Social:Peer Leadership Program

Peer Leadership is an educational program intended to ease the transition from middle to high school or high school to university by recruiting upperclassmen to serve as positive role models for younger students. Peer Leadership stresses communal interaction and the development of social insight. Before meeting with smaller groups of newcomers, older Peer Leaders are trained to mentor younger students and assist with any educational needs they may require.

The Five Stages Approach

The methodology most commonly used in training the members of peer is known as the Five Stages Approach. It is important to note that this is the interpretation of the journey, per se, that many peer groups embark upon. The stages are:

Stage One: Forming, which understands that upon first creating groups, the members will be nervous. This stage remains crucial for leaders to emerge.

Stage Two: Norming, following forming, is the stage in which group members begin to adjust to their new, institutionalized atmosphere. The peer leaders themselves begin to initiate general conversation and, within time, discuss state-sponsored curriculum with other members.

Stage Three: Storming, which is the stage in which the freshmen begin to fight for roles in the group. Conflict often erupts in this stage, providing the peer leaders with opportunities to learn about handling emotions in a mature manner.

Stage Four: Performing, which is the point at which the group members have begun to feel comfortable with each other. Unlike the stage preceding it, many of the emotions felt on this level are of trust and kindness, although apathy and disinterest may also peak in certain members during this stage.

Stage Five: Mourning and Reform, the final stages, which involve a parting of ways. Group members review and reflect on the past while also focusing on their future lives and how they will influence their community in a positive way. The peer leaders stress that it is the responsibility of the individual group members to act ethically and morally in their future endeavors, while also promoting the value of autonomy and self-direction. This is often considered to be the most vital of all stages, as it ties all the stages together and helps students cope with their emotions after they move on from their educational institution.

Peer recognition

Peer leaders have various ways of recognizing each other, as well as expressing the peer bond and emotional trust between peer leaders. There are many levels on which peer recognition functions, starting from the most basic and common form to the most complex form:

Level 1: Fist Peer: This is a soft fist pound in which peer leaders recognize each other and express their bond, often repeating such phrases as "peer" or "peer love". This is by far the most common form of peer recognition.

Level 2: Eye Peer: This type of recognition involves peer leaders making eye contact with each other for several seconds, followed by a slight head nod, which signifies that both leaders recognize each other as fellow peer members. The Eye Peer works well because it can allow peer members to bond from long distances.

Level 3: Mental Peer: The Mental Peer allows a peer leader to recognize the presence of other peer members without making direct contact, as well as allowing the peer member to recognize when other members are thinking of peer.

These 3 levels are the only known levels of peer recognition, although other, more complex forms are reputed to be in development. Some forms of peer recognition vary from school to school and program to program and may contain handshakes, shared sayings or certain high five like motions or dance moves. These forms of peer recognition are usually handed down through the years and their exact meanings safeguarded.

Arguments against peer leadership

Some object to the standardization that the program imposes upon its members, especially within the high school level, where a significant majority of the freshmen class may be members. For example, peer Leaders are given curriculum to follow each week under strict instruction to not deviate. Much of the curriculum that peer leaders and members give/receive, respectively, is pre-screened by school officials, in addition to having been directly handed down from the respective state Department of Education (i.e., New Jersey Dept. of Education, NJ being the first state to implement the Peer Program). Thus, an argument can be made that neither freshmen nor seniors have input on the information and pro-social lessons that they must discuss, and are forced into discussions on topics that are frequently irrelevant, unimportant, or generally uninteresting. High School freshmen have especially been known to express their dissent about issues, rules, and values that are taught to them. Furthermore, not all group members feel comfortable discussing personal problems and giving input to conversation, leading to an estrangement between the more socially-oriented group members and those who are more introverted in nature. For many freshmen, large peer groups (as many as 20+ in several instances) are intimidating and may reach a state of uncontrollability on the part of the peer leaders, who lack the authority of teachers.

The peer leader selection process has been a particular subject of scrutiny. Peer leaders chosen are typically gregarious and outgoing, and females comprised 65% of the peer force within the 2008–2009 Somerville High School school year. Through a series of group examinations in which random peer applicants are given physical leadership puzzles to complete within specified time periods, the most outspoken individuals are looked upon highly. Through group interviews that follow, seniors that are similarly self-confident and socially agreeable are chosen as peer leaders. Those judged to have a speaking impediment, perceived shyness of character, or any other noticeable personality flaw(s) are passed up in favor of other students. Seniors who have been given a certain number of after school, and/or Saturday detentions, and/or suspensions are officially banned from the program and cannot apply. Through careful selection of peer Leaders, socially acceptable role models for incoming freshmen students can be chosen and institutional image reinforced.

References

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• Gardner, J. N., (1996). "Power to Peers." Keystone Newsletter. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Publishing Company.
• Gardner, J. N., (1998, August). Current Trends in the first college year. Lee University Annual Training Seminar for Freshman Seminar Instructors and Peer Leaders, conducted at Johnston Woods, Cleveland, TN.
• Hamid, S. L. & VanHook, J., (1999). [Peer Leader Program Questionnaire]. Unpublished raw data. (Available from the Office of First-Year Programs, Lee University,
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