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At-risk adolescents’ experience as peer educators

University of British Columbia

This study explored the experiences of at-risk students as peer educators. The purpose of this study was to gain insight and understanding into the experiences that at-risk students had as peer educators in a program based in an alternate school setting. By relating the experience of the participants in this program it was hoped that this study would add to the body of research on peer education. Kids teaching kids and older at-risk adolescents becoming positive role models for younger adolescents were some of the experiences that these peer educators described in this study. This study examined a peer education program in it first two years. It was hoped that this study would provide information that would inform the practice of program planners and help to facilitate the development of peer education programs in schools and school districts. For this study, ten adolescents (15-20 years of age) enrolled in alternate secondary programs were individually interviewed. The interviews were semi-structured and each student was asked a set of research questions. However, because the interview proceeded more like a conversation, there was opportunity for each student and the researcher to add questions or information. The findings of this study led to these general conclusions (1) the experience the students had as peer educators was basically a positive one, (2) the peer education program described in this study offers some opportunity for skills development, (3) being trained as peer educators can provide at-risk students with the opportunity to learn more about themselves and (4) the peer educators can be positive role models to other peers. Implications for further research are included in the discussion of the results.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-03-11

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5930

Curriculum Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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