“Some Seniors Still Care About Us”: Impact of Sociocultural Factors on Near-Peer Teaching in a Hong Kong Medical School

This paper reports on a small qualitative study exploring sociocultural factors and their impact on a student-led, near-peer teaching (NPT) initiative at the early stages of its implementation in a medical school in Hong Kong. Near-peer teaching—whereby students teach their junior peers in the same course—is recognized as an effective pedagogical approach in medical education. However, few studies have explored the pedagogical perceptions of students being taught by their peers.

A qualitative study was conducted involving second-year and fifth-year medical students from a single institution in Hong Kong, who participated as peer learners and peer teachers respectively in a student-initiated NPT program spanning five months. Nine peer learners and three peer teachers were interviewed.

This study brings to light three major themes regarding NPT and how this teaching approach impacts students’ learning, namely (1) students’ learning priorities, (2) students’ perceived extent of knowledge in their near peers, and (3) individualistic learning approaches. Peer learners’ specific learning contexts seem to shape their learning priorities in terms of whether they are exam-oriented or clinical-oriented. Students’ perceptions of their near peers’ level of expertise is manifested in doubt regarding NPT’s pedagogical legitimacy, while their individualistic approaches to learning—amid a competitive educational environment lacking adequate support systems—leads students to perceive NPT as serving a social role beyond its academic purpose.

This study highlights the need to consider the specific sociocultural context in which NPT programs are being developed, given its direct impact on NPT’s feasibility, efficacy, and sustainability.