Empowering adolescents to transform schools and themselves

A large-scale program that enlisted students in disadvantaged middle schools to teach younger peers reduced disciplinary problems and improved academic achievement, according to new research led by a Cornell University economist.

Key to the program’s success: buy-in from challenging adolescents who crave status and don’t want to be lectured – an approach informed by the science of adolescent behavior and brain development.

The program already has been scaled up in Turkey, where the two-year study collected data from roughly 18,000 students in 65 schools, starting in 2020-21. And the researchers are in discussions with educators from several countries, including in U.S. schools, interested in applying the relatively low-cost intervention to a variety of contexts.

“We show that you can change behavior on a massive scale, including for the kids whose behavior you want to change and also for their friends, because of the social linkages in middle schools,” said Sule Alan, professor of economics and co-author of the findings, published in the American Economic Review. “You have to allow them to change their own behavior willingly. You have to give them what they actually need, and that is social status, that is autonomy, and that is respect.”

The researchers identified senior students, including those flagged as 'troublesome' but non-violent, who scored high in emotional intelligence and were socially influential, based on the friend networks they shared. From that group, they recruited roughly 630 each in the seventh and eighth grades to be student-teachers.

In 32 randomly assigned schools, the student-teachers taught a weekly curriculum, “Our Future, Our Dream,” designed by Alan’s team. Among its nine topics were envisioning the ideal school; recognizing one’s power to shape their social environment; and understanding the perils of violence and antisocial behavior. In the remaining control group, about half of the schools did nothing differently, while the other student-teachers led basic activities such as mazes and coloring.

Results showed the program was effective in improving social, emotional and academic outcomes. Student-teachers and their friend networks were about 70% less likely to be flagged for disciplinary violations in the first year, and 55% less likely in the second year. Anti-social attitudes decreased. Junior students participating in the curriculum were more likely to nominate senior students as supportive peers, suggesting an improved school climate.

Most importantly, Alan said, eighth-grade student-teachers engaged in the curriculum were significantly more likely to win admission to selective high schools, potentially imparting long-term economic benefits.

The researchers believe processes of cognitive dissonance and self-persuasion underlie the transformation.

“If I am a bully and I’m supposed to teach about the profile of a bully,” Alan said, “that creates discomfort that has to be resolved.”

Alan said the proof of concept can now be scaled up and applied to a range of behaviors, from drug use to smartphone use to sexual activity. And it can be done anywhere in the world, since adolescent development and behavior is similar across cultures.