A whole‐school approach to adolescent peer‐leader development for affective learning in health‐related curricula

Abstract

This evaluation research study adopted a whole‐school approach, within a case‐study framework, to developing the health‐related affective learning of adolescent peer‐group leaders. The attendant strategies were effected in anticipation of a multiplier effect of peer‐leader influence affecting lifestyle choices across the school population. Health educators used the dynamics of the adolescent peer group, and peer‐supported learning, as the primary strategies to facilitate the transfer of authentic health/sexuality knowledge and attendant social skills across the school community. The high school selected as the case‐study school attracted supplementary funding under the Australian Government's Priority Schools Programme addressing educational and social disadvantage. A cohort of adolescent peer leaders, together with members of their peer group(s), was identified within the population of a single outer metropolitan high school. Adolescent peer leaders participated in an extracurricular programme involving the acquisition of authentic health and sexuality knowledge; the development and strengthening of social and interpersonal skills, valuing activities and outdoor education. Follow‐up school‐based activities, designed to prepare peer leaders for peer as well as cross‐age tutoring, were also conducted. The adolescent peer‐group leaden subsequently tutored primary students in health and human relations topics in two feeder primary schools. Teacher development also took place in parallel with the adolescent peer‐leader intervention, while parents of peer leaders followed the Askable Parents Programme, completion of which enabled them to support peer‐leader influence off campus and in the home. The success of these differentiated learning experiences, for each of the participating stakeholder groups, was attributed to the staged sequence and integration of separate programmes for each stakeholder group, each of which was discrete but not mutually exclusive. A process evaluation of the project was conducted using observation and semistructured interviews of peer leaders and their cohorts, parents and teachers. Overall project data were collected via questionnaire, semistructured interviews and observation, and analysed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The project has had an influence upon the whole curriculum of the school far exceeding its initial health‐related terms of reference.