scholarly journals Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program: key implementation characteristics of a school peer mentorship program in Canada

Author(s):  
Sabrina Lopresti ◽  
Noreen D Willows ◽  
Kate E Storey ◽  
Tara-Leigh F McHugh

Summary The Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (IYMP) is a peer-led health promotion program developed for elementary school students in Indigenous school communities in Canada. A local young adult health leader (YAHL) and high school mentors offer students healthy snacks, physical activity games, relationship building activities and cultural teachings. IYMP aims to improve children’s health and wellbeing and empower Indigenous youth and communities. The purpose of this focused ethnography was to describe the key characteristics of successful IYMP delivery. Two focus groups were conducted with 16 participants (8 YAHLS and 8 youth mentors) from 7 schools followed by 4 individual interviews (3 YAHLs, 1 youth peer mentor). Transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Findings were triangulated with IYMP program field observations and notes from IYMP national team meetings. The five characteristics identified as important for IYMP delivery were a sense of ownership by those delivering the program, inclusion of Indigenous Elders/knowledge keepers, establishing trusting relationships, open communication among all stakeholder groups, including community and academic partners, and adequate program supports in the form of program funding, manuals that described program activities, and local and national gatherings between academic and community partners for sharing ideas about the program and its components. This study indicates the importance of respectful partnerships between community and academic leads for program success and sustainability. As IYMP is implemented in more communities and becomes community autonomous, program sustainability may be ensured and implementation challenges mitigated by embedding the identified five essential characteristics within the fabric of IYMP.

Author(s):  
Atia D Mark ◽  
Steve Wells

Middle school students in Nova Scotia, Canada, are perceived to have low self-efficacy for achieving learning outcomes. While strong self-efficacy beliefs, developed through effective curricula, have been linked to improved academic performance, there is a need for formal evaluation of such curricula. The purpose of this study was to investigate a 10-week afterschool mentorship curriculum that has never been evaluated. The aim of the curriculum is to strengthen self-efficacy beliefs via relationship building exercises, public speaking training, and character education. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, which states that treatment influences can alter the strength of self-efficacy, informed the conceptual framework. Evaluation questions explored apparent changes in the self-efficacy of the students from the perspective of seven adult caregivers and the program’s instructor. Interview data were triangulated with quantitative descriptive statistics on the self-efficacy scores of 10 middle school students before and after program participation using the Children’s Hope Scale. Comparison of pre- and posttest scores did not show remarkable differences in self-efficacy beliefs of the students. However, analysis of interview data revealed that children’s self-efficacy beliefs grew, the largest increase being in those described as reserved at the beginning of the program. This study promotes positive social change through an increased understanding that can inform efforts to increase self-efficacy in middle school students.


Author(s):  
Leah J. Ferguson ◽  
Tammy Girolami ◽  
Reed Thorstad ◽  
Carol D. Rodgers ◽  
M. Louise Humbert

Peer mentorship is an effective approach for delivering health promotion programs that may be particularly useful among underrepresented populations. Advancing the peer-led approach, the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (IYMP) is a communal-led program rooted in Indigenous values aimed at the promotion of healthy lifestyles in children and youth. The program includes layers of multi-age mentoring (i.e., elementary students, high school student mentors, and young adult health leaders [YAHLs]) and incorporates three core components: physical activity, healthy eating, and cultural teachings. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore elementary student, mentor, and YAHL experiences in an urban IYMP offering. Eleven sharing circles were conducted; six with elementary students (n = 23; grade 4 and 5 students), two with mentors (n = 3; students enrolled in a grade 10 wellness girls class), and three with YAHLs (n = 6; undergraduate university students). Focus groups were also held with respective school teachers and principals. An inductive content analysis generated three themes that represent the perceived impacts of this urban IYMP offering: (1) Fostering Wellness, (2) Strengthening Meaningful Connections, and (3) Exploring Leadership. Findings are positioned within a communal mentorship framework that is circular and multi-directional. By bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, this program offering supports Indigenous cultural relevance in an urban-based wellness program.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097226292199259
Author(s):  
Devika Rani Sharma ◽  
Balgopal Singh

Emergence of technology has not only boosted the growth of customer engagement but has also paved way for customers to become active co-creators with the firms. Customer engagement activities are taking over the customer relationship building activities in the present scenario. Customers’ experience with a particular brand has its impact on satisfaction levels and their repurchasing intention in future as well. According to Rosetta Consulting report an engaged customer is likely to buy 90% more frequently and may spend 300% more than other customers. Hence, the present has tried to understand the mediating role of satisfaction on customer engagement in retaining the customers or persuading the customers to repurchase. The results show that there exists a significant mediation effect of customer satisfaction in influencing their repeat purchase behaviour.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S79-S79
Author(s):  
Ellen C Schneider ◽  
Lesley Steinman ◽  
Casey Dicocco

Abstract Evidence-based programs (EBPs) offer proven ways to promote health and prevent disease among older adults in their communities. EBPs are based on rigorous study of the effects of specific interventions or model programs, demonstrate consistently positive changes in important health-related and functional measures, and have tools in place to maintain program access, quality, and efficiency across diverse settings. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (UNC HPDP), in partnership with the Evidence-Based Leadership Collaborative (EBLC), has established a review process and Review Council to identify new community programs that meet the evidence-based program criteria established by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), one of the chief U.S. federal agencies responsible for aging programs. Approved programs are then eligible for Older Americans Act Title III-D and other discretionary funding to support organizations that deliver EBPs to improve older adult health. The review process assesses the effectiveness, outcomes, and evaluation of the program, information about program implementation, training, and other key elements for successful program dissemination. The Review Council consists of national leaders with expertise in program research, evaluation, and implementation. The review process is supported by the ACL-funded National Chronic Disease Self-Management Education and Falls Prevention Resource Centers. This session will describe the ACL evidence-based health promotion program criteria that must be met for approval; an overview of the review process; and how researchers can submit their programs for review. Time will be allowed for questions, discussion, and research to practice implications.


Author(s):  
Eboo Patel ◽  
Noah Silverman

This chapter addresses how the continuity of individual and communal religious identity can be preserved in a modern context characterized by a rapid rise in religious diversity and a concomitant decline in traditional religious association. The chapter discusses various postures that religious communities can take in such a context. The authors advocate an intentional and engaged religious pluralism, achieved through “interfaith education.” This concept is defined and parsed into three activities in which religious communities should engage: developing a theology of interfaith cooperation, nurturing appreciative knowledge of shared values, and engaging in relationship-building activities. The chapter concludes with a brief consideration of how North American seminaries have been on the vanguard of adopting interfaith—sometimes referred to as multifaith or inter-religious—education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Nicole Naadu Ofosu ◽  
Kate Storey ◽  
Paul J. Veugelers

Adolescence is an important life phase in which future patterns of adult health are established. Therefore, there is a need to understand the barriers and enhancers of adolescents’ health to better support their development. We explored adolescents’ perspectives on factors influencing their health behaviours using a qualitative descriptive approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 junior high and high school students in Northern Alberta, who had participated in a 2015/16 Youth Health Survey. Thematic analyses revealed three themes: 1) knowledge, 2) contextual factors (home environment and school environment) and 3) individual factors (self-motivation and personal responsibility). Overall, the students were extensive in their description of healthy lifestyles, but their use of this knowledge was dependent on contextual and individual factors. They described the importance of the home and school environment in supporting healthy lifestyles, particularly by providing the right kind of knowledge and opportunities to cultivate and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They also identified self-motivation and personal responsibility as individual factors of influence on their health behaviours and practices. The students placed a great emphasis on personal responsibility for their health behaviours, despite the necessity of environmental and social supports for encouraging healthy lifestyles. School-based health promotion programs, which take a comprehensive health approach fosters a supportive environment for healthy lifestyle behaviours.


2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-296
Author(s):  
Ara Choi

This study examined the influences of demographic variables, parent-adolescent conversation time, and open communication on the positive psychological capital of adolescents. The data were collected from 243 middle school students living in Gwangju from December 23, 2019, to January 3, 2020. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis. The results can be summarized as follows. First, with economic condition, academic achievement, parent-adolescent conversation time, and open communication, positive psychological capital showed significant difference statistically. Second, father-adolescent open communication best explained positive psychological capital, followed by academic achievement, and motheradolescent open communication. The results highlight the important roles played by parent-adolescent open communication and academic achievement in improving adolescents’positive psychological capital. The study contributes to the literature by providing fundamental insights into adolescents’positive psychological capital.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sandra Harding

This study provides insight into the factors of cohesion and its development in virtual, partially distributed groups. This qualitative exploratory research design examined how co-located and virtual group participants experienced cohesion. Participants were part of a doctoral cohort. Data was gathered using a demographic survey and individual interviews. Data analysis was accomplished through open, focused, and axial coding using constant comparison and inductive reasoning to identify categories. Findings indicate virtual and co-located participants expressed a sense of cohesion in both task and social areas. Factors of task cohesion include having a shared goal, a commitment to goal achievement and overcoming challenges. Factors of social cohesion include identification with group members, open communication, sharing personal life information and informal socializing which were all components of relationship building. Virtual participants were more focused on factors affecting individual task cohesion (commitment to goal) and individual social cohesion (identification with other members) than those impacting group cohesion. Practitioners should consider using a strengths assessment when forming a new group. They should also provide group dynamics resources and clearly defined group objectives.


Author(s):  
U. Artamonova

Public diplomacy becomes a more and more popular area of research due to several global trends: growing interdependence of states and the rise of transnational actors that urge governments to seek ways beyond their military and economic power to achieve their political goals; technological progress that makes information more accessible to the public, enabling international communication, thus increasing the importance of a dominating narrative; the rise of a human-centric approach placing the emphasis on individual people, protection and promotion of their rights, thus making public opinion more crucial to policy-makers than ever. However, there are still a lot of lacunae in the theoretical framework analyzing public diplomacy. Among them is the lack of a clear widely accepted classification of activities that fall into the area of public diplomacy. Some researchers choose to avoid typology altogether, others provide academic community with a variety of overlapping and contradicting approaches and terms, such as “dimensions”, “types”, “media”, “frameworks”, etc. After carefully studying related publications of international and Russian researchers, analyzing them and defining most common trends, the author proposes her own way to classify public diplomacy activities via two synergetic typologies. The first one offers a division by fronts based on the principal of the final goal of each front of public diplomacy: e.g. relationship-building activities and agenda-setting to influence the news. The second one implies a division by forms based on the principal of the general shape of the main types of public diplomacy activities: e.g. cultural diplomacy, international broadcasting. The author highlights that this approach does not involve multiplication of public diplomacy types based on the instrument (e.g. gastro-diplomacy, twitter-diplomacy, sport diplomacy), since each form may incorporate several instruments and the particular toolkit may change in time. The article suggests using both typologies for comprehensive research of public diplomacy (either in a case-study or for a theoretical model). However, a front-based classification can be more useful for studies related to strategic planning, long-term and short-term political goals of government, whereas a form-based classification can be more useful for researchers who focus on measuring a country’s public diplomacy effectiveness or seek to attribute a new instrument of public diplomacy


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