A Psychometric Review of Measures Assessing Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities

ABSTRACT

Discrimination against sexual minorities is widespread and has deleterious consequences on victims’ psychological and physical wellbeing. However, a review of the psychometric properties of instruments measuring lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) discrimination has not been conducted. The results of this review, which involved evaluating 162 articles, reveal that most have suboptimal psychometric properties. Specifically, myriad scales possess questionable content validity as (1) items are not created in collaboration with sexual minorities; (2) measures possess a small number of items and, thus, may not sufficiently represent the domain of interest; and (3) scales are “adapted” from measures designed to examine race- and gender-based discrimination. Additional limitations include (1) summed scores are computed, often in the absence of scale score reliability metrics; (2) summed scores operate from the questionable assumption that diverse forms of discrimination are necessarily interrelated; (3) the dimensionality of instruments presumed to consist of subscales is seldom tested; (4) tests of criterion-related validity are routinely omitted; and (5) formal tests of measures’ construct validity are seldom provided, necessitating that one infer validity based on the results obtained. The absence of “gold standard” measures, the attendant difficulty in formulating a coherent picture of this body of research, and suggestions for psychometric improvements are noted.     

美国《双语教育法》颁布的社会背景研究——基于霍姆斯的四模式分析框架

在美国的中小学校除英语之外讲各种语言的学生,或者说那些不会讲英语的学生,他们的教育需求长期得不到妥善的解决。1968年颁布的《双语教育法》表明,美国联邦政府承认了美国学校体制中长期存在的只能使用英语教学的单语教学问题,如何使教学语言多样性是一个亟待解决的核心问题。以霍姆斯的四模式为分析框架,把颁布《双语教育法》时纷繁复杂的社会背景置于规范模式、组织制度模式、精神状态模式和自然环境模式中进行分析,结果显示:(1)移民人口剧增并逐步扩展到新的区域,给美国公立学校造成了巨大压力;(2)司法判例对所实施的隔离但平等原则的彻底否定催生了新的希望;(3)少数族裔群体谴责主流社会的不公平,他们要求身份认同和获得更多权利的呼声愈来愈大;(4)联邦政府对保障国防安全、消除贫困现象等多重利益的考量,促成了《双语教育法》的颁布。     

空间批评视角下的《生日》

从空间批评视角看,文本中的空间不再是静止的＂容器＂,而是一种蕴含多维文化信息的指涉系统,注重文本中空间的社会、文化属性。在美国华裔作家雷祖威的短篇小说《生日》中,与华裔青年华莱士·王的爱情故事相关的几个空间场景不仅再现了华裔的现实生活世界,更充分展示了他们居于社会边缘的处境与内心疏离的痛苦。     

试论民族地区建立“环境侵权责任社会分担机制”的必要性

环境侵权责任社会分担是一种将因环境侵权行为所造成的损失转移到社会,由侵权行为人以外的主体完全或部分分担损失金额的侵权赔偿责任机制。社会连带理论为其提供了正当性基础。从伦理学、经济学、政治学和社会学角度均能证明民族地区建立环境侵权责任社会分担机制的必要性。     

Culturally responsive teaching in China: instructional strategy and teachers’ attitudes

The aim of this study was to investigate the manner in which teachers facilitate the pedagogical process within a culturally diverse student population. The study focused on two primary schools in China; one located in a more fully developed city in eastern China (Case A), while the other was in a less developed city in rural western China (Case B). This allowed the researchers to compare and analyse the different instructional practices by means of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The findings indicate that: the teachers in Case A demonstrated overall affirmative attitudes towards ethnic minority cultures, as well as towards the students belonging to those cultures. However, the teachers also chose not to mention the specific ethnic identities and cultural differences of the students during the course of their instruction in order to ensure equal treatment for everyone. This leads to a kind of ‘cultural blindness’ in the classroom. In Case B, opinions regarding minority cultures were more varied. Compared with the teachers in Case A, more teachers in Case B found minority cultures to be inferior to the dominant Han culture. Some teachers also, counter intuitively, were of the opinion that the minority cultures were even superior. At the instructional level, school leadership developed courses on local culture and ethnicity for the teaching staff. This was done for a variety of reasons. The strongest evidence to support culturally responsive teaching in Case A does not stem from teaching and learning demands but from the necessity to pursue characteristics that make them distinctive from other schools at the same time, Case B’s practice of culturally responsive teaching was strongly supported by the government and UNICEF. Teachers in both schools indicated that they had integrated their knowledge of ethnic minority groups into the subject matter when it was necessary.     

少数民族大学生的就业现状、存在问题及其对策

少数民族大学生在大学生中占有重要比例。大学生就业难的问题已经成为全社会普遍关注的焦点,尤其是少数民族大学生的就业问题更为突出,主要表现在以下方面:少数民族大学生就业率逐年下降、就业过程艰辛、就业层次低、结构性失衡等等。解决少数民族大学生就业问题需要政府、高校、社会、家庭和少数民族大学生自身的共同配合和共同努力。     

A Mixed-Methods Inquiry Into Trans* Environmental Microaggressions on College Campuses: Experiences and Outcomes

ABSTRACT

The experiences, including with environmental microaggressions, and well-being of trans* collegians remain an under-researched topic. In this mixed-methods study of a survey sample of 152 trans* collegians, multivariable regression findings suggest that the frequency of experiencing select trans* environmental microaggressions (e.g., not having access to comfortable bathrooms as a trans* person) are associated with increased risk for poorer academic outcomes (e.g., developmental challenges) but are not associated with mental health outcomes. Furthermore, interviews with 18 trans* collegians suggest that students face several systemic microaggressions, including difficulties advancing trans* inclusion. Various reactions, including paths of resistance, were identified. Implications are discussed.     

高校少数民族毕业生就业问题及对策研究——以西南民族大学为例

大学生就业问题近年来成为社会各界关注的热点问题,少数民族大学毕业生的就业问题因其既具有共性,又带有特性,更应成为关注的焦点。本文基于对西南民族大学少数民族毕业生就业问题的调研,发现当前成都地区高校少数民族毕业生一定程度存在热衷大城市就业,沟通能力相对不足,从事工作与所学专业不对口,易受到不公对待等就业问题。究其原因,我们认为与少数民族大学毕业生的传统择业观、汉语水平、学校的专业设置以及用人单位的不当认识有关。为此,本文提出政府应加大对少数民族大学毕业生就业的关注程度;学校应提高少数民族大学生的综合素质;社会应创造公平公正的就业环境;少数民族大学生应提升自身能力、转变择业观念等相关对策建议。