Het lespakket Homo in de Klas: goede voornemens?

Abstract Lessons Queer in the classroom: good intentions? This study investigates the effect of Homo in de Klas (Queer in the classroom) on the willingness of orthodox Christian pupils from four Reformed schools to change their attitudes regarding homosexuality. The study has a quantitative and qualitative part. A survey was carried out among 636 pupils (37 classes) from the third grade havo / vwo (ninth-grade students: college entrance level). The study had a quasi-experimental design. The results show a positive effect of the intervention on the intention for more social interaction, but not on the intention to reduce the abusive word ‘gay’. No support was found for the idea that the classroom climate plays a role in this. To gain more insight an additional qualitative study was done. Interviews afterwards with eight teachers and 35 pupils showed a positive classroom climate with a lot of interaction during the intervention. The meeting with the guest speaker impresses the pupils in particular. According to the teachers and pupils, these elements encourage a change in the behavior, towards more social interaction and less use of  ‘gay’ as a swearword.