“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the
world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has”. Margaret Mead
Definition of Peer Education
Peer education is a popular concept that implies an approach, a communication channel, a methodology, a philosophy, and a strategy.
Theories of Peer Education in Brief
Peer education is now viewed as an effective behavioural change strategy, and it
draws on several well-known behavioural theories – Social Learning Theory, Theory of Reasoned Action and Diffusion of Innovation Theory.
Social Learning Theory asserts that people serve as models of human behaviour, and some people (significant others) are capable of eliciting behavioural change in certain individuals, based on the individual's value and interpretation system (Bandura, 1986).
Theory of Reasoned Action states that one of the influential elements for behavioural change is an individual's perception of social norms or beliefs about what people, who are important to the individual, do or think about a particular behaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975).
Diffusion of Innovation Theory posits that certain individuals (opinion leaders) from a given population act as agents of behavioural change by disseminating information and influencing group norms in their community (Rogers, 1983).
The Theory of Participatory Education has also been important in the development of peer education (Freire, 1970). Participatory, or empowerment, models of education posit that powerlessness at the community or group level, and the economic and social conditions inherent to the lack of power are major risk factors for poor health (Amaro, 1995). Empowerment, in the Freirian sense, results through the full participation of the people affected by a given problem or health condition. Through such dialogue the affected community collectively plans and implements a response to the problem or health condition in question. Many advocates of peer education claim that this horizontal process of peers (equals) talking among themselves and determining a course of action is key to the impact of peer education on behavioural change.
Application of Peer Education
Peer education has been used in many areas of public health, including
nutrition education, family planning, substance use and violence prevention.
Use of peer education in the realm of HIV/AIDS stands out because of the
number of examples of its use in the recent international public health literature.
Because of this popularity, global efforts to further understand and improve the
process and impact of peer education in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support have also increased. Questions concerning the nature of a peer and what constitutes education have a range of answers. Peer education typically involves using the members of a given group to effect change among other members of the same group. Peer education is often used to effect change at the indivi ual level by attempting to modify a person's knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, or behaviours. However, peer education may also effect change at the group or societal level, by modifying norms and stimulating collective action that leads to changes in programmes and policies.
