The aim of the Narrabundah Companionship
programme was to provide young children ("Kids")
from deprived cultural backgrounds with opportunities
to learn appropriate social behaviours by pairing
them with older students ("Companions") for activities
involving social interactions. Unlike the typical
work of the School Counsellor, which tends to be
problem centered and crisis oriented, the Companionship
programme is seen as a preventive activity which uses
"peer helpers" as a means of extending the outreach
services of the School Counsellor. The effects of
this programme on the Companions, rather than on the
Kids, was the focus of this study.
The purposes of the present investigation were:
a) to identify characteristics of A.C.T. secondary
college students who volunteered to be Companions;
b) to identify appropriate Companion selection
procedures;
c) to assess the effects of communications skills
training on an initial group of Companions in
comparison to late-entering Companions who did
not receive such training;
d) to assess the drives and sentiments which motivated
college students to volunteer for the programme
and to ascertain any changes in those drives and
sentiments which might occur during the programme;
e) to determine whether the Companionship experience
influenced a change in vocational preference
toward a career in social service;
and, although not the major thrust of the study,
f) to assess the effects of the Companionship
experience on the Kids' social adjustment.
After pilot programmes in 1978 and 1979, the
present study was undertaken during Terms One and
Two, 1980. Thirteen A.C.T. secondary college students
volunteered to become Companions. Eleven A.C.T.
primary school students and one junior secondary
school student were selected to participate as Kids
in the programme.
Prior to active participation, volunteers completed
the Kuder Preference Record - Vocational (Kuder) and
the Motivation Analysis Test (MAT). The teachers of
the Kids assessed them using the Bristol Social Adjustment
Guide (BSAG) and completed a brief questionnaire
to aid the Researcher in his pairing of Kids with
Companions.
The Companions attended six (1 1/2 hour) sessions
of a communications skills training programme adapted
from the Peer Counselling Student Training Course
(Varenhorst & Hamburg, 1972). Based on perceptions
formed during the training period, the Companions
then rated each other using the Group Assessment of
Interpersonal Traits (GAIT) developed by Goodman (1972).
The Researcher also made a subjective ranking of each
participant in relation to his perception of the
individual's potential to be an effective Companion.
Contrary to expectation, only two new Companions
joined the programme at the beginning of Second Term.
The Companionship activities terminated after two
school terms, at which time all Kids were reassessed
by their teachers on the BSAG and post-measures on
the Kuder and MAT were completed for those Companions
remaining in the programme. Four Companions who had
left the programme before the termination of activities
had completed these measures at the time of their withdrawal
.
The results of the present investigation included:
a) Significantly more females than males volunteered
to become Companions, and their family birth-order
position as last-born was highly significant.
b) The results of the ratings for potential
effectiveness as a Companion on the GAIT and on
subjective ranking by the Researcher produced a
highly significant correlation (.01 level),
indicating that either method of selection is
appropriate.
c) Because only two new Companions joined the
programme at the start of Term Two, it was not
possible to adequately compare the effects of
training versus no training.
d) As a group, there were two significant changes
in the motivations of the older students. There
were increases in MAT scores measuring the drive
"Narcism-Comfort" and the sentiment "Sweetheart-
Spouse," significant at the .05 level.
e) The results of the initial administration of
the Kuder revealed that volunteers already
had a high preference for careers in social
service areas. There was no significant change
in this orientation following participation in
the Companionship programme.
f) The second administration of the B3AG revealed
no significant changes in the teachers'
perceptions of the Kids' social adjustment.
The Companionship programme is considered to
have been beneficial to both Kids and Companions.
Although there were no statistically significant
changes in the Kids in the short term of this study,
it appears likely that there is potential for long
term benefits. Several of the relationships are
continuing on an informal basis. Companions spontaneously
expressd the enjoyment and personal growth
they had derived and their willingness to participate
in the next programme. Some parents of Kids were
enthusiastic in their evaluations and have sought
to keep in touch with the Companion. The Companionship
programme is seen to have been a valuable preventive
programme in community mental health.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219253 |
| Date | January 1981 |
| Creators | Pearce, Robert F., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Robert F. Pearce |
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