Strengthening students’ social and personal resources: Effects of a peer-based intervention program at Salvadorian schools in challenging contexts

Abstract

The LIFE program was developed to strengthen the social and personal resources of students from urban marginalized schools in El Salvador, namely positive beliefs about the future, social-emotional skills, and a positive school experience measured through the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs at school. It is based on peer learning; students from a local university work together to tutor eighth- and ninth-grade students who learn in teams and develop business plans together. LIFE combines the teaching of personally relevant academic contents (entrepreneurism) with the fostering of action planning and social-emotional skills in youth. The program was evaluated through a mixed-methods approach including a pretest–posttest control group design and focus groups with the experimental group. Results showed positive effects on students’ beliefs about the future and the fulfilment of basic psychological needs, specifically an increase in optimism and in experiences of autonomy and competence. The qualitative data complemented the quantitative results and provided a deeper insight into the processes that had taken place during the program. They showed that positive beliefs about the future existed despite students’ awareness of difficulties that they will have to face in life. The concept of collective competence came up—the conviction that it is possible to achieve in a team what an individual person cannot accomplish. Students also expressed appreciation for the relevance of the topics, the learning of communicative and cooperative skills, a positive development of relationships in their classroom, and the interaction with their tutors.