Evaluating Attitudes Toward Affective-Sexual and Gender Diversity in Education: A Systematic Review of Assessment Tools

The inclusion of affective-sexual and gender diversity is an ongoing challenge due to the persistence of negative attitudes. The educational context is a critical space where either prejudices may be perpetuated or egalitarian attitudes fostered. A crucial step for advancing the inclusion of sexual diversity is being able to measure this construct. For this, several authors develop, validate, or applicate instruments to assess attitudes toward sexual diversity in Education. The objective of the present study was to review this type of measures. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analyses follows the recommendations of PRISMA and APA’s standards. After the eligibility criteria were applied, 7 papers were included. The instruments were analyzed according to (i) their ability to capture subtle attitudes and the dimensions of diversity addressed; (ii) the context in which they were validated and their target population; (iii) their psychometric properties and methodological rigor. As result, it can be state that most of the instruments present some evidences of validity and reliability. In order to reduce social desirability and reactivity, the scales combine positively worded items, with the traditional use of negatively items. In addition, they incorporate more subtle expressions associated with modern prejudice. However, certain items may no longer effectively capture the subtle attitudes or evolution of language to more accurately name sexual diversity. In conclusion, it would be beneficial to address certain challenges, such as the generality of the items, the reactivity of old-fashioned-prejudice measures, and the need to accumulate further evidence to strengthen their psychometric properties.