Themes pertaining to the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

Investigation of the satisfaction of basic psychological needs helped to address the second question of the study, What retains them (peer educators) in the work? It was conceptualised that the reasons for peer educators remaining with the programme was because through their

involvement, they were achieving satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence, which SDT asserts are key for achieving life satisfaction and

optimal well-being (Ryan, 2009). What is clear from the findings is that participation in the programme provided a range of opportunities to satisfy their basic psychological needs. Moreover, having a supportive space to engage in satisfying their needs was novel for many participants. This is possibly due to the complexities of youth development (Bray et al., 2010; Reddy et al., 2010; Swartz, 2009) that have not allowed for adequate satisfaction of the needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness.

A symbiotic relationship of BPN was noted throughout the study, where the satisfaction of one need was, in part, dependent or enhanced by the satisfaction of another. Although literature points to this relationship occurring primarily between competence and autonomy (Stone et al., 2009), it was clear that the satisfaction of competence enhanced the satisfaction of the need for relatedness, and in turn satisfaction of the need for relatedness enabled confidence. In many examples in this study this symbiosis created a climate for optimal functioning amongst the participants of this study.

7.2.2.1. Autonomy and autonomy support.

In keeping with the premise of SDT literature, an autonomy supportive environment proved most conducive to the motivation of participants, to their enjoyment of the peer educator work, and to their well-being development (Deci & Ryan, 2012). As autonomous behaviour was encouraged in the programme, the participants appeared to grow in confidence and initiation skills, increasing in self-regulatory abilities (Ryan & Deci, 2006). Decision making skills were a focal topic. It appeared that participants, particularly after training on decision making and peer pressure, were able to contemplate decisions reflectively and critically. Findings provide support for positive decision making abilities reflected in peer educators of other studies (Mason-Jones et al., 2013; Swartz et al., 2014).

Autonomy was most often expressed in the sense of the collective and affirms a recent study of autonomous expression in China which points out that group security is not only a form of autonomous dependence, but can also enhance self-endorsement and individual autonomy (Chen et al., 2014). This collective support is further echoed in findings on organised

programmes for youth that suggest that a collectivist culture presents opportunities for peer solidarity and that this may be of significance in assessing responsibility development in youth (Salusky et al., 2014).

7.2.2.2. Expressions of competence.

Exploring competence in the participants of the study encompassed a broad parameter, as the background of many participants evidenced a vital lack of competence in a number of areas such as education, communication and life skills (Reddy et al., 2010). Competence was seen to

motivate a range of proactive behaviours and learning abilities that Mason-Jones and associates (2011) drew from Flanagan, Williams and Mahler’s 1996 study as critical for a PEPs success. Surprising competence findings saw participants gain teaching skills, manage conflict effectively and demonstrate use of transferable skills. Participants emphasised that gaining of competency was not without challenge (Patrick, 2014), and some related how unfamiliar and taboo topics such as sexual acts were difficult to discuss with the learners, further echoing some of the challenges that Frantz (2015) found at implementation stages of the programme.

Participants spoke of a sense of empowerment and comprehension once they were provided with factual health information. This is noteworthy given that imparting messages of health education is the primary goal of peer education work, and the gaps in sexual health knowledge of young people are seen as enabling of risky sexual behaviour (World Bank, 2015).

Gaining of teaching skills was significant in not only addressing the need for competency, but also addressing a need highlighted by Swartz et al. (2014), emphasising the need for teaching skills in effectively achieving peer education’s educational aims. The participants of this study alluded to the need for knowing how to work with the learners in an educational context, although they shied away from the word “teacher”. Competencies regarding the teaching and learning processes described by the peer educators are supportive of androgogy, or adult learning processes (Smith, 2002), and the acquisition of these skills, undoubtedly, positively impacts on the participants’ role as students in higher education.

The lack of acknowledgement of skill and no tests of competency was frustrating for participants. They also pointed to a lack of resources as undermining competency in that they felt unable to be fully competent without educational resources to use during implementations. This frustration is shared in another peer education study in South Africa where HIV/AIDS peer educators expressed hampering of their abilities because of lack of promotional materials and health education aids such as condoms, graphic body parts, DVDs and stationery (Dunjwa, 2011).

The inconsistent training programme that serves the T-PEP was also a concern especially as lack of factual information appeared to cause a lack of credibility (Mason-Jones et al., 2011; Naidoo et al., 2013). Although participants were enthusiastic about their questionable research on “the internet” (Dahl & Smith, 2011), the lack of monitoring and evaluation of programme content is worrying especially given the required accuracy and factuality needed for effective dissemination (Michel, 2005).

What was focal within satisfaction of the need for competence, was overwhelming

in consequence are supportive evidences of Campbell and MacPhail’s (2002) call for critical consciousness in effective peer education programme.

7.2.2.3. Relatedness matters.

Satisfaction of the need for Relatedness was a theme of paramount importance for this study. There was an intense need to belong and be part of a “family” that participants felt being a peer educator member of the T-PEP embodied. This may be related to the fragmented family backgrounds that many participants came from (Bray et al., 2010). For many of the educators, working as a peer educator supported previous findings which saw such work offer participants a chance to create a connected and caring social support system. There was a supportive, enabling cohesive space that the T-PEP afforded that was empowering for the participants and that is possibly unique to the collective ethos fostered within the TSiBA environment. This sense of belonging seemed to serve as a secure base from which many participants exercised their skills in autonomy and competence, engaging in difficult dialogues with their own family members and holding themselves accountable for their personal behaviour. Possibly, since they were aware of how unique this sense of family and belonging was, participants appeared to extend this cohesive space to learners. Peer educators went out of their way to be aware of learner needs and to create supportive and caring friendships in which they could be significant “family”. Findings of this study indicate that peer educators as well as learners gained in many ways from this face-to-face and caring interaction. This bodes well for the efficacy of the peer education programme

(Campbell & MacPhail, 2002), and in addition it provides a cushion to counteract the effects of peer pressure (Petersen et al., 2010). There is also a presence of empathy on the part of many peer educators, and an awareness of the needs of others. The perspective-taking or empathic

perspective (Dijker, 2014) appeared to be a new concept for some participants and may not only have assisted with building better rapport with their learners, but appears pivotal in a moral awakening (Swartz, 2009). The protective caring and parental care concepts that the participants elucidate when speaking of their relationships with the learners; and their desire to improve the learners’ well-being, health and positive development support Dijker’s (2014) review of criteria for an awakened moral response in individuals. A recent study of peer sexuality educators found perspective taking to further offer a useful way of identifying incongruences in others and providing opportunity for them to look for ways to bring about social change (Fields & Copp, 2015).

When addressing what would seem to be a welcome display of relatedness status,

participants displayed reticence in assuming role model status. While I did not further pursue the motivation for this, I speculate that it was possibly because of the implications this would have

for their own behavioural health, and that it placed a distinction between them and their peers (Badura Brack et al., 2008). Peer education literature emphasises the preferred behavioural model that peer educators are expected to adopt, although studies to date show that this model does not represent actual peer educator behaviour (Mason-Jones et al., 2013).