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1.4 Methodology
The methodology adopted is set out below:
1.4.1 Literature review
A literature review was conducted using a range of sources. Three interviewees provided hard copies of documents that they had used or developed in conjunction with their own peer education work. The Scottish Executive provided an extensive list of sources of data on peer education and finally, a trawl was carried out of electronic databases, using a search engine. Annex 1 lists the sources that were used in the literature search.
1.4.2 Contact with Road Safety Officers
Telephone interviews were held with Road Safety Officers ( RSOs) in nine local authorities. The locations served by the Road Safety ( RS) units were: four predominantly urban, two rural and three combining rural and urban. The local authorities were distributed throughout Scotland, from industrial conurbations to small isolated communities.
All participating RSOs were contacted and informed about the research and given an outline of points to be covered in a pre-arranged telephone interview. Six of the nine RSOs stated that they would be discussing the peer education situation with their colleagues prior to the telephone interview.
One RSO requested that the interview take place immediately.
The aide-memoire for the interviews and list of areas from which the interviewees were drawn is given in Annex 2.
1.4.3 Interviews with Local Authority Advisers
Five local authority Education Advisers were approached and invited to take part in the research. The Advisers were chosen from authorities to reflect a range of geographic and demographic features in Scotland. One was based on one of the Scottish Island authorities, one was based in a large rural community; and three were based in urban authorities. Pre-arranged telephone interviews were carried out. A copy of the aide-memoire that was used for these interviews is attached as Annex 2, as is a list of the local authority areas represented.
1.4.4 Interviews with teachers and pupils
On the basis of recommendations made by Advisers and/or RSOs, four secondary schools with a history of peer education were approached and asked if they would take part in the research. This involved researchers conducting focus groups with pupils and interviewing appropriate members of staff in connection with peer education. Four schools were selected and agreed to take part. The schools were chosen so that the sample would cover a range of geographic settings and socio-economic factors. A copy of the interview schedules for interviewees is attached as Annex 3.
School A was a city centre school, with 978 pupils on its roll. It had been operating a peer education scheme for four years, through its city council peer education project.
School B was located in the suburbs of a northern Scottish city. It drew a mix of pupils from rural and urban backgrounds. At the time of the research, it had a roll of 835 students.
School C, in the heart of the former Strathclyde region, had a roll of 760 pupils and a catchment that drew from areas of social deprivation.
School D was a mixed secondary school in a Scottish University town. With a roll of 1,850, it drew its pupils from a mix of urban and rural communities, representing a wide range of socio-economic conditions. The school was split-site.
1.4.5 Interviews with peer education specialists
During the research, four different peer education specialists were identified who were willing to share their knowledge and experience. Three of these specialists had involvement on a day-to-day basis with peer educators, through training of peer educators or facilitation of peer education programmes. One of these, a community education professional, worked for a council-run project, which supported peer education in two secondary schools and some of their cluster primaries. Another peer educator managed a national peer education programme on behalf of the Scottish Executive. The third had set up and run a regional peer education health project. The fourth member of this group of interviewees was involved in peer education through administration and oversight of peer education schemes. His work in the education department of his authority involved him in developing a city-wide peer support project, which covered a range of contexts. Open-ended interviews were held with the peer education specialists.
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