Does peer education increase academic achievement in first year students? A mixed-method study

Peer education (PE) is considered a constructive learning strategy. However, it is not clear that the same results have been achieved in circumstances where the facilitator is aware of the program implemented while teachers are kept blinded. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of peer education on students’ academic achievement and to explain students’ lived experience of participating in a PE program. The study employed an exploratory, sequential mixed-method design and occurred in two distinct and consecutive phases. The first phase consisted of a cluster-controlled, double-blind educational trial; the second, of a qualitative conventional content analysis. Data were collected during the second semester from February to July 2015 from undergraduate students. Analysis of the pre- and post tests has been performed to evaluate the program among those enrolled in nursing and midwifery (intervention groups) and anesthesia nursing (control group) in physiology and anatomy courses. Themes were identified by analyzing the content of qualitative feedback. There were significant differences in physiology post-test scores and anatomy post-test scores among the three groups. Significant intergroup differences were revealed using Tukey’s post-hoc test between the anatomy test scores of nursing students compared to those of other students and the physiology test scores of midwifery students compared to other students for the facilitator-administered test. The theme was “facilitated learning”. The PE program promoted learning based on the facilitator-based examination; however, this examination was not related to formal academic achievement (based on the results from the final semester examination).