Session 8.6
CASE STUDIES
Your role as a coach
Introduction
This case study activity is focused on
the peer coaches involved in peer group education programmes
it is designed to help them to examine their role, the empowerment
of young people and possible conflicts which can arise.
Material
Case studies and questions
Time
1.5 - 2 hours
Group size
10 - 20 people
Process
Ask people to work in small groups (4-5).
Each group is given a copy of a case study. The task is
to read the description and to consider the questions and
note down the responses. Each group needs to identify a
spokes person and feedback with a short presentation in
the large group.
After the presentation several questions could be raised
and common areas and differences between the groups identified.
• Who is in control?
• What are potential areas of
conflict?
• What would the feeling of the
young people be in these situations?
Case study 1
You are involved in a peer group
education programme which has been running successfully
for 2 years, the young people are responsible for
planning and running sessions with other groups of
young people on Human Rights and conflict mediation.
Sessions take place in youth centres although some
take place in schools, they have also recruited new
members and the team numbers around 15 with 10 of
these being more committed. They have organised themselves
with roles and job descriptions, recruitment, planning,
publicity, dealing with administration, etc. The funders
of the project made up of local education authority
and private sponsors feel that the young people are
not responsible enough to manage their funds. They
would like the youth leader or coach to take financial
responsibility for the project. The young people feel
that they should have control of what they do.
• What are the issues arising?
• What strategies would
you pursue with the young people?
• What skills are required
to deal with this situation?
• What support and resources
would you need to handle the situation effectively? |
Case study 2
You work in a school as a teacher,
your subject area includes work on equality and Human
Rights. Your headmaster has recently attended a conference
on peer education and is very keen to see that you
develop such a programme with your class. He has a
model from the conference and you have been
instructed to implement this for project which aims
to deal with a number of racist incidents
in the school and local community. When the idea is
suggested to young people there is little response,
they are not excited by the idea of peer education
or the subject of racism.
• How do you react?
• What do you say: to the
headmaster? to the young people?
• How do you follow up this
situation?
• How do you respond to
the issue (racism incidents) within the school? |
Case study 3
You work at a youth centre where
for the past twelve months there has been a successful
programme organised by a committed group of young
people. They work in youth centres across the town
to reduce prejudice against people who have physical
disabilities. Some of the group are able bodied and
others are not,
they are interested in the issues
and many people acknowledge that the project is a
great success both in integrating able and disabled
and in the peer education work they do. Three new
members of the youth centre would like to join the
group, the members of the main group
are resistant to this and feel that they will not
'fit in'.
• What are the issues involved?
• What do you do?
• How do you reflect this
issue within the youth centre programme?
• What strategy would you
develop to prevent a repeat of this or similar situations? |
Conclusion
Activities which are case studies have
the advantage of allowing people to connect themselves with
a situation before investigating in their own roles as peer
coaches.
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