“We All Keep Growing and Learning”:Facilitating Meaningful Educational Experiences through Peer-Assisted Learning across Different Educational Levels in El Salvador
The LIFE program (Líderes Inspirando Futuro y Éxito/Leaders Inspiring Future and Success) in El Salvador uses synergy effects between the learning processes of university students and those of youth at school through a combination of service-learning, tutoring, and cooperative learning. At Nehemiah International University, students with challenging socio-economic backgrounds receive free higher education in the areas of business administration, accounting, or computer science in a combination with transformational leadership. As a part of their training, they are assigned to teams and go to schools in high-risk contexts to offer workshops on teamwork, project planning, and entrepreneurism for students from eighth and ninth grade who also work in small groups. The aim is that they put into practice what they have learned while supporting the students at the schools as they expand their life skills and develop new perspectives for their future. The program has been implemented and evaluated through a mixed methods study including focus group interviews with both groups of students and learning diaries of the university students. This chapter delineates the contents and methods of the program with their theoretical background, their implementation, and their perception by both groups of students.