Supportive schools : an investigation of rainbow-affirmative inclusivity in schools and its effects on rainbow and non-rainbow young people : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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Date
2024
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Massey University
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Abstract
Rainbow young people experience higher rates of mental health problems relative to their non-rainbow peers, a phenomenon theorised to be linked to Rainbow people’s experiences of identity-related marginalisation. School is an important setting for young people, and one in which policies and curriculum content choices may have a large impact on young people. This project sought to understand the impact of Rainbow-affirming school policies and curriculum content on both Rainbow and non-Rainbow students alike. This two-study research project sought to determine how having an inclusive curriculum impacts rainbow and non-rainbow students. Study one focused on the impact of rainbow inclusive content and policies in schools on non-rainbow students’ allyship behaviours. Study two extended this investigation to rainbow students, examining whether rainbow inclusive content and policy increases perceived support, safety, and pride at school for rainbow students. Participants (N = 5241; n non-rainbow = 434; n rainbow = 4807) completed questions about inclusive policies, curricula, allyship behaviours, perceived support, safety and pride as part of the broader Identify Study (Fenaughty et al., 2022). I ran descriptive statistics for each domain and the sum of each domain, and regression models were run to predict each study’s findings. Contrary to our hypotheses, results for study one found that exposure to rainbow inclusive content and policy did not predict allyship attitudes or behaviours. Similarly, study two results found that exposure to rainbow inclusive content and policy did not predict perceived support, safety, or pride for rainbow students. Future research is needed to establish the impact of inclusive curricula and content on other aspects of rainbow and non-rainbow students’ educational, behavioural, and emotional outcomes.