Exploring the importance of peers as leaders in the Dream School Program: from the perspectives of peer leaders, teachers and principals

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of using peers as leaders in a secondary school intervention in Norway from the perspectives of the principals, the teachers and the peer leaders. The overall aims of the intervention are to improve the psychosocial learning environment and promote positive mental health. Five secondary schools which had used the programme for at least 1 year took part in the study. We conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with five principals, five focus group interviews with teachers and five focus group interviews with peer leaders. Through a thematic text analysis, the findings revealed four main categories: peer leaders’ gains, someone of their own age, positive impact on new students, and lack of collaboration between teachers and peer leaders. The study adds to the current research body on peer-led education by providing insightful knowledge from multiple informants of the benefits of using peers as leaders in a health-promoting school intervention.

Keywords::

• peer leaders
• evaluation
• school intervention
• multiple informants
• qualitative

Notes

^1. This review includes only controlled trials, and might miss promising interventions evaluated by qualitative approaches (Weare & Nind, 2011).

^2. Due to few students in each class, one of the six schools was not part of the pilot investigation.