Peer governance practices: an alternative approach to the education of young people in vulnerable contexts

Abstract

This paper presents the experience of 6 months of work (January to June 2022) with educators and young people aged 16-18 years from a socio-educational organisation in Raval, a vulnerable neighbourhood of Barcelona. It explores how peer governance practices could help young people to acquire conflict resolution skills. It also analyses the role of adults in the application of these practices, thus furthering the understanding of peer governance as a practice that enables people to co-decide, set limits by establishing specific rules and co-manage conflicts [Kostakis, V. (2010). Peer governance and Wikipedia: Identifying and understanding the problems of Wikipedia's governance. First Monday, 15(3)]. An action research methodology was developed for this purpose, based on the application and analysis of participatory workshops and ethnographic work. The results show how the process helps adolescents acquire conflict resolution skills in areas such as negotiation of interests, reaching consensus and distribution of roles. It also identifies how educators overestimate the need for an adult mediator. This article is part of a case study that was conducted in the framework of the Horizon 2020 project SMOOTH that explores educational commons as a catalyst for reversing social inequalities among young people in vulnerable contexts.

This paper is supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 101004491.