The Middle Years Index illustrates that approximately one in four children in British Columbia experience a diminished and below average sense of well-being at school (1). Healthy, secure social relationships and friendships play a key role in adolescent development while experiences of peer rejection and social anxiety are known predictors of victimization and isolation (2).
Despite the importance of healthy relationship skills, many schools lack the resources needed to be able to provide social and emotional learning programs that are not part of the school curriculum, but are so essential to a child’s development and emotional well-being. Schools also lack the capacity to offer ongoing leadership training and mentoring for students (3).
Our Peer Leadership Program aligns with the BC Ministry of Education's new curriculum which emphasizes the importance of students developing strong personal and social competencies. The Peer Leadership Program recognizes that students most effectively learn appropriate social and friendship skills when it is modelled by older peers and that learning from peer mentors can play a significant part in healthy identity formation.
In fact, the older peers benefit from this training as well. Identifying as a peer leader helps them to counter the growing impact of media and technology on their lives while discovering the sense of purpose that is achieved through helping younger students. Moreover, students who learn to be effective peer leaders and mentors also learn skills that will help them as they transition through to high school and the rest of their lives.
The end result of this program is the establishment of a ‘bank’ of peer leaders on whom the school staff can depend when developing activities and initiatives within the broader school community.
“Having a group of people, I don’t have to worry about being cool.” ~ Grade 6 girl
“I got to help make sure no one got left out.” ~ Grade 7 boy
“I am very shy and this has helped me make new friends and help younger students.” ~ Grade 5 girl
SELF provides the infrastructure and hands-on support to create a foundational Peer Leadership Program that will become the core of a school’s culture. The level of our involvement depends on the school’s requirements and will be customized based on the social-emotional learning programs used within that school community.
The Program:
Our Peer Leadership Program trains a group of senior-level peers in the development of social and emotional leadership skills to allow them to mentor younger students in healthy relationship, conflict-management and communication skills.
SELF’s Peer Leadership Program provides a starting point for all other program offerings. The program fosters the keystones of positive youth development - competence, confidence, caring, character, connection, contribution and communication (5).
As part of the Peer Leadership Program, we work with the school to leverage the participation and contribution of these newly inspired and informed Peer Leaders in as many opportunities as possible throughout the school. These may include involving the Peer Leaders as:
- playground and kindergarten helpers
- mentors in friendship groups
- leaders and participants in assemblies and anouncements
- directors in social and emotional learning-based plays
Key features:
- Fun-based learning that inspires and informs peer leaders
- Curriculum that develops empathy, self-reflection and leadership skills and redefines what it means to be ‘cool’
- Peer leaders model the skills and attributes needed for healthy relationships among younger students
- Skilled adults play a key role in training and facilitating the peer leaders. They create an environment that is welcoming, safe, fun and allows participants to explore the art of relationships and inner explorations. As the peer leaders gain skills and confidence to facilitate, the adults shift to a supportive role.
Program benefits:
- Develops and improves students’ relationships with themselves and others
- Shifts school culture to value leadership, and encourages older peers to self-identify as leaders
- Fosters communication and social skills to help both peer leaders and younger students enjoy healthy friendships
- Teaches older and younger students effective conflict management skills
- Reverses isolation among vulnerable students
- Underscores the value of role modelling
- Builds capacity within the school by developing a group of students who can provide leadership in a range of school activities
- Creates a greater sense of belonging and inclusion throughout the whole school community over time
(1) Middle Year Development Instrument Gr 4-7 http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/mdi/
(2) Saarento & Hodges, 2013, Student Classroom and School Level Risk Factors for Victimization
(3) Karcher, 2008, The Cross-Age Mentoring Program
(4) Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V. et al. (2005). Findings from the first wave of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development
(5) Lerner et al.
(6) Middle Years Developmental Instrument report Grades 4-7 http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/mdi/