Acceptability and appropriateness of a novel parent-staff co-leadership model for childhood obesity prevention in Head Start: a qualitative interview study

Background Peer leadership can be an effective strategy for implementing health programs, benefiting both program participants and peer leaders. To realize such benefits, the peer leader role must be appropriate for the community context. Also, peer leaders must find their role acceptable (i.e., satisfactory) to ensure their successful recruitment and retention. To date, parent peer leaders have seldom been part of early childhood obesity prevention efforts. Moreover, parents at Head Start preschools have rarely been engaged as peer leaders. The aim of this study is to evaluate the appropriateness and acceptability of an innovative model for engaging parents as peer leaders for this novel content area (early childhood obesity prevention) and setting (Head Start). Methods Parents Connect for Healthy Living (PConnect) is a 10-session parent program being implemented in Head Start preschools as part of the Communities for Healthy Living early childhood obesity prevention trial. PConnect is co-led by a parent peer facilitator who is paired with a Head Start staff facilitator. In the spring of 2019, 10 PConnect facilitators participated in a semi-structured interview about their experience. Interview transcripts were analyzed by two coders using an inductive-deductive hybrid analysis. Themes were identified and member-checked with two interviewees. Results Themes identified applied equally to parent and staff facilitators. Acceptability was high because PConnect facilitators were able to learn and teach, establish meaningful relationships, and positively impact the parents participating in their groups, although facilitators did express frustration when low attendance limited their reach. Appropriateness was also high, as PConnect provided adequate structure and support without being overly rigid, and facilitators were able to overcome most challenges they encountered. Conclusions The PConnect co-facilitation model was highly acceptable and appropriate for both the parent facilitators (peer leaders) and the staff facilitators. Including parents as peer leaders aligns to Head Start’s emphasis on parent engagement, making it a strong candidate for sustained implementation in Head Start. The insights gained about the drivers of peer leadership appropriateness and acceptability in this particular context may be used to inform the design and implementation of peer-led health programs elsewhere. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03334669 (7–11-17).

‘What we give to others, come back to us’. The role of peer leadership in creating a positive school climate and bullying prevention

In this article, the authors discuss the nature of peer-based prevention programs. The analyzes are conducted in the context of school bullying prevention and the associated need to build a friendly and safe school environment. Attention was paid to shaping a positive peer culture by involving young people in various types of prosocial activities. Peer leadership programs are a special kind of activity where the driving force is youth. Implementation of a peer program into school life enables the full potential of young people to be activated. Such programs mobilize young people to make positive changes in their social surroundings, to help themselves and others through constructive cooperation. Taking into account that these programs are carried out within the school environment, the condition of the effectiveness is the attitude of school toward such activities. It is important to foster positive peer relationships, to encourage students to participate and create the right conditions for change.

The Power of Empowerment: Predictors and Benefits of Shared Leadership in Organizations

Leadership plays an essential part in creating competitive advantage and well-being among employees. One way in which formal leaders can deal with the variety of responsibilities that comes with their role is to share their responsibilities with team members (i.e., shared leadership). Although there is abundant literature on how high-quality peer leadership benefits team effectiveness (TE) and well-being, there is only limited evidence about the underpinning mechanisms of these relationships and how the formal leader can support this process. To address this lacuna, we conducted an online survey study with 146 employees from various organizations. The results suggest that an empowering leadership style of the formal leader is associated with higher perceived peer leadership quality (PLQ) on four different leadership roles (i.e., task, motivational, social, and external leader). In addition, formal leaders who empower their team members are also perceived as better leaders themselves. Moreover, the improved PLQ was in turn positively related to TE and work satisfaction, while being negatively related to burnout. In line with the social identity approach, we found that team identification mediated these relationships. Thus, high-quality peer leaders succeeded in creating a shared sense of “us” in the team, and this team identification in turn generated all the positive outcomes. To conclude, by sharing their lead and empowering the peer leaders in their team, formal leaders are key drivers of the team’s effectiveness, while also enhancing team members’ health and well-being.

Acceptability and Appropriateness of a Novel Parent-Staff Co-Leadership Model for Childhood Obesity Prevention in Head Start: A Qualitative Interview Study

Background: Peer leadership can be an effective strategy for implementing health programs, benefiting both program participants and peer leaders. To realize such benefits, the peer leader role must be appropriate for the community context. Also, peer leaders must find their role acceptable (i.e., satisfactory) to ensure their successful recruitment and retention. To date, parent peer leaders have seldom been part of early childhood obesity prevention efforts. Moreover, parents at Head Start preschools have rarely been engaged as peer leaders. The aim of this study is to evaluate the appropriateness and acceptability of an innovative model for engaging parents as peer leaders for this novel content area (early childhood obesity prevention) and setting (Head Start).Methods: Parents Connect for Healthy Living (PConnect) is a 10-session parent program being implemented in Head Start preschools as part of the Communities for Healthy Living early childhood obesity prevention trial. PConnect is co-led by a parent peer facilitator who is paired with a Head Start staff facilitator. In the spring of 2019, 10 PConnect facilitators participated in a semi-structured interview about their experience. Interview transcripts were analyzed by two coders using an inductive-deductive hybrid analysis. Themes were identified and member-checked with two interviewees.Results: Acceptability was high because PConnect facilitators were able to learn and teach, establish meaningful relationships, and positively impact the parents participating in their groups, although facilitators did express frustration when low attendance limited their reach. Appropriateness was also high, as PConnect provided adequate structure and support without being overly rigid, and facilitators were able to overcome most challenges they encountered.Conclusions: The PConnect co-facilitation model was highly acceptable and appropriate for both the parent facilitators (peer leaders) and the staff facilitators. Including parents as peer leaders aligns to Head Start’s emphasis on parent engagement, making it a strong candidate for sustained implementation in Head Start. The insights gained about the drivers of peer leadership appropriateness and acceptability in this particular context may be used to inform the design and implementation of peer-led health programs elsewhere.

In Search of Authentic Peer Leaders: Finding, Nurturing, and Affirming

Luthans and Avolio (2003) have posited that we need methods to develop authentic leaders. One method is to form learning communities on college campuses. Within these communities, peer leaders influence the development of newly admitted peers. The question is: why do some students become peer leaders and others do not? We believe that the answer lies somewhere in their core values. By the time people enter college, they are predisposed to value certain end-states and modes of conduct. Therefore, it is important to determine these predispositions so that leadership development opportunities such as peer leadership can be made available to those who are ready for this type of development. However, at this point we do not know which core values make a difference. This gap in the knowledge is what led to this study. The findings identify the core values of both peer leaders and non-peer leaders. In most cases, these values are the same for both groups. However, the core value of a sense of accomplishment stands out as being significant in determining who will select this type of leadership development opportunity. The paper expands on how to find, nurture, and affirm these select students.