Positive peer support at schools idea

Press, 21 July 1986, Page 9

Positive peer support at schools idea

Positive peer support can be used to encourage school pupils to adopt a healthy lifestyle, according to the Australian founder of the Peer Support Programme, Mrs Elizabeth Campbell. Her programme, which trains senior pupils to help junior pupils, is now being used in 296 Australian schools.

It works on the principle that junior pupils are likely to take much more notice of friends and senior pupils than of adults and “authoritariantype” figures. “The programme develops more personal contact between junior and senior students and greatly improves teacher-student communication,” she said. Teachers are taught about the programme and, in turn, train senior pupils as group leaders. Training includes such topics as increasing selfesteem, personal and social awareness, com-

munication and leadership skills, responsibility, discussion group techniques, and the ability to make sound decisions. Once trained, the senior pupils look after groups of six junior pupils. Discussions are held during normal school hours as part of the curriculum, but without disrupting established timetables.

Mrs Campbell, who is in New Zealand to train 54 teachers from 10 Christchurch schools, said there was no over-all evaluation of how effective the support programme was.

But individual school evaluations had shown a reduction in cigarette smoking, alcoholism, and truancy. "Pupils are staying at school longer, the behaviour is better with fewer bullies, and many schools report fewer cases of isolation (one pupil on their own with no friends).”

Mrs Campbell founded the peer support pro-

gramme in 1971 at a school where a boy, aged 16, had died from an overdose of heroin. At the time, she was working as a drug and health education officer with the New South Wales Department of Health. "The principal of the school invited me to es-

tablish a programme which would aim to reduce drug abuse among the children,” she said. After speaking to pupils of the same year as the boy who had died, Mrs Campbell decided to ask if they would be willing to form a support programme for junior pupils.

“The senior students were most enthusiastic and saw the programme as a challenge and a way to help prevent similar tragedies occurring at the school.” Setting up the support programme in a school costs about $2OOO — in many of the Australian schools this money has come from Rotary International clubs.

The money for the 10 Christchurch schools will come initially from the J. R. McKenzie Trust and the Riccarton Youth Foundation. The local Rotary Club organised Mrs Campbell’s seminars with teachers.