ABSTRACT DEVELOPING A PEER HELPING PROGRAM AND TESTING ITS EFFECTIVENESS Aladag, Mine Ph. D., Educational Sciences Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Esin Tezer 2005, 290 pages The main purpose of this three-phase study was to develop a peer helping program. The purpose of the first phase was to plan a peer helping program with its goal and content. The purpose of the second phase was to develop a peer helping training program and to investigate its effectiveness on improving the helping skills and self-growth of the peer helpers. The purpose of the third phase was to understand the peer helpers&rsquo / and helpees&rsquo / evaluations of the peer helping program. In the first phase of the study, a need assessment study was carried out with a sample of 316 (168 females, 148 males) students from Faculty of Education of Ege University. Results indicated that students preferred peer helpers among other helping agents / they preferred both non-directive helping styles (empathic responses) and directive helping styles (instrumental responses) / they seemed to believe the helpfulness of the program / they tended to apply to the program / and they wanted the program to concentrate on their career, academic, and interpersonal relationships concerns. In the second phase of the study, in order to investigate the effect of peer helping training program on improving peer helpers&rsquo / helping skills and the self-growth, a pre-test post-test control group experimental design study was carried out with a sample of 31 participants (15 experimental group and 16 control group). The participants were also administered six-month follow-up test. The data were gathered by administering five instruments: Communication Skills Evaluation Scale (CSES), Empathic Skill Scale-B Form (ESS-B), Reflection Skills Evaluation Form (RSEF), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSS) and Self-Acceptance Inventory (SAI). After testing the equivalence of the pre-test scores of CSES, ESS-B, RSS, and SAI of the experimental and the control group participants, a series of 2 (experimental-control groups) X 3 (pre-post-follow up tests) repeated measure of analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to the CSES, ESS-B, RSS, and SAI scores of the participants. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using pre-test as covariate was employed to the post-test and follow-up test scores of the RSEF of the participants. The results indicated that a peer helping training program was more effective on improving both the empathic and the reflection skills of the experimental group participants as compared to the control group participants. The results also indicated that there was a significant increase in the experimental group participants&rsquo / self-esteem scores from the pre-test to the follow-up test and also a significant increase in the experimental group participants&rsquo / self-acceptance scores from the pretest to the posttest. In the third phase of the research, a study, mainly based on qualitative data, was carried out with 15 peer helpers and 33 volunteered students/peer helpees (17 females, 16 males) who received peer helping services. All peer helpees were administered Peer Helping Service Evaluation Form and 15 peer helpers were also administered Peer Helping Program Evaluation Form. The analysis of the qualitative data indicated that most of the above mentioned areas were positively evaluated by both peer helpers and peer helpees.

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive description of what a peer helper programme is and to set guidelines for the design and implementation of a peer helping programme for university residence students. In order to achieve these objectives a literature study was firstly conducted to attain a good understanding of the problems that students of tertiary institutions are currently experiencing. The conclusion was made that students are today faced with a lot of frustrations, problems and challenges resulting in a need for care, support and effective help. Secondly the terms "peer helping", "peer helper" and "peer helper programmes" were defined and peer helping was consequently identified as an effective way of addressing the need for help in the student community. This was followed by a description of guidelines for the design and implementation of a peer helper programme for students in university residences. Plomp's general educational design model was used as a point of reference in the setting of these guidelines. An empirical study was done in the form of a case study as it was exercised only at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. The aims of the empirical research were to determine firstly if there was a real need for the implementation of a peer helper programme among students in university residences; secondly, to look into and examine the guidelines set for the design and implementation of a peer helpers' programme in university residences, and finally to evaluate the efficacy of the training of peer helpers for university residences. Questionnaires, observations and semi structured interviews were used in the empirical study in order to come to the following general conclusions: Students tend to confide in friends when they experience problems of a more serious nature. In other words they share their problems and concerns with people whom they are in a close relationship with. There is a definite need for a peer helpers' programme in university residence environments. Students are willing to take part and make use of such a programme and students want to take the lead in organising and managing such a programme. In order to design and implement a peer helpers' programme successfully in a university residence, the set guidelines for the effective designing and implementation of such a programme should be followed. Finally it is recommended that a peer helpers' programme should be implemented in every residence or on the campus of every university or tertiary institution in South Africa in order to address the growing need for help among students, effectively. Various recommendations for further research were made. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive description of what a peer helper programme is and to set guidelines for the design and implementation of a peer helping programme for university residence students. In order to achieve these objectives a literature study was firstly conducted to attain a good understanding of the problems that students of tertiary institutions are currently experiencing. The conclusion was made that students are today faced with a lot of frustrations, problems and challenges resulting in a need for care, support and effective help. Secondly the terms "peer helping", "peer helper" and "peer helper programmes" were defined and peer helping was consequently identified as an effective way of addressing the need for help in the student community. This was followed by a description of guidelines for the design and implementation of a peer helper programme for students in university residences. Plomp's general educational design model was used as a point of reference in the setting of these guidelines. An empirical study was done in the form of a case study as it was exercised only at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. The aims of the empirical research were to determine firstly if there was a real need for the implementation of a peer helper programme among students in university residences; secondly, to look into and examine the guidelines set for the design and implementation of a peer helpers' programme in university residences, and finally to evaluate the efficacy of the training of peer helpers for university residences. Questionnaires, observations and semi structured interviews were used in the empirical study in order to come to the following general conclusions: Students tend to confide in friends when they experience problems of a more serious nature. In other words they share their problems and concerns with people whom they are in a close relationship with. There is a definite need for a peer helpers' programme in university residence environments. Students are willing to take part and make use of such a programme and students want to take the lead in organising and managing such a programme. In order to design and implement a peer helpers' programme successfully in a university residence, the set guidelines for the effective designing and implementation of such a programme should be followed. Finally it is recommended that a peer helpers' programme should be implemented in every residence or on the campus of every university or tertiary institution in South Africa in order to address the growing need for help among students, effectively. Various recommendations for further research were made. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

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