Peer Ambassador Programs of the Inclusive Schools

Peer Ambassador Programs of the Inclusive Schools

Cindy Kwok-wai Pong, Daisy Man-chee Chan,

Coeie Lam Lau & Eria Ping-ying Li

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Abstract

In 1997, the two-year pioneer project on inclusive education for students with disabilities was implemented. The peer ambassador programs aiming at creating more opportunities for students with and without disabilities to interact with each other were also launched at that time. The aim of this study was to examine the experience of the peer ambassadors from an insider’s perspective. A convenient sample of 23 peer ambassadors from 6 secondary and 17 primary schools participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method and content analysis. The findings suggested that the roles of peer ambassadors included friend, academic tutor and Big-Brother-Big-Sister. All participants had very positive feelings in the process of helping others. Three quarters of the participants reported that they had development in the areas of personal qualities and interpersonal skills. All of them received support from the resource teachers, but their participation was affected by the attitude of peers and family. They also indicated that they needed support in handling the challenging behavior of classmates with disabilities. A mutual helping relationship was found between students with and without disabilities in the inclusive schools and the peer ambassadors also had personal development through the helping process. Strategies for program improvement are suggested to encourage students with and without disabilities to learn together.

Key words: inclusive education

peer support

people with disabilities

social inclusion