A new study has found Rainbow Youth’s in-school sexuality and gender diversity workshops have led to improvements in students’ attitudes to GLBTI classmates. The workshops have been running since the 1990s, and incorporate a mix of factual discussions around queer and trans terms, discrimination and bullying, and personal stories shared by volunteers. Rainbow Youth teamed up with the Ministry of Education to commission the research ‘Educating for Diversity’, which over 200 students from two Auckland secondary schools took part in. The organisation says the findings suggest its workshops were of a high quality, and resulted in significant improvements in attitudes for participating students. The authors are now calling for further research and development. Rainbow Youth General Manager Duncan Matthews is excited the evaluation can finally be released. “The report really highlights how just a few hours of diversity education can make a significant impact on the wellbeing of our young people, as well as the potential to reduce bullying and discrimination in schools generally,” he says. “Rainbow Youth would like to extend a huge thanks to the Ministry of Education for enabling Rainbow Youth to undertake this important piece of research.” The full report will be released on Tuesday at 6PM (Auckland University Medical School, room 024, building 503) and all Rainbow Youth supporters are welcome to attend.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 11th October 2013 - 9:32am