A Helping Hand? A Study into an England-wide Peer Mentoring Program to Address Bullying Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide findings from a study into a school peer mentoring program which matched children aged between 9 and 12 years of age who were bullied or at-risk of being bullied with older student mentors. In total, 372 mentees as well as a comparison group of 1,249 young people from 22 English schools completed a questionnaire at the start and end of the school year (approximately nine months). An examination of the results showed that mentored students reported higher levels of bullying and life satisfaction, and statistically significant higher levels of school satisfaction than the comparison group at the end of the school year. These outcomes did not significantly vary by the mentee’s age, gender, or the number of mentoring meetings. Potential reasons for these findings are explored with a particular emphasis on the school environment and its influence on mentee–mentor and mentee–teacher relationships. The findings will have potential implications for future research and program developers.