PLoS ONE (Jan 2023)

Investigating the direct and indirect effects of a school-based leadership program for primary school students: Rationale and study protocol for the 'Learning to Lead' cluster randomised controlled trial.

  • Levi Wade,
  • Mark R Beauchamp,
  • Nicole Nathan,
  • Jordan J Smith,
  • Angus A Leahy,
  • Sarah G Kennedy,
  • James Boyer,
  • Ran Bao,
  • Thierno M O Diallo,
  • Josep Vidal-Conti,
  • David R Lubans

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279661
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 1
p. e0279661

Abstract

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BackgroundLeadership is a valuable skill that can be taught in school, and which may have benefits within and beyond the classroom. Learning to Lead (L2L) is a student-led, primary school-based leadership program whereby older 'peer leaders' deliver a fundamental movement skills (FMS) program to younger 'peers' within their own school.AimThe aims of the study are to determine the efficacy of a peer-led FMS intervention on: (i) peer leaders' (aged 10 to 12 years) leadership effectiveness (primary outcome), leadership self-efficacy, well-being, and time on-task in the classroom; (ii) peers' (aged 8 to 10 years) physical activity levels, actual and perceived FMS competency, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular power, and executive functioning; and (iii) teachers' (referred to as 'school champions') work-related stress and well-being.MethodL2L will be evaluated using a two-arm parallel group cluster randomised controlled trial. Twenty schools located within a two-hour drive of the University of Newcastle, Australia will be recruited. We will recruit 80 students (40 peer leaders and 40 peers) from each school (N = 1,600). L2L will be implemented in three phases: Phase 1 -school champions' training via a professional learning workshop; Phase 2 -school champions' delivery of leadership lessons to the peer leaders; and Phase 3 -peer leaders' delivery of the FMS program to their younger peers. The FMS program, consisting of 12 x 30-minute lessons, will be delivered over the course of one school term (10 weeks). Study outcomes will be assessed at baseline (between mid-March to June, Terms 1 and 2), intervention end (mid-August to September, Term 3), and follow-up (November to mid-December, Term 4. This trial was prospectively registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR); registration number: ACTRN12621000376842.