NCJ Number
97253
Date Published
1982
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the development of treatment approaches for hard-to-manage students that use the peer group as the focus of the intervention strategy.
Abstract
A history of the positive peer culture (PPC) and guided group interaction (GGI) approach is traced to the 1950's and a residential treatment program for juvenile delinquents at Highfields Residential Treatment Program in Hopewell. The basic concepts of PPC are identified as follows: adolescents are commonly more responsive to the values of peers than those of adults; and adolescents are strong resources of idealism and caring and can be assisted to responsibly take charge of their own lives. Ways to develop a PPC are addressed and include securing experienced personnel and developing leadership classes for students identified as positive and negative leaders. Research studies on the effectiveness of PPC and GGI are discussed, and findings reveal positive changes in the lives of youth who previously engaged in disruptive and frequently delinquent behaviors in schools and communities. Additionally, studies of PPC effects indicate increases in self-esteem, decreases in recidivism, decreases in the number of failing grades, decreases in staff leadership, and other positive outcomes. Further, the effects of a GGI program in four Michigan secondary schools are reported; although significant improvements in self-concept occurred, teachers said GGI members showed less eagerness, self-confidence, stability, considerateness, and sensitivity over time. The need for greater teacher involvement in the GGI program is highlighted, and additional research studies on PPC and GGI are suggested. Twenty references are included.