact.