Peer education: youth protagonism in a preventive approach to alcohol and other drugs

Abstract This article describes the experience of the course in Health and Safety at School, which prepared young people to spread knowledge on prevention of alcohol and other drugs, using the peer education methodology. The participants were sixty 15 to 19 year-old upper secondary school students from 8 public schools in the Federal District. The activity was structured into 8 modules, with each module consisting of a meeting to discuss content, followed by field work at the schools, where students trained their colleagues and passed on information to them; and, lastly, a further meeting for the students to give feedback on their experience in the field. All activities were recorded in field diaries, photographs, and reports, providing input to this experience report. Finally, a student forum was held at which the young people presented projects to be carried out at the schools. The peer education experience enabled the young people to take the lead in their school community and territory, and acknowledged the value of sharing among people with similar experiences. It thus favoured the development of critical, artistically potent strategies for preventive action directed to adolescents in situations of social vulnerability and fostered health promotion in the school.

摘要 本文介绍了一门学校健康与安全课程的实践经验，该课程采用同伴教育法（Peer Education），助力青少年传播酒精及其他药物预防相关知识。本次研究的参与者为来自联邦特区8所公立学校的60名15至19岁高中生。活动整体划分为8个模块，每个模块包含三个环节：首先开展内容研讨会议，随后赴各学校开展实地实践，由参训学生对本校同伴进行培训并传递相关预防知识；最后召开复盘交流会，由学生分享实地实践的体验与反馈。所有活动均通过实地日志、影像照片及实践报告进行记录，为本经验总结报告提供了核心素材。活动尾声举办了学生论坛，青少年们在论坛上展示了拟于本校落地的健康宣传项目。本次同伴教育实践让青少年得以在学校社区及所辖区域中发挥引领作用，彰显了具有相似成长背景群体间共享互助的价值。由此，该实践为面向社会弱势处境青少年的预防性行动开发出兼具批判性思维导向与艺术表现力的有效策略，并推动了校内健康促进工作的开展。